BARBARA COE (DECEASED)

December 8, 2001 was a busy day for fascists. In Philly, police attacked a rally to support Mumia Abu-Jamal, injuring some ralliers. In Anaheim, California, the California Coalition for Immigration Reform and American Patrol, two rabidly anti-Hispanic organizations, clashed with counter-demonstrators to their "Defend our Homeland" Rally outside City Hall. The CCIR is headed up by Barbara Coe, and this group played a leading role in California's Proposition 187 as well as maintaining alliances in both mainstream politics and white supremacist circles. Given this attack, as well as an attack on her home a few weeks later, it seems some folks are getting damned sick of her.

When we began this entry we had just one question: Why in the hell did it take so long to do this on her? For that we apologize, because this she and her contemporary, Voices of Citizens Together's Glenn Spencer, are way too influential to ignore. According to the Center for New Community, Coe has personally unleashed numerous venomous bigoted attacks on Latinos, blaming them for ills ranging from pollution to disease to destruction of the education system. For example, she told the Washington Times, "Are we shocked by the demands that Latinos be given instant citizenship privileges... These are the same legal and illegal immigrants who bleed our welfare and medical care programs dry for benefits that citizens are denied, destroy our educational system, and laugh at our judicial system while they grab their welfare checks with one hand, deal drugs with the other, and their gangs savagely murder our citizens." (Washington Times, October 13, 1996, reprinted in 9*1*1, October, 1996)

Coe also supports the stupid notion bandied about among white supremacists of a "Reconquista." This is a theory that suggests that Hispanics are trying to reclaim the Southwestern US for Mexico via immigration. Coe outlines this theory as follows:

Now with links to the white supremacist movement and mainstream politics, guess which group in particular group has their hand in Coe's dealings? Enter the Council of Conservative Citizens! The Center for New Community notes that in December 1995, Coe and another CCIR leader, Stan Hess, appeared a Birmingham conference of the white supremacist group. Coe also wrote a cover story for the Fall 1996 issue of the Citizens Informeralong with longtime C of CC leader Earl Holt. The article described pro-immigrant demonstrators as "cockroaches" and noted, "many Americans opposed to current U.S. immigration policy cite the perception that they have become 'second class citizens' in their own country."

The Center also notes that three years later, Coe was again in Alabama for a rally in Cullman. Hess was arrested with Alabama anti-immigrant activists James Floyd and William Burchfield, former state leader for Thom Robb's National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, after the three burned a Mexican flag, a United Nations flag and a flag bearing a hammer and sickle. One month later, in its newsletter, 9*1 *1, CCIR praised Floyd and Burchfield, dubbing them, "patriots of the highest caliber who are seeing their state, Birmingham & their own home town of Cullman being destroyed by the deluge of illegal aliens who are being imported to work for the 'cheap labor' poultry corporations."

Three months later. Burchfield was group leader of Alabama Christians for Immigration Reform, and that they were a member group of CCIR. "Having met many of the people during our recent trip to Cullman, Alabama, it was apparent they are true loyal American patriots who will not stand idly by and allow the 'immigration invasion' to destroy THEIR state!" The CCIR announcement read.

Coe later involved herself in the Minuteman Project in 2005 becoming a board member, and would later be a part of infighting that sought to fire Jim Gilchrist for mismanagement. After she resigned from the board in 2007, Barb went off the radar for a number of years, even as the immigration issue heated up more and more. Of course, with the first black president in office, it wasn't like she was laying low. She joined the ranks of the pathological Obama haters, as noted by her response to Obama taking out Osama bin Laden:

"HE LIES! We hope, we pray that you did NOT believe him. OBAMA is a proven, radical pro-Islamic Muslim BUT will do/say ANYTHING to get re-elected. OBAMA has illustrated that he complies with Sharia Law - which demands Misleading or Lying (TAQIYYA) to promote the Koran's mandate to "torture, kill ALL non-Muslim 'infidels'. DUMP OBAMA (and his fellow-TRAITORS) or DIE! YOUR CALL!"

There might have been something to that, however. On Aug. 31, 2013, about nine and a half months after Obama was not dumped but in fact reelected, Barbara Coe died of lung cancer at her home at the age of 79. Now sadly because she fell off our radar at the time (read: we didn't give a shit about her anymore), we didn't do our regular Rot in Hell "tribute" to her. Still, we don't think we could beat the celebratory sendoff that OC Weekly did for her at the time, where they note, "The world is a far-better place with Babs in Hell. And, yes: Coe is in hell because there's no way she would ever want to be in heaven, the domain of that swarthy illegal alien savage named Jesús."