Hardwick Township unity march

Demonstrators march in support of a family targeted by a cross-burning in 2008 in Hardwick Township.

(Express-Times File Photo)

Hundreds of thousands of Americans descended upon the nation's capital this weekend to celebrate a milestone anniversary of the March on Washington, a watershed moment in civil rights history.

But still, 50 years later, the number of hate groups around the country continues to rise and New Jersey finds itself among the states hosting the most active groups in the country, according to one civil rights organization.

The Southern Poverty Law Center reports New Jersey is home to 51 hate groups, which includes 11 black separatist groups. That's the fifth-highest of any state in the country and includes two groups with chapters in Hunterdon County.

Pennsylvania is home to 35 active groups, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The Montgomery, Ala.-based center records only groups that are active, meaning they have engaged in criminal acts, host meetings or rallies and publish material beyond that of maintaining a website.

Daryle Lamont Jenkins is spokesman and founder of the Philadelphia-based One People's Project, a civil liberties group that also tracks the activities of hate groups. Jenkins said it was not surprising to see New Jersey among the leaders in the center's count of hate groups.

"There is a lot more activity going on with hate groups in the area," he said.

Charles Boddy, president of the Warren and Sussex counties branch of the NAACP, says he believes the rise of such groups, both in New Jersey and around the nation, can be attributed to a several factors, including the election of President Barack Obama and changing racial demographics.

"When you look at the change in demographics in regards to the majority in this country, there is a real fear out there regarding that," he said. "That is a breeding ground for hate groups."

Operating locally

Two of those reported groups -- the Aryan Terror Brigade and National Socialist Movement -- field chapters in Flemington and Holland Township, respectively, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The Aryan Terror Brigade was thrust into the public eye again this month after two purported members were sentenced in connection with a bias attack in Sayreville, N.J.

But Flemington's ties to the group reportedly run much deeper than just hosting a chapter. According to One People's Project, the national neo-Nazi group was founded by borough native and self-proclaimed white separatist Joshua Steever.

Jenkins said that for the most part, Steever, who is jailed in Middlesex County on charges of making terroristic threats, and the group don't appear to be politically active and are limited mostly to private gatherings and Internet postings.

"There hasn't been a lot of political activity on the part of any of these groups," he said. "It's kind of like-minded individuals getting together and hanging out."

Still, their presence in Flemington has not been lost on authorities.

"We are aware of their presence and we monitor them and any other groups for illegal activities," Hunterdon County Prosecutor Anthony Kearns III said last week.

Another Hunterdon County native and purported member of the National Socialist Movement, Heath Campbell, gained publicity in 2008 after a ShopRite in Greenwich Township refused to decorate a birthday cake for his son, Adolf Hitler Campbell, because of the boy's name. Since then, Campbell has publicly declared himself a neo-Nazi, going so far as to appear at a family court hearing in Flemington in a full Nazi uniform.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Campbell is part of a group that openly idolizes Adolf Hitler and has become known for carefully staged protests carried out in uniforms and swastika armbands. Campbell did not return a call for comment.

Community impac

t

While his township has received national attention due to Campbell and his outspoken ways, Holland Township Mayor Dan Bush said he doesn't believe the small community has been, or should be, negatively affected by its highly publicized resident.

"The township has always welcomed diversity," Bush wrote in an email. "If there are some in the community who advocate extreme views, that should not reflect in any way on the fine, community-spirited citizens of this wonderful community who fulfill the American dream by working hard for themselves and their community."

But for some, incidents of potential bias can't be avoided. In Lebanon Township, police continue to investigate what they said appears to be a bias incident. Someone earlier this month painted a swastika and cult symbols on a mailbox.

While Boddy said he has not heard reports of bias incidents taking place recently in Warren County, the community has seen its share of incidents.

In 2008, a cross was burned on the lawn of a Hardwick Township family that had supported Obama, then president-elect, during the election. Years earlier, in 1991, white-robed members of the Ku Klux Klan lined Route 31 in Oxford Township while a group of Klansmen staged a similar event in Bangor.

But Jenkins said that now many groups are abandoning such outward expression, opting instead for a more behind-the-scenes political approach.

"They have to play their cards a little differently in this day and age and that's what some are trying to do," he said. "The people who really try to downplay what they are really involved in and get involved in political process for real -- those are the ones that we have to be concerned about."