Richard Barrett (lawyer)
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Richard Barrett | |
|---|---|
 Barrett at the September 20, 2007 Jena Six Rally, Jena, Louisiana | |
| Born | February 18, 1943 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | April 22, 2010 (aged 67) Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Stab wounds |
| Occupations | Lawyer, White Nationalist |
| Known for | Founded the Mississippi branch of the Nationalist Movement |
Richard Barrett (February 18, 1943 – April 22, 2010) was an American white nationalist, lawyer and self-proclaimed leader in the nationalist Skinheadz movement. Barrett was a speaker and editor of the All The Way monthly newsletter. He was general counsel of the white nationalist organisation, Nationalist Movement, which he founded in Mississippi.
Barrett was born in New York City, and according to his biography, his family moved away to avoid the influx of Jewish and Puerto Rican immigrants. He graduated from Rutgers University, and fought in the Vietnam War.[citation needed] He graduated from Memphis State University Law School in 1974.
Political career
In 1968, Barrett served as executive director of the South Carolina branch of the American Independent Party, on behalf of George C. Wallace's presidential bid. He organized and chaired Youth for Wallace and in 1969, he organized and chaired the National Youth Alliance (which later transformed into the National Alliance). In 1976, he was chairman of Democrats for Reagan and in 1977, he served as judge-advocate of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Writings and activities
In 1982, Barrett published The Commission, a memoir advocating the resettlement of "those who were once citizens" to "Puerto Rico, Mexico, Israel, the Orient, and Africa." Contending that non-whites, especially blacks, were inferior: "The Negro race... possess[es] no creativity of its own [and] pulls the vitality away from civilization." He advocated sterilization and abortions of the "unfit".[1]
In 1989, Barrett visited England. He attended the Annual General Meeting of the National Front political party where he signed "The New Atlantic Charter" pledging solidarity between the party and the Nationalist Movement.[2] There he linked up with Alan Harvey to support apartheid in South Africa.[3] The following year, Barrett played host to Nick Griffin.[4]
In 1992, Barrett argued the case of Forsyth County, Georgia v. The Nationalist Movement before the United States Supreme Court. In 2004, Barrett organized a booth at the Neshoba County Fair in Mississippi for the public to shake hands with Edgar Ray Killen and sign a petition of support. Killen, who did not appear at the aforementioned event, was later convicted of manslaughter for his role in the 1964 Ku Klux Klan-led murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. In an interview, Barrett predicted that the nation would rally around Killen.[5] Barrett represented Tennessee activist James L. Hart in 2006, when Hart was removed from the ballot by the GOP on the grounds of not being a bona fide member of the party due to his promotion of eugenics.[6] Barrett's efforts were not successful, and Hart was forced to run as a write-in candidate.[7]
