Wesley A. Swift (September 6, 1913 – October 8, 1970) was a minister from

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

who was known for his

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

views and was the central figure in Christian Identity from the 1940s until his death in 1970.

Early life and influences

Wesley Albert Swift was born in New Jersey on September 6, 1913, the son of R.C. Swift, a methodist minister who pastored a church on Long Island, New York. Raised as a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

, Swift converted to

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movementAngelus Temple,

Aimee Semple McPherson Aimee Elizabeth Semple McPherson (née Kennedy; October 9, 1890 – September 27, 1944), also known as Sister Aimee or Sister, was a Canadian Pentecostal evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s,Obituary '' Variety'', Octobe ...

's Pentecostal Foursquare Church, during the 1930s. Swift later served as a minister at the Angelus Temple during the 1930s and 1940s. Swift's wife, Genevieve, told interviewers that he was introduced to British Israelism by Gerald Burton Winrod, a Nazi and evangelist from Kansas, who was a speaker at Angelus Temple. Swift was a student of Rev. Philip Monson's Kingdom Bible School during the 1930s; Monson taught British Israelism and some of the racial teachings which Swift would later reformulate into Christian Identity theology. Swift was also exposed to Charles Parham's British Israel teachings at the Angelus Temple. During the 1930s and 1940s, Swift became a leader of the local British Israel community, serving as president of the Anglo-Saxon Christian society, leader of the Great Pyramid Club, and leader of the Anglo-Saxon Bible Study Group at Angelus Temple. In the mid-1940s, Swift emerged as the best known advocate of Christian Identity. In a December 1932 ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' news story, it was reported that Swift foiled an attempt to kidnap his wife. Swift fired shots at the kidnappers and the family escaped into the Angelus Temple to evade their persuers.

Christian Identity and White Supremacy

British Israel leader

In the 1940s, Swift founded his own church, Anglo-Saxon Christian Congregation, which he renamed the

Church of Jesus Christ Christian Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

in 1957. The church's website now states that "Wesley Swift is considered the single most significant figure in the early years of the Christian Identity movement in the United States." Most sources give 1948 as the year in which Swift incorporated his church, but one source reported 1946.

Michael Barkun __NOTOC__ Michael Barkun (born April 8, 1938) is an American academic who serves as Professor Emeritus of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, specializing in political and religious ext ...

described Swift as the "central figure" in Christian Identity between the 1940s and his 1970 death.

Ku Klux Klan

In 1946, while living in Lancaster, California, Swift was taken in for questioning by police in connection to a cross burning near San Bernardino. Swift denied being involved in the klan at the time. Swift was involved in the revival of a branch of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Ca ...

in California during the mid-1940s, helping to establish the short lived California Klan. Roy Elonzo Davis and William Upshaw were in California at the time and they assisted in fundraising efforts for the Klan. Swift was responsible for the formation of the

Antelope Valley The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and t ...

chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Swift worked closely with

Gerald L.K. Smith Gerald Lyman Kenneth Smith (February 27, 1898 – April 15, 1976) was an American clergyman, politician and organizer known for his populist and far-right demagoguery. A leader of the populist Share Our Wealth movement during the Great Depres ...

, an American Nazi sympathizer and politician from the 1940s. Wesley Swift was billed as a speaker at the

Little Rock Nine The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from enterin ...

protests, but did not speak and instead served as one of the hooded klansmen escorting and protecting Gerald Smith during one of his speeches.

Christian Identity pioneer

"Swift pioneered a particularly insidious form" of racism which became "the most distinctive element" of Christian Identity theology: that non-whites and Jews are the "biological offspring" of Satan (the serpent). Swift combined the two-seed-line teaching of British Israelism with

Russel Kelso Carter Russel Kelso Carter (November 18, 1849 - August 23, 1928) was an American Christian minister, professor, and songwriter. Biography Russel Kelso Carter was born in Baltimore, Maryland on November 18, 1849. He attended the Pennsylvania Military A ...

's theory about the sexual nature of Eve's sin in the garden of Eden. He concluded that "the violation of Divine law by Lucifer" was caused by "interbreeding" of "the peoples of earth". He insisted the black, brown, yellow and red races were all the products of interbreeding with Cain's descendants. Swift believed "that the only descendants of Adam are the white men" ... "and the rest of the beings represent the agents of evil because of their direct link with the fallen angels." The teaching also associated the offspring of Satan (the serpent) "with the activities of the Catholic Church and the pope". The ideology taught that descendants of the serpent could be identified genetically, claiming that "the nature of the seed of the serpent are as fixed as the skin of a modern Ethiopian or the spots of a leopard", and that "what is genetically marked cannot and will not change." Swift believed "an extreme doctrine of the Calvinist double predestination, in which those predestined to salvation and those predestined to perdition can be recognized only by their racial status." Interracial marriage was an important topic to Swift. He believed races could coexist so long as segregation was maintained. He said "there isn’t anything wrong with being black, but there is something wrong when you try to mix that black species with the white man, that is a violation of God’s law, that is wrong". Swift's believed salvation was possible for all races, but that their status as lower orders of beings would always be maintained. He explained by saying, "Do not worry about these other races. You teach them to worship the right God and you set them free… He says He will go to the end of the earth and that eventually, all of these people, all of them, shall be saved and justified according to His purpose and His plan." Swift insisted that " God’s plan for the world is segregation and a preservation of Kind," and he viewed whites as the master race who would rule over all other races. Swift relied heavily on the Book of Enoch to justify his theology. The Christian Identity ideas held by Swift were viewed as extreme by some others on the far right. Swift's views were denounced by Robert W. Welch Jr., the founder of the

John Birch Society The John Birch Society (JBS) is an American right-wing political advocacy group. Founded in 1958, it is anti-communist, supports social conservatism, and is associated with ultraconservative, radical right, far-right, or libertarian ideas. ...

, but supported and financed by Birch supporter James Oviatt, for whom the James Oviatt Building is named. Swift continued to promote some classical British Israel beliefs. He viewed the United States and the Anglo-Saxon race as true descendants of Israel, saying "This great nation of ours is one of the great nations of Israel." Swift deviated from traditional British Israel thought by associating God's "divine covenant" with a race, rather than a nation. He also deviated from traditional British Israelism by associating the Tribe of Judah with Germans, and claiming the Jewish people were imposters; British Israelism believed the Jewish people to be Tribe of Judah. Swift believed and promoted the idea of a militarized end-of-the-world apocalypse, which would culminate in a war between the races he believed were descendants of the serpent, and the pure race he believed was descended from Adam. As a result of his beliefs, he was very active in organizing armed militia to prepare for the supposed end-of-days conflict.

Influence and legacy

Swift attracted a group of like-minded ministers who helped spread Christian Identity views. Key figures assisting Swift included Connie Lynch, a fellow KKK recruiter, Oren Petito, a neo-Nazi, and Neuman Britton. Petito was a leader in the National States' Rights Party, whose mailing address was in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

William Potter Gale William Potter Gale (1916-1988) was a political activist who was involved with several white supremacist groups, including Christian Identity and the Posse Comitatus. He was tied to the Aryan Nations, the Church of Jesus Christ–Christian, the ...

was a disciple of Swift who grew in importance in the group. The Attorney General of California named Swift as the leader in the California Rangers and the Christian Defense League, paramilitary organizations for White Supremacists, in a 1965 report. Swift spread his teachings through recorded tapes of his sermons and tracts. Swift did not create a systematic theology. Beyond his racial views, he did not offer any other significant religious views. Swift claimed his teachings to be the true successor of British Israel thought. He traced himself in a line of succession back to the earliest teachers of the ideology through his teacher, Phillip Monson, to

Howard Rand Howard Rand, also known as Howard B. Rand and Howard Benjamin Rand (June 13, 1889 – October 17, 1991) was a lawyer, inventor, and three-time candidate for Massachusetts state office on the Prohibition Party ticket, He headed the former Anglo-Sax ...

, to

C.A.L. Totten Charles Adiel Lewis Totten (February 3, 1851 – April 12, 1908) was an American military officer, a professor of military tactics, a prolific writer, and an early advocate of British Israelism. Early life Charles Totten was born in New London, ...

, to Edward Hine. Gerald Smith publicized Swift's ministry through his publications where he advertised Swift's tracts and recordings on Christian Identity topics beginning in the 1940s. Smith also assisted Swift in organizing speaking tours and conventions among the British Israel and white supremacist's communities in the 1940s and 1950s. William Branham was influenced by Swift's teachings, and re-branded elements of Christian Identity as " Serpent Seed" and spread it among his followers from 1958. Several figures associated with Swift were also key members of Branham's campaigning team. Arnold Murray, a Missouri based televangelist was ordained in the Church of Jesus Christ. Swift's ideology has influenced generations of white supremacists. By 1966, Swift had established a chain of churches in California, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Florida, Washington, and other places in the United States. In the 1990s, there were 245 reported ministers and groups in the United States, across 41 states who were promoting Christian Identity teachings he espoused. David Duke and

Tom Metzger Thomas Linton Metzger (April 9, 1938 – November 4, 2020) was an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi skinhead leader and Klansman. He founded White Aryan Resistance (WAR), a neo-nazi organization, in 1983. He was a Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux ...

were heavily influenced by Swift's teachings and were major promoters of his teachings in the 1970s and 1980s. After Swift's death, the headquarters of Swift's church was moved to Idaho and renamed

Aryan Nations Aryan Nations is a North American antisemitic, neo-Nazi, white supremacist organization that was originally based in Kootenai County, Idaho, about miles (4.4 km) north of the city of Hayden Lake. Richard Girnt Butler founded the group i ...

by his successor,

Richard Girnt Butler Richard Girnt Butler (February 23, 1918 – September 8, 2004) was an American engineer and white supremacist. After dedicating himself to the Christian Identity movement, a racialist offshoot of British Israelism, Butler founded the neo-Na ...

. Butler built on Swift's teachings to build what he called a "white bastion" in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Swift collapsed and died of a heart attack in a Mexican clinic on October 8, 1970 while waiting to receive treatment for kidney disease and diabetes.

References

Sources

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