The
Creativity Movement (formerly known as the
World Church Of The Creator), is a
white separatistWhite separatism is a separatist political movement that seeks separate economic and cultural development for white people. White separatists generally claim genetic affiliation with Anglo-Saxon cultures, Nordic cultures, or other white European cultures...
organization that advocates the
whites-onlyWhite separatism is a separatist political movement that seeks separate economic and cultural development for white people. White separatists generally claim genetic affiliation with Anglo-Saxon cultures, Nordic cultures, or other white European cultures...
religion,
Creativity. It was also a descriptive phrase used by
Ben KlassenBernard "Ben" Klassen was the founder of the ethnic nationalist and white separatist World Church of the Creator.- Early life :...
, that included all adherents of the religion. The use of the term
creator does not refer to a
deityA deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
, but rather to themselves (
white peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
). Despite the former use of the word
Church in its name, the movement is
atheisticAtheism can be either the rejection of theism,or the position that deities do not exist.In the broadest sense, it is the absence of belief in the existence of deities....
. The Creativity Movement is not affiliated with the
Creativity AllianceThe Creativity Alliance is a white separatist religious network that adheres to the teachings of the late Ben Klassen, founder of the Church Of The Creator. They are a secular religion, or diasporic network, whose primary objective is to bring forth the next evolutionary wave of White racial...
.
History
Creativity is a White Separatist religion that was founded by
Ben KlassenBernard "Ben" Klassen was the founder of the ethnic nationalist and white separatist World Church of the Creator.- Early life :...
in early 1973 under the name Church of the Creator. After Klassen's death in 1993, Creativity almost died out as a religion until the New Church of the Creator was established three years later by
Matthew F. HaleMatthew F. Hale , more commonly called Matt Hale, was the second leader of the white separatist group formerly known as the World Church of the Creator and now known as the Creativity Movement. The organizations headquarters were based in East Peoria, Illinois...
as its
Pontifex MaximusThe Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the Ancient Roman College of Pontiffs. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post...
(high priest), until his incarceration in January 2003 for plotting with the movement's head of security, Anthony Evola (an FBI informant), to murder a federal judge.
Soon after its establishment in 1996, the New Church of the Creator was renamed the World Church of the Creator (WCOTC). Hale prefixed the name with
World in an effort to symbolize the organization's global mission of attaining a "Whiter and Brighter World." The group was not a direct follow-on from Klassen's Church of the Creator. This meant that prior use was not a defense when the World Church of the Creator lost a lawsuit in 2002 brought on by an unrelated Christian organization named TE-TA-MA "Truth" Foundation which had previously
trademarkA trademark or trade mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from...
ed the name
Church of the CreatorThe Church of the Creator is an Oregon-based church founded by Rev. Dr. Grace Marama in 1969. It was originally established as Grace House Prayer Ministry and first used its present name in 1974....
. This forced yet another name change to The Creativity Movement (TCM).
Legal Issues
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, The Creativity Movement's members have been charged and convicted in over 17 acts of racial violence.
Brian Kozel, 18, a White Racial Loyalist - Creator - White Beret (security group of the movement) was killed on September 15, 1990, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After a conflict on the street with a Hispanic gang, he was shot in the back and died on the scene. The murderer was never found. Kozel is hailed as a martyr by the group.
In 1991, Harold Mansfield Jr., an African-American and decorated veteran of the
Gulf WarThe Persian Gulf War , known also as the Gulf War, the First Gulf War,or often as the Second Gulf War and by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as The Mother of all Battles, or commonly as Desert Storm, for the military response...
, was killed in a parking lot in
Neptune Beach, FloridaNeptune Beach is a city in Duval County, Florida, United States. When the majority of communities in Duval County consolidated with Jacksonville, Florida in 1968, Neptune Beach, along with Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, and Baldwin, Florida, remained quasi-independent...
by Reverend George Loeb, a Church of the Creator reverend. George Loeb was convicted of first-degree
murderMurder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
on July 29, 1992, and received a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. His wife Barbara Loeb was sentenced to one year in jail on weapons possession charges. The organization has repeatedly argued that Loeb was acting in self-defense when he committed the act.
Subsequently, the dead man's family successfully sued the organization, winning an award of
$The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
1 million in damages in March 1994. Prior to the lawsuit, Klassen sold the organization's North Carolina compound, which housed its headquarters, to Dr.
William PierceWilliam Luther Pierce III , was the leader of the white separatist National Alliance organization, and a principal ideologue of the white nationalist movement. First educated as a physicist, he later worked with George Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi Party...
, head of the National Alliance. The SPLC filed suit against Pierce for his role in what it claims was a fraudulent scheme, and won an $85,000 judgment in 1995. The amount was upheld on appeal and the money was collected prior to Pierce's death in 2002. Klassen then chose former
telemarketerTelemarketing is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits to prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent face to face or Web conferencing appointment scheduled during the call.Telemarketing can also include recorded sales...
Richard McCartyRichard McCarty may refer to:*Richard C. McCarty , American psychologist and academic*Richard E. McCarty, American biologist*Richard McCarty , United States Representative from New York...
as his successor, who moved the organization to
Niceville, FloridaNiceville is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States, located close to Eglin Air Force Base. It was previously named Boggy Bayou, but the name was changed to attract more tourists. The Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival is still held annually. The population was 11,684 at the 2000 census. The...
. Soon after appointing McCarty in the summer of 1993, Klassen committed
suicideSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
. In 1996 Hale established a new group which he led until 2003..
During the weekend of July 4, 1999, group member and fellow law student
Benjamin Nathaniel SmithBenjamin Nathaniel Smith was a spree killer who targeted members of racial and ethnic minorities in random drive-by shootings in Illinois and Indiana, USA during the weekend of July 4, 1999.- Early life :...
went on a
shooting spreeA spree killer, also known as a rampage killer, is someone who embarks on a murderous assault on his or her victims in a short time in multiple locations. The U.S...
after
Matthew F. HaleMatthew F. Hale , more commonly called Matt Hale, was the second leader of the white separatist group formerly known as the World Church of the Creator and now known as the Creativity Movement. The organizations headquarters were based in East Peoria, Illinois...
was denied a law license. Smith is viewed as a
martyrA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
by Creators.
In 2000, the
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
-based TE-TA-MA Truth Foundation filed a lawsuit against the World Church of the Creator for using the name
Church of the CreatorThe Church of the Creator is an Oregon-based church founded by Rev. Dr. Grace Marama in 1969. It was originally established as Grace House Prayer Ministry and first used its present name in 1974....
, which the Oregon group had registered as a
trademarkA trademark or trade mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from...
. Early in 2002 U.S. District Court Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow ruled in favor of the World Church of the Creator. However, this decision was appealed by TE-TA-MA, and in November 2002, in a reversal of the previous ruling, a panel of three judges in the appeals court overturned the previous decision. District Judge Lefkow then enforced the appeals court injunction in favor of TE-TA-MA; barring the use of the name by Hale's organization. In December 2002, the World Church of the Creator announced it was moving its headquarters to
Riverton, WyomingRiverton is a city in Fremont County, Wyoming, United States. It is both the largest city in the county and the largest within the historical boundaries of the Wind River Indian Reservation. The city's population was 9,310 at the 2000 census...
, in what the
Anti-Defamation LeagueThe Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States of America. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and...
claimed was an effort to avoid the court injunction barring use of the name.
On January 9, 2003 Hale was arrested and charged with attempting to direct his security chief Anthony Evola to murder Judge Lefkow. Hale was found guilty of four of the five counts (one count of solicitation of murder and three counts of obstruction of justice) on April 26, 2004 and in April 2005 was sentenced to 40 years in a Federal penitentiary.
On July 22, 2002, two followers of the organization were found guilty in
federal courtThe 94 United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
of plotting to blow up
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish and
blackThe term black people usually refers to a racial group of humans with skin colors that range from light brown to nearly black. It also has been used to categorize a number of diverse populations into a common group. Some definitions of the term include only people of relatively recent Sub Saharan...
landmarks around
BostonBoston is the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England"...
, in what prosecutors said was a scheme to spark a "
racial holy warA term originally coined by Ben Klassen and used extensively throughout his book the White Man's Bible, Racial Holy War is what the white separatist religion known as Creativity, perceives as an ongoing conflict, in which white people are united in a holy war against Jews and other...
." A federal jury deliberated for seven hours over a period of two days before convicting
Leo FeltonLeo Vincelette Felton is an American white supremacist who was convicted of bank robbery and plotting to blow up Jewish and black landmarks around Boston. He is one quarter African American. He has stated that he no longer believes wholeheartedly in the white supremacist cause, but he has not...
(the 31-year-old
mixed-raceThe terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races.-Definitions of multiraciality:While defining race is controversial and rejected by some specialists in human genetics,...
son of
civil rightsCivil and political rights are a class of rights and freedoms that protect individuals from unwarranted government action and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression....
activists) and his 22-year-old girlfriend, Erica Chase.
In August 2004, former Creator Hardy Lloyd killed his girlfriend whom he had met on an internet dating service in
Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the second largest city in the state. Its population was 334,563 at the 2000 census; by 2006, it was estimated to have fallen to 312,819. The population of the seven-county metropolitan area is...
. The act was ruled a case of self-defense by a jury on November 3, 2006. Based in Allegheny County,
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a state located in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States...
, Lloyd founded his own Church of Creativity in 2003, and declared himself Pontifex Maximus. Lloyd left Creativity in 2007.
Present Day: Due to the loss of the trademark suit by TE-TA-MA "Truth" Foundation, The Creativity Movement currently owes $450,747 in court costs, attorney's fees and fines.
Salubrious living
While not a mandatory part of church doctrine, salubrious living is greatly encouraged within the Church. The basic doctrine is laid down by Ben Klassen and Arnold DeVries in the book
Salubrious Living. The program emphasises living in accord with the "Laws of Nature", with personal cleanliness and self-mastery, with avoiding medications or drugs, and with promoting white eugenics.
Current: breakup and factionalism
Since Hale's conviction, there have been ongoing schisms within the organization, amounting to what was at one time eight independent groups. The Church of the RaHoWa (the religious arm of the White Crusaders of the RaHoWa—itself a break-away group from the Creativity Movement; the word RaHoWa is a contraction of "Racial Holy War" and a battle cry for church members) was one such group. After police raids on the homes of several of the leading members, the group broke up and the bulk of the adherents of The Church and the White Crusaders of the RaHoWa then left to either join other groups or form newer and smaller independent groups of their own.
As of 2007 Creators have divided into two ideologically opposed factions. The first has adopted the name
The Creativity Movement (also known as "Skinheads of the Racial Holy War"), and it follows the rigid organizational structure set up by Hale. It includes local, state and national leaders under the leadership of its own
Pontifex MaximusThe Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the Ancient Roman College of Pontiffs. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post...
. This group has adopted the uncompromising stance that for one to be a Creator, one must be a member of that group. Adherence to Creativity by those outside the group is not permissible. Group membership consists of two former members of Hale's Church with some new recruits. It has an outlook that is more in line with the stereotypical skinhead gangs as portrayed in Hollywood films such as
American History XAmerican History X is a 1998 American film directed by Tony Kaye. The film tells the story of two brothers, Derek Vinyard and Daniel "Danny" Vinyard of Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California...
and
Romper StomperRomper Stomper is a 1992 Australian film written and directed by Geoffrey Wright, starring Russell Crowe, Daniel Pollock, Jacqueline McKenzie and Tony Lee. The film follows the exploits and downfall of a neo-Nazi skinhead group in blue-collar suburban Melbourne...
. The group still owes thousands of dollars in fines and court costs incurred as a result of its trademark dispute with
TE-TA-MA Truth FoundationThe Church of the Creator is an Oregon-based church founded by Rev. Dr. Grace Marama in 1969. It was originally established as Grace House Prayer Ministry and first used its present name in 1974....
.
The second of the two ideologically opposed factions is known as the "
Creativity AllianceThe Creativity Alliance is a white separatist religious network that adheres to the teachings of the late Ben Klassen, founder of the Church Of The Creator. They are a secular religion, or diasporic network, whose primary objective is to bring forth the next evolutionary wave of White racial...
". It follows the loose organizational structure first proposed by
Ben KlassenBernard "Ben" Klassen was the founder of the ethnic nationalist and white separatist World Church of the Creator.- Early life :...
. This group does not consider itself an organization. It maintains that it is a group of individuals and numerous smaller groups (some of whom label themselves as local variants of the Church of Creativity) that have banded together in an alliance to promote Creativity. The group also has a policy of non-participation in the White Power social construct. It espouses the belief that for Creativity to survive as a religion, it must become accepted by mainstream society as a viable religion. In short, as opposed to The Creativity Movement, the
Creativity AllianceThe Creativity Alliance is a white separatist religious network that adheres to the teachings of the late Ben Klassen, founder of the Church Of The Creator. They are a secular religion, or diasporic network, whose primary objective is to bring forth the next evolutionary wave of White racial...
promotes the adherence of Creativity outside the confines of the group. The group as such has no formal membership or leaders. It consists of its founder and other adherents of Creativity - various individuals and groups, who sometimes refer to themselves as "independent Creators." The predominant makeup of the alliance is of former members of both Klassen's and Hale's churches along with new adherents. The group does not owe money in fines or court costs. As a legal precaution its web pages and published books stress the fact that it makes no attempt to assume or supersede the US registered trademark now owned by
TE-TA-MA Truth FoundationThe Church of the Creator is an Oregon-based church founded by Rev. Dr. Grace Marama in 1969. It was originally established as Grace House Prayer Ministry and first used its present name in 1974....
.
Due to The Creativity Movement's rigid stance that adherence to Creativity is restricted to members of its own group, neither of the two factions appears willing to reconcile.
See also
- Neo-Nazi groups of the United States
- White separatism
White separatism is a separatist political movement that seeks separate economic and cultural development for white people. White separatists generally claim genetic affiliation with Anglo-Saxon cultures, Nordic cultures, or other white European cultures...
- White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance of whites....
- Religious antisemitism
- Creativity Alliance
The Creativity Alliance is a white separatist religious network that adheres to the teachings of the late Ben Klassen, founder of the Church Of The Creator. They are a secular religion, or diasporic network, whose primary objective is to bring forth the next evolutionary wave of White racial...
External links