Edward Reed Fields
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Edward Reed Fields (born September 30, 1932) is an American
white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
and
anti-Semite Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
.


Biography

Fields was born in 1932 in
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, and moved at an early age to
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, where he graduated from Catholic school. During this time he became active in far-right politics, and associated himself with the Black Front, a local
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
organization, serving as a recruiter. Fields attended law school in Atlanta, but dropped out in 1953. Later, he attended the
Palmer College of Chiropractic Palmer College of Chiropractic is a Private college, private Chiropractic education, chiropractic college with its main campus in Davenport, Iowa. It was established in 1897 by Daniel David Palmer and was the first school of chiropractic in th ...
and graduated in 1957. Fields began practice as a
chiropractor Chiropractic () is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of physical disorder, mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the vertebral column, spine. It is based on sever ...
, although this occupation was soon overshadowed by his political activity. Fields was active in several white supremacist political organizations, joining the Columbians, an anti-black and anti-Semitic group, in high school, and joining J. B. Stoner's Christian Anti-Jewish Party in 1952; he later served as its Executive Director. He was also a member of the American Anti-Communist Society in 1950 and 1951. In 1958, Fields founded the
National States' Rights Party The National States' Rights Party was a white supremacist political party that briefly played a minor role in the politics of the United States. Foundation Founded in 1958 in Knoxville, Tennessee, by Edward Reed Fields, a 26-year-old chiropra ...
, which advocated
racial segregation Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...
and white supremacy; he served as its National Director while Stoner served as its National Chairman. Fields edited the party's newspaper, ''The Thunderbolt''. During this time period, he frequently wrote to print publications detailing his beliefs, for instance in 1969 a letter by Fields was published in ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'', alleging, "we will never have law and order in America until all Negroes are deported back to Africa and completely removed from this nation that was founded and built by the great white race." Fields and the National States' Rights Party in 1963 were enlisted by Alabama Gov.
George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...
and state public safety chief Albert Lingo to create pretexts that Wallace used to order closed public schools that were slated for integration and to deploy state troopers—over the objections of local authorities—in communities otherwise determined to comply with federal court orders to desegregate. On December 27, 1963, Fields was brought to the
United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security tasked with conducting criminal investigations and providing protection to American political leaders, thei ...
's attention as a possible threat against protected individuals. This was divulged as part of the John Fitzgerald Kennedy's assassination file release by the
National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...
in 2017. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
(FBI) considered that Fields was "one step removed from being insane." In 1964,
American Nazi Party The American Nazi Party (ANP) is an American neo-Nazi Political parties in the United States, political party founded by George Lincoln Rockwell in 1959. In Rockwell's time, it was headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It was renamed the Natio ...
leader
George Lincoln Rockwell George Lincoln Rockwell (March 9, 1918 – August 25, 1967) was an American neo-Nazi activist who founded the American Nazi Party (ANP) and became one of the most notorious white supremacists in the United States until his murder in 1967. His b ...
informed the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
that Fields had told him that a group of right-wing former U.S. military officers, allegedly including
John G. Crommelin Rear Admiral John Geraerdt Crommelin Jr. (2 October 1902 – 2 November 1996) was a prominent American naval officer and later a frequent political candidate who championed white supremacy. Early life and naval career Born in Montgomery, Ala ...
,
William Potter Gale William Potter Gale (November 20, 1916 – April 28, 1988) was an American political activist who was involved with several white supremacist groups, including Christian Identity and the Posse Comitatus. He had connections to the Church of Jesus ...
, and
Pedro del Valle Pedro Augusto del Valle (August 28, 1893 – April 28, 1978) was a United States Marine Corps officer who became the first Hispanic to reach the rank of lieutenant general. His military career included service in World War I, the Banana Wars, ...
, were conspiring to overthrow the U.S. government. Fields opposed the plot and told Rockwell that he was doing everything he could to dissuade those involved. However, Rockwell said he had no choice but to report the conspiracy, fearing that it would cause irreparable damage to the far-right cause in the United States. In 1976, following Alabama Attorney General
Bill Baxley William Joseph Baxley II (born June 27, 1941), is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and attorney from Dothan, Alabama. In 1964, Baxley graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in Tuscaloosa, Alaba ...
's opening of prosecution against
Robert Edward Chambliss Robert Edward Chambliss (January 14, 1904 – October 29, 1985), also known as "Dynamite Bob", was a white supremacist terrorist convicted in 1977 of murder for his role as conspirator in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963. A member o ...
, who was one of the bombers of the
16th Street Baptist Church The 16th Street Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. In 1963, the church was bombed by Ku Klux Klan members. The bombing killed four young girls in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. The church is stil ...
in Birmingham, Fields wrote a letter to Baxley, referring to him as an "honorary nigger" and threatening to assassinate him. Baxley responded with his own letter the following day, telling Fields, "My response to your letter of February 19, 1976, is - kiss my ass." Following J. B. Stoner's imprisonment for his involvement in the 1958
Bethel Baptist Church Bethel Baptist Church may refer to: United Kingdom * Bethel Chapel Guildford, Surrey * Bethel Baptist Chapel, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire * Bethel Strict Baptist Chapel, Robertsbridge, East Sussex United States * Bethel Baptist Church (Birmingham ...
bombing, Fields lost the trust of many party members, largely due to his increasing activity with the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
and decreasing involvement with the party, and was expelled from the party in August 1983. He continued publishing ''The Thunderbolt'', but changed the newspaper's name to ''The Truth At Last''. Fields founded the white supremacist America First Party in 1993, and spoke at the
Populist Party Populist Party may refer to: Asian and European political parties and movements *Croatian Popular Party (1919), a Croatian right-wing party also known as Croatian Populist Party * Indonesian National Populist Fortress Party, an Indonesian populist ...
's 1994 convention.Profile of Edward Fields
from Anti-Defamation League
Fields attended the 2001 funeral of Klansman
Byron De La Beckwith Byron De La Beckwith Jr. (November 9, 1920 – January 21, 2001) was an American white supremacist and member of the Ku Klux Klan who murdered civil rights leader Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963 in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1964, he was tried tw ...
, who murdered civil rights activist
Medgar Evers Medgar Wiley Evers (; July 2, 1925June 12, 1963) was an American civil rights activist and soldier who was the NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi. Evers, a United States Army veteran who served in World War II, was engaged in efforts ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Edward Reed 1932 births Living people Neo-Nazi politicians in the United States 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) American chiropractors American Holocaust deniers American Ku Klux Klan members People from Atlanta Activists from Chicago People from Marietta, Georgia Palmer College of Chiropractic alumni National States' Rights Party politicians