An Alabama organization designated as a white supremacist hate group has launched a new website to attempt to form an alliance between Russia and the American South.
The group, “League of the South†is based in Alabama and is classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
White supremacist group launches Russian webpage to promote "Southern nationalism" https://t.co/aGOQvG8mAV pic.twitter.com/lrYOp1RBpq
— The Hill (@thehill) July 22, 2018
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They are launching a Russian-language page which calls on Russia and the American South to become allies. In a letter posted to the League of the South’s website they speak about “natural similarities†between Russian culture and the conservative southerners. They said they want to attract people to their group who are interested in “Southern nationalism.”
“As fellow Whites of northern European extraction, we come from the same general gene pool. As inheritors of the European cultural tradition, we share similar values, customs, and ways of life. And as Christians, we worship the same Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and our common faith binds us as brothers and sisters,” the group’s leader Michael Hill wrote in the letter posted online.
Hill’s letter also said that the group’s Russian-language page would be “the first step toward building a firm and resolute understanding and commitment to cooperation between the Russian people and the people of the South that could indeed be the foundation for a better world in which our peoples thrive and prosper far into the future.”
Hill wrote the Russian language section will be “first step in this direction.” He created the Russian language page just days after President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump has repeatedly discussed decreasing tensions between the two nations and has said he would like Russia to be an ally.
According to the Anti Defamation League, Hill, a former history professor at Stillman College, founded the League of the South in 1994. The group has chapters in 16 states, including several in Alabama.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
