Two separate groups have carried the name NAAWP. One existed from 1954–1955, the other from 1979 to the present. The formation of most white supremacist groups can be linked to specific events. The various waves of the KKK could be tied to the emancipation of the enslaved, the release of ‘Birth of a Nation,’ and in response to desegregation. The emergence of MAGA was in response to the election of President Barack Obama. The first version of the NAAWP was formed after the Brown v. Board of Education decision that required the integration of schools.
“Like clockwork, whenever racial progress occurs, it’s followed — in short order — by racial retrenchment. Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Movement, and the election of Barack Obama, are the most prominent examples.” — Christopher Sebastian Parker
The founder of the NAAWP was Bryant Bowles, who was also its first president. Bowles was a former Marine and a veteran of WWII and the Korean War. After the May 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, he raised $6,000 to form the NAAWP to stop school desegregation. He organized rallies in several states, including his home state of Delaware. At one rally, he said:
My daughter will never attend a school with Negro’s as long as there is breath in my body, and gunpowder will burn.” — Bryant Bowles.
Also, in 1954, Bowles was charged with kicking and beating a Black postal worker in Washington, DC. The charges against him were dropped. He led a pro-segregation boycott of Milford High School in Milford, DE. This protest led to arrests and cross-burnings, resulting in Southern Delaware schools remaining segregated for several years. Bowles was found not guilty of charges related to the protests. It was later discovered that a jury member was also in the NAAWP. After his arrest at the school, the Delaware Attorney general revoked the NAAWP charter, effectively shutting down the organization.
It’s unrelated to this story that Bowles was convicted of the killing of his brother-in-law in 1958 and was imprisoned until 1973, when he was paroled. In 1976, he was arrested for trafficking drugs in Florida. I mention these things mainly because I’m petty but partially to show the caliber of the NAAWP leadership.
In 1979, the NAAWP returned with no ties to the first group. This time, the leader was David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard. Duke left the Klan because he was concerned about their reputation for violence in the aftermath of the Greensboro Massacre.
Duke’s reputation within the Klan was damaged when it was exposed he’d agreed to pay $35,000 for the Klan membership list, which, understandably, its members wished to keep private. With no love lost between Duke and the Klan, he opened the doors of the National Association for the Advancement of White People.
“I hope that many of you will see the potential of this Movement to garner support from America’s White majority. I would like to personally invite you to join the NAAWP. “— David Duke.
Many Klan members followed Duke into the new organization as he attempted to make it more acceptable to the mainstream, though they were still known as “simply the Klan without sheets.” Duke left the NAAWP sometime in the 1990s as he attempted a political career, including presidential runs in 1992 and 1998. He also tried to become a U.S. Senator in Louisiana but failed there as well. He was replaced by Paul Allen, who instructed all leaders to avoid portraying themselves as racists or extremists in public, lest it hurt the image of the organization. This declaration hurt his image within the ranks, who liked public displays of racism and extremism, so he soon departed.
Paul Allen was replaced by Reno Wolfe, the last known leader of the organization, which has gone relatively quiet in the past few years. Wolfe made sure to disavow any relationship with David Duke. He moved the headquarters from Louisiana to (where else?) Florida and NAAWP members communicate primarily on social media.
Mark Anthony Traina, out of Louisiana, claims to be the President of the NAAWP and promotes himself as a school psychologist and civil rights activist. He used ALL CAPS, but I just couldn’t. There may or may not be an organizational struggle, but I’ll leave it to them to sort out.
There are multiple Facebook (Meta) groups saying they aren’t advocating white supremacy, but almost all the posts support white supremacy or buying big guns. One group states its goals and posts the following footnote.
“This is not a racist group. If you are a white supremacist, we do not want to be affiliated with you.”
Another posts:
This is NOT a hate group! Its main objective is to encourage white people that they can be proud of themselves.
And another:
NOTICE: THIS IS NOT A GROUP FOR THE BASHING OF OTHER RACES AND CULTURES. PLEASE DO NOT USE IT IN THIS WAY. THE WALL WILL BE MONITORED AND DEROGATORY POSTERS WILL BE REMOVED AND BANNED
Based on the posts and photos I’ve seen, their moderators must be on vacation.
“White people need to stand TOGETHER against blacks.”
I think that’s what they intended all along, though they don’t seem to like Jewish people much either.
