David Horowitz Freedom Center

David Horowitz Freedom Center
Founded 1988
Founder David Horowitz
Peter Collier
Type Conservative think-tank
95-4194642
Focus Media
Location
Coordinates 34°09′05″N 118°27′16″W / 34.1514°N 118.4544°W / 34.1514; -118.4544
Area served
United States
Product FrontPage Magazine
Key people
 David Horowitz, Founder & CEO
Peter Collier, Vice President of Publications
Michael Finch, President
Revenue (2013)
$7,095,015[2]
Website www.horowitzfreedomcenter.org
Formerly called
 Center for the Study of Popular Culture

The David Horowitz Freedom Center, formerly the Center for the Study of Popular Culture (CSPC), is a conservative[3][4][5] foundation founded in 1988 by political activist David Horowitz and his long-time collaborator Peter Collier. It was established with funding from groups including the Olin Foundation, the Bradley Foundation and the Sarah Scaife Foundation. It runs several websites and blogs, including FrontPage Magazine, Students for Academic Freedom and Jihad Watch.

Change of name

In July 2006 the center changed its name from the Center for the Study of Popular Culture (CSPC), giving the following explanation:

'We took this action for two reasons,' said Board Chairman Jess Morgan. 'First, when the Center began, just as the Cold War was ending, we thought that the significant issue of our time would be the political radicalization of popular culture. The culture is still a battleground, but after 9/11, it is clear that freedom itself was under assault from the new totalitarianism of terror. Secondly, David Horowitz, the Center's founder, has become increasingly identified with issues of freedom at home and abroad. We wanted to honor him and also support the efforts he has undertaken. The name change does this and rededicates us to the mission at hand.'[6]

Purpose and scope

The original intention of the CSPC was to establish a foothold in Hollywood, California. It serves as a platform for conservative speakers and debates between conservative and liberal speakers.

In 2003 Horowitz expanded the scope of the CSPC to include monitoring what CSPC views as an ingrained hostility towards conservative scholarship and ideas within academia. He established Students for Academic Freedom to further that goal.

DHFC is a 501(c)(3) charity. In 2005 it had revenues of $4.9 million, expenses of $4.0 million, 8.4% of which was $336,000 compensation for David Horowitz.[1] For 2008 the DHFC reported on IRS Form 990 revenues of $5,466,103 and expenses of $5,994,547 with total compensation to David Horowitz of $480,162 and to vice-president Peter Collier of $228,744.[7]

Ongoing programs

The Center has the following ongoing programs.[8]

Heterodoxy magazine

Heterodoxy was a newsmagazine published in a tabloid format by the center, edited by David Horowitz and Peter Collier. Its focus was said to be on exposing the excesses of "political correctness" on college and university campuses across the United States.[19]

Funding of Congressional travel

Between July 2000 and February 2006, the center (under its old name) was the sponsor of 25 trips by U.S. Senators and Representatives, all Republicans, to six different events. Total expenditures were about $43,000.[20]

Criticism

The Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch blog has described it as a far-right organization.[21]

Chip Berlet, writing for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) accused Horowitz of blaming slavery on "'black Africans ... abetted by dark-skinned Arabs'" and of "attack[ing] minority 'demands for special treatment' as 'only necessary because some blacks can't seem to locate the ladder of opportunity within reach of others,' rejecting the idea that they could be the victims of lingering racism."[22] Responding with an open letter to Morris Dees, president of the SPLC, Horowitz stated that his reminder that the slaves transported to America were bought from African and Arab slavers was a response to demands that only whites pay blacks reparations, not to hold Africans and Arabs solely responsible for slavery, and that the statement that he had denied lingering racism was "a calculated and carefully constructed lie." The letter said that Berlet's work was "so tendentious, so filled with transparent misrepresentations and smears that if you continue to post the report you will create for your Southern Poverty Law Center a well-earned reputation as a hate group itself."[23] The SPLC replied that they stood by the accuracy of the report,[24] and subsequent critical pieces on Berlet and the SPLC have been featured on Horowitz's website and personal blog.[25][26]

In its 2011 report, "Fear Incorporated: the Roots of the Islamophobia Network in the United States"[27] the Center for American Progress cited Horowitz as a prominent figure instrumental in demonizing Islam and spreading fear about an Islamic takeover of Western society. Horowitz's response was that the Center had "joined the Muslim Brotherhood".[28]

The Anti-Defamation League writes that Horowitz sponsors a college campus project that promotes anti-Muslim views and arranges events with anti-Muslim activists.[29] The DHFC was also a sponsor of the May 3, 2015 "Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest" in Garland, TX, which resulted in two enraged Muslim attackers being shot by a Garland Police SWAT team. [30]

References

  1. 1 2 "Charity Navigator Rating – The David Horowitz Freedom Center". Charitynavigator.org. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  2. ↑ Organizational Profile – National Center for Charitable Statistics (Urban Institute)
  3. ↑ Maureen Ryan. The Other Side of Grief: The Home Front and the Aftermath in American Narratives of the Vietnam (Culture, Politics, and the Cold War Culture, Politics, and t). Univ. of Massachusetts Press;. p. 213. the conservative David Horowitz Freedom Center
  4. ↑ Asma Khalid (October 20, 2007). "Horowitz campus effort targets Islamic ‘fanatics’". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  5. ↑ Michael Krebs (Dec 23, 2010). "Controversy in Seattle over anti-Israel outdoor advertisements". DigitalJournal.com. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  6. ↑ "David Horowitz Freedom Center". Horowitzfreedomcenter.org. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  7. ↑ 2008 IRS Form 990
  8. ↑ Archived June 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ "FrontPage Magazine". Frontpagemag.com. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  10. ↑ "Discover the Networks". Discover the Networks. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  11. ↑ Gorenfeld, John (2005-04-12). "Roger Ebert and Mohammed Atta, partners in crime – Salon.com". Dir.salon.com. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  12. ↑ "NewsReal Blog". NewsReal Blog. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  13. ↑ "Students For Academic Freedom". Students For Academic Freedom. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  14. ↑ http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=16220
  15. ↑ "Jihad Watch". Jihad Watch. March 28, 2010. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ "> Documents". BSALegal.org. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  18. ↑ Archived October 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  19. ↑ "Heterodoxy, an irreverent monthly journal combating the folly of political correctness."
  20. ↑ http://cspan.politicalmoneyline.com/cgi-win/x_PrivateSponsor.exe?DoFn=1987625
  21. ↑ Dutch Lawmaker Brings His Anti-Muslim Spiel to U.S., Hatewatch, Southern Poverty Law Center
  22. ↑ Berlet, Chip (2003). "Into the Mainstream". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2006-04-23.
  23. ↑ Horowitz, David (2003). "An Open Letter To Morris Dees". FrontPageMagazine.com. FrontPageMagazine.com. Retrieved 2006-04-23.
  24. ↑ "FrontPage Magazine – Response to David Horowitz's Complaint". Frontpagemag.com. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  25. ↑ FrontPage Magazine
  26. ↑ Arabia, Chris (2003). "Chip Berlet: Leftist Lie Factory". FrontPageMagazine.com. FrontPageMagazine.com. Retrieved 2006-04-23.
  27. ↑ "Fear, Inc. | Center for American Progress". Americanprogress.org. 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  28. ↑ George Zornick (2011-08-29). "Fear, Inc.: America's Islamophobia Network". The Nation. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  29. ↑ ADL: Backgrounder: Stop Islamization of America – Allies
  30. ↑ Meet Robert Shillman, the Tech Mogul Who Funds Pamela Geller's Anti-Islam Push

External links

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