Center for Democratic Renewal

THE CENTER FOR DEMOCRATIC Renewal (CDR) is a multiracial organization that is intended to advance a vision of a democratic, diverse, and just society that is free from racism and bigotry. It was established in 1979 as the Anti-Klan Network, which united more than 60 smaller organizations in the struggle against resurgent racist violence in the United States. Its founders were the Reverend C.T. Vivian and southern rights activist Anne Braden. The CDR works closely with a wide range of civil and religious organizations in collecting data and publishing and promoting reports aimed at combating racism, bigotry, and white supremacy. Central to this effort has been When Hate Groups Come to Town: A Manual of Effective Community Responses, which documents practical steps that can be taken to resist racists. The CDR is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Recent projects pursued by the CDR include an initiative to enable released felons to be eligible to vote and continued efforts to combat the burning of African-American churches. Inevitably, people with various types of political motivation have sought to besmirch the reputation of the CDR, claiming that its research has been falsified, is itself politically motivated, and is even a hoax. Nevertheless, the arson attacks on African-American churches continue and so too do attempts by white supremacists to instigate racial hatred. The debate as to where acceptable political beliefs shade into unacceptable bigotry is still being contested.

In the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, new controls have been introduced to regulate movement of people into and within the United States. This includes the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System. The CDR has opposed this scheme and argued, “This program is another in a series of moves to criminalize immigrants, particularly those from Muslim countries, and to promote a climate of fear, division, and repression during the United States’ perpetual ‘war on terror.’ This system, used in conjunction with a soon to be broadened USA-Patriot Act, is leading to what many are calling a ‘new totalitarianism.’”

In the political climate on the United States under the George W. Bush administration, this form of campaigning is maligned as unpatriotic and unacceptable. As the locus of acceptable political debate has been moved to the right, therefore, social campaigners such as the CDR have found itself recategorized in much of the mainstream media as extremists. Nevertheless the CDR continues to promote research and advocacy concerned with such issues as anti-immigrant vigilantism and the need to broaden and strengthen antihate crime legislation, and monitors far right white supremacist and neoconfederate activity.