The organization actually began in 1977 as the National Federation for Decency and was started by United Methodist minister Donald Wildmon (b. 18 Jan 1938, in Dumas, MS). Wildmon graduated from Millsaps College in 1960, served in the Army from 1961-1963, then got his Master of Divinity (MDiv) in 1965 from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. In 1977, he moved* to Tupelo to found the National Federation for Decency as a way to fight against pornography and violence, particularly on television. The organization's mission was to foster "the biblical ethic of decency in American Society with the primary emphasis on television." They started with only 1400 members and protested any show, network, or sponsor that supported what they determined to be violent or immoral. The NDF's first boycott was in 1978 when they targeted Sears for sponsoring three shows that they disapproved of: All in the Family, Charlie's Angels, and Three's Company. Although I couldn't find concrete evidence of what displeased Wildmon so much, I believe it had a lot to do with seeing strong, sexy women, women cohabiting with a man, and Carroll O'Connor's use of the word "god dammit."
In 1980, Wildmon joined forces with Jerry Falwell to create the Coalition for Better Television (CBTV). This group monitored television content and analyzed it to record the number of infractions - much in the way some who are virulently anti-pornography watch loads of it so they can tell us how awful it is. Although the group claimed membership in the millions, it fell apart only 2 years later when Wildmon and Falwell split, but not before they had bullied Proctor & Gamble into pulling advertising on about 50 TV shows.
From there, Wildmon founded Christian Leaders for Responsible Television (CLEAR-TV) and branched out from just TV into movies and magazines. He organized protests against any company that created or sold adult content while continuing to push for television programming to be censored according to his standards. No one was safe from the threat of boycott: not bookstores, not convenience stores, not even hotel chains. He successfully targeted Pepsico, Mazda, and Burger King among many others.
In 1987 he renamed his organization the American Family Association. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seems to have its fingers in every pot imaginable. This empire boasts 180 radio stations, a popular monthly publication (AFA Journal), a news division (OneNewsNow.com), and a legal arm (Center for Law & Policy) that was shut down in 2007. The organization runs on a $14 million dollar yearly budget. There are approximately 3.4 million subscribers to their "Action Alerts" in which they instruct followers to protest or boycott anything that the organization deems offensive or unAmerican. If only 1% of those subscribers act on any given instruction, then they still have a powerful voice.
The AFA will boycott over anything that gets under their skin but they have a few targets close to their heart: the inappropriately named "War on Christmas," pro-choice activities, anything sexual, and LGBT issues. Their protest/boycott efforts include but are not limited to:
7-Eleven - selling adult magazines
Abercrombie & Fitch - using "pornography" in their catalog
American Airlines
American Girl - supporting the charity Girls, Inc.
Blockbuster Video - renting adult films
Burger King - advertising on shows considered "anti-family"
Calvin Klein
Campbell Soup - advertising in an LGBT magazine
Carl's Jr.
Clorox
Comcast
Crest
Domino's Pizza - supporting Saturday Night Live
Ford Motor Co. - advertising in gay magazines; promoting homosexuality
GAP Stores - not using the word "Christmas"
General Mills - supporting Saturday Night Live
Hallmark - selling same-sex wedding cards
Home Depot - promoting homosexuality
IKEA
Kmart - selling "adult" CDs
Kraft
MTV
Mary Kay
Mazda - supporting Saturday Night Live
McDonald's - having a director on the board of the NGLCC
Microsoft
Movie Gallery - renting adult films
Nike - promoting same-sex marriage
Noxell
NutriSystem
Old Navy
Pampers
PepsiCo - supporting sacrilegious advertising (Madonna)
Proctor & Gamble - advertising on shows considered "anti-family"
Ralston Purina - supporting Saturday Night Live
S.C. Johnson & Son
Sears
Target - not using the word "Christmas"
Tide
Waldenbooks - selling adult magazines
Wal-Mart
Walt Disney - offering benefits to same-sex employees
Although there have been some cases of the boycotts being at least partially successful, in recent years they seem to become less and less effective. The organization takes credit for a lot of store closings and other decisions that cannot be directly linked to their boycott efforts, a failure to understand that correlation doesn't equal causation if ever there was one. The AFA is also known to make grandiose claims about their success that don't always pan out to be true.
The AFA has been working diligently to erase the separation between church and state, particularly by trying to convince Christians that they are now a persecuted minority being oppressed by the federal government. He sees the solution to all our social ills as reinstating school prayer, electing only "godly" politicians who parrot his views, ending abortion and sex education, and cleaning up all forms of communication so they conform to his standards.
No one is safe from the AFA's demonization. In the 1980s, Wildmon mentioned on a few occasions that he thought Hollywood was run by a Jewish cabal that sought to put programming on the air that would promote anti-Christian values and undermine the Christian culture. In 2005 he threatened the Anti-Defamation League with a loss of support for Israel by AFA members if its president Abraham Foxman didn't stop criticizing the religious right.
November 2006, the AFA had a fit when Congressman Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to be elected, was sworn in on a Quran. Since that time, the AFA, chiefly through their tool Bryan Fischer, have done everything they can to convince Americans that all Muslims are evil and out to destroy America. Fischer has even gone so far to say that Muslim Americans should not have the same rights to free speech, assembly, and religious expression as Christians do. This is just the tip of the iceberg of Bryan Fischer's (and the AFA by proxy's) hate.
As far as money goes, the AFA has plenty of it and they don't mind using it to promote their absolute hatred of freedom. They spent $500,000 to pass Prop 8 in California against marriage equality. They spent $140,000 in Iowa to defeat some judges they didn't like. They spent at least $125,000 in Mississippi to promote the Personhood Amendment/Yeson26 campaign. And they also funneled money to Texas for Rick Perry's ridiculous prayer rally.
Although Donald Wildmon has stepped down from the leadership of the AFA, his son Tim runs it now as president. Nevertheless, Bryan Fischer appears to be the most public face and certainly the loudest voice of the AFA. It's a well-documented fact that the organization has suffered from and still suffers from a strict, authoritarian management style (probably driven by ego mania on the part of its leaders) and that working there is not very "comfortable." Employees have been criticized, chastised, and censored with no regards to their feelings or situations. They are generally not allowed to question organization leadership and they are expected to play fast and loose with the facts in order to further vilify AFA's opponents. The organization is believed to have at least loose ties to some racist organizations such as the American Renaissance magazine and FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform). But regardless of which group the AFA is targeting for their bile, you can always be sure that their barbs will be wrapped in the American flag and delivered in the name of God and the family.
So, to wrap up, the AFA has been in existence under one name or another for about 35 years. It's primary goals are to censor American thought, speech, and media and to control American government through the merge of (their particular) church and state. If you boil all this down, you get one overarching theme: these people hate freedom and they don't want you to have any AT ALL.
As I have said before, the AFA has been working to undermine our freedom and spread their hatred almost as long as I've been alive. There is no way I could possibly list everything they have done here but I've given you a good start. I will write more in the coming weeks to try to zero in on what they've done and what they are doing. If you are interested, please be sure to check out our weekly podcast which will always contain an AFA Watch segment.
If you'd like to strike back at the AFA, please visit the blog every day for our Carrotmob list on the right section of the screen. These are stores that the AFA is boycotting. We don't ask you to necessarily shop at these stores (though that would be nice if you wish to) but we hope you'll find a way to contact them and let them know that the AFA's stranglehold on this country is about to end. It's time for Mississippi to "take out the trash" so I hope you'll help us however you can and stay tuned!
*Although the referenced article says that Wildmon moved to Tupelo in 1977, sources below say that he was already in town. I have reason to believe this is true.
Great piece but there is one inaccuracy, right at the beginning. Daddy Don did not move to Tupelo to begin National Federation for Decency. He was already here pastoring a church when the idea was hatched.
ReplyDeleteThey actually lived in Saltillo, the next town north of Tupelo, where I live now. Tiny Tim still lives here -- few people know where and I'm not one of them -- but I don't know where Daddy Don lives.
The aunt of a good friend was friends with Mrs. Daddy Don and was sitting in the Wildmon kitchen drinking coffee with her when Daddy Don burst into the room making this statement: "We cannot afford to live how we want on a Methodist minister's salary but I think I've come up with a solution."
Thus was born NFD, later AFA. It always has been and always will be about money.
I have been observing AFA for years (and commenting in the Tupelo paper about their agenda of repression). From what I have witnessed, the organization is losing support, hence the push for boycotts and some of the other drivel they post in their Action Alerts, to which I am a subscriber.
ReplyDeleteI suggest you go to their site -- afa.net -- and subscribe to it. There are no questions asked and no form to fill out, one of the reasons there are so many subscribers -- it's easy so why not subscribe?
Every alert comes with an item or items they have for sale and a pitch for donations. Money, as I said in my last post, is what they want more than anything.
Clarification at the bottom because I think you are right. I also think you're right about the money. What I cannot understand is why people would give this group money so that they can work to take away everyone's rights.
ReplyDeleteI tune in to listen to AFA radio broadcast, just to hear what they are up to. They are pro-family and anti-everybody else. To sum up everything they believe: President Obama is the anti-Christ, the homosexuals are trying to convert your children and take over America, and there is a War on Christmas! It is funny at times to hear them distort history and science facts to fit their agenda. At other times it infuriates me to listen to the garbage Brian Fischer spews. What a self-righteous BIGOT!!
ReplyDeleteYep, they are "pro-family" as long as your family looks just like theirs.
ReplyDeleteOn October 10th 2011 The Tupelo Unitarian Universalist congregation (33 members) sponsored a pro LGBT Rights Rally at the Link Centre. You would have thought we were a horde of Saracens attacking the very pillars of Christianity. The AFA did everything they could to prevent our rally from happening, including pressuring members of the Link Centre Board to withdraw permission for our use of the facility. They also called on their pulpit lackeys to condemn us from pulpits, caused one church to deny supporting us and generally did their best to deny our rights to free speech. I am grateful to the majority of the Link Centre Board of Directors and to the CREATE Foundation and the NE MS Daily Journal for their refusal to submit to the will of this next of bigots. I was proud to have the Southern Poverty Law Center's Chief Investigator at our rally to present a new report on the Hate Mongering activities of AFA's Bryan Fischer.
ReplyDeleteCrusader, I used to be a member of the Tupelo congregation and I wish I could have been with you all on that day. I'm so glad you stood up to that bunch. We definitely need to see more moderate/liberal religious groups fighting the good fight. It would be much more difficult for the AFA to claim the high ground if all the other churches were united in the goals of kindness, justice, and equality.
ReplyDelete