Flat Rock, North Carolina - 7 August
1999
The
Southern Party held its official launching ceremony in the mountains
of western North Carolina to much fanfare and merriment with nearly 200
Southern nationalist supporters in attendance at the exclusive
event. Attendees heard speeches from Southern Party leaders and
witnessed the signing of the Ashville Declaration wherein the SP laid
before the world the rationale for the party's creation.
Media attention was unprecedented and
included journalists representing TV, radio, newsprint and internet news
organizations. The following major media organizations were present:
ABC News, CNN, C-SPAN, Reuters, The Associated Press, The (London)
Independent, The Australian Broadcasting Company, The New York Times, The
Washington Times, WorldNetDaily and National Public Radio. In
addition to the major media organizations, the event was also covered by
dozens of local area newspapers, radio and television stations.
One of the highlights of the media blitz was
an interview with former SP Chairman George Kalas by ABC's veteran reporter Tim
O'Brien which was broadcast later that evening on ABC's World News
Tonight.
This media onslaught generated a second-wave
of additional media attention in the two-week period following the event -
especially on the Internet where the Southern Party became the talk of the
town for popular conservative sites like Capitol Hill Blue, Free Republic
and WorldNetDaily. Hits to the SP web site went ballistic with over
a 1,000 hits a day for a week following the event and hundreds of new
activists came into the party during the month of August as a result of
this widespread and largely favorable exposure.
The Southern Party of
Alabama is now operational. The Southern National Committee has announced the appointment of
The Southern Party of
Arkansas is now operational. The Southern National Committee has announced the appointment of
The Southern Party of
Oklahoma is now operational. The Southern National Committee has announced the appointment of