Laird Wilcox

Laird Maurice Wilcox is an American researcher of political fringe movements. He is the founder of the Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, housed in the Kenneth Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas.

Laird Wilcox

Early life

Wilcox was raised in a family with, as he described, "political intensity".[1] His relatives' politics ranged from socialist to membership in the far-right John Birch Society.[2] As a child he would hear heated debate to the point of name-calling, which, he said, created an early desire to understand why ideologies lead to such conflict and at times grow to greater importance than relationships with friends and family.[1] Wilcox's father was a construction accountant. His family moved frequently.[2]

Wilcox attended the University of Kansas. He joined the Students for a Democratic Society and later dropped out of college.[2]

In his teens he began to collect literature and read about radical political movements.[1] He continued to pursue this interest at the University of Kansas, and won an award for his collection of books on political movements.[1] A few years later he had accumulated roughly four file drawers of material, and the University library reached out to him with a desire to acquire a portion of his collection.[1] The library paid Wilcox $1000 in 1965 for the material that began the Wilcox Collection as it is known today.[1][3]

While living in Olathe, Kansas, he worked as carpenter, investigator and writer.[4]

Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements

The Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, in the Kansas Collection of Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, includes coverage of "more than 10,000 individuals and organizations. The bulk of the collection covers 1960 to the present and comprises nearly 10,000 books, pamphlets and periodicals, 800 audio tapes, 73 feet (22 m) of manuscript materials and more than 100,000 pieces of ephemera including flyers, brochures, mailings, clippings and bumper stickers."[5] From then through at least 1992, Wilcox continued sending two or three boxes each month to add to the collection.[2] In 1986 Reason magazine described the collection as among the largest archives of extremist material.[6]

Criticism of watchdog groups

In his 1997 self-published book, The Watchdogs, Wilcox criticized an "industry" of such groups "whose identity and livelihood depend upon growth and expansion of their particular kind of victimization".[7] He wrote that they use "links and ties" to imply connections between individuals and groups, and by exaggerating their size and danger amount to "a massive extortion racket."

He named groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Anti-Defamation League, Political Research Associates, and the Center for Democratic Renewal. Mark Potok of Southern Poverty Law Center told a reporter that Wilcox "had an ax to grind for a great many years" and engaged in name calling against others doing anti-racist work. Chip Berlet of Political Research Associates told a reporter that "Laird Wilcox is not an accurate or ethical reporter… He simply can't tolerate people who are his competition in this field."[8]

Timothy Christanfeld's review for the Library Journal found the book had details and research that were meaningful and useful, while criticizing the quality of the history and analysis and the excessive inclusion of tangential materials.[9] Historian George Michael noted Wilcox's collection of memoranda indicating a close working relationship between the Anti-Defamation League and the FBI.[10]

Views

In 1968, Wilcox signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.[11]

He has been a member of the American Civil Liberties Union since 1961 and a member of Amnesty International since 1970.

Awards

In 1989, Wilcox received the Kansas City Area Archivists Award of Excellence for his role in founding and maintaining the Wilcox Collection.[12] In 1993, he was awarded the Myers Center Award for the Study of Human Rights in the United States. In 1994, he was awarded the Freedom of Information Award of the Kansas Library Association/SIRS "for outstanding commitment to intellectual freedom".

In 1995, he received the Mencken Award of the Free Press Association "for outstanding journalism in defense of liberty". In 2005, the University of Kansas honored Wilcox, then 63, in the Spencer library's North Gallery for his role in founding the Wilcox Collection.[4]

Published works

Periodicals
  • Guide to the American Right (annual). Kansas City: Editorial Research Service, 1984-.[13]

Books
  • Nazis, Communists, Klansmen, and Others on the Fringe, with John George. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1992. ISBN 0879756802 / ISBN 978-0879756802.
  • Crying Wolf: Hate Crime Hoaxes in America, 25th Anniversary Edition, 1994-2019. Olathe, KS: Editorial Research Service, 1994. ISBN 0933592787.[14]
  • Be Reasonable: Selected Quotations for Inquiring Minds, with John George. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1995. ISBN 0879758678.
  • American Extremists: Militias, Supremacists, Klansmen, Communists & Others. with John George. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1996. ISBN 1573920584 / ISBN 978-1573920582.[15]
  • The Watchdogs: A Close Look At Anti-Racist "Watchdog" Groups. Self-published, 1997. ISBN 978-09-33592-96-4.

References
  1. "The Wilcox Collection." Laird briefly discusses the history of his collection. Video interview created by Laird's daughter Carrie Wilcox and uploaded to YouTube on March 22, 2009.
  2. "Campus Journal; Far Left and Far Right Meet in a Midwest Library". The New York Times. Vol. 141. August 12, 1992. p. B6.
  3. "Wilcox Collection". spencer.lib.ku.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  4. KU News Release article Wilcox Collection of political literature to celebrate 40 years at KU. University of Kansas. October 12, 2005.
  5. University of Kansas Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas
  6. Cline, Andy (July 1986). "Meet Laird Wilcox". Reason. Vol. 18, no. 3. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021.
  7. The Watchdogs, self-published through "Editorial Research Service," available at lairdwilcox.com (ISBN 0-933592-89-2)
  8. McCain, Robert Stacy. "Researcher Says 'Watchdogs' Exaggerate Hate Group Threat", The Washington Times, May 9, 2000.
  9. Christenfeld, Timothy (November 15, 1992). "Nazis, Communists, Klansmen and Others on the Fringe [book review]". Library Journal . 117 (19): 89. ISSN 0363-0277.
  10. Michael, George (2003). Confronting right-wing extremism and terrorism in the USA. London: Routledge. p. 245. ISBN 9780415315005.
  11. "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" January 30, 1968 New York Post
  12. KCAA Award of Excellence Recipient.
  13. Kinney, Jay. Review of Guide to the American Right by Laird Wilcox. Whole Earth Review, No. 63, Summer 1989, p. 129.
  14. The text of 1994 edition is also available online.
  15. Review of American Extremists: Militias, Supremacists, Klansmen, Communists & Others by Laird Wilcox and John George. Nova Religio, Vol. 2, No. 1, October 1, 1998; 2 (1), pp. 147–148. doi:10.1525/nr.1998.2.1.147.

Further reading
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