Founded 1988 | Tax ID no. 95-4194642 | |
Founder David HorowitzPeter Collier Type Conservative think-tank Location 14724 Ventura Blvd., S-820Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 | ||
The David Horowitz Freedom Center, formerly the Center for the Study of Popular Culture (CSPC), is a conservative 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 John M. Olin Foundation, the Bradley Foundation and the Scaife Foundation. It runs several websites and blogs, including FrontPage Magazine, Students for Academic Freedom and Jihad Watch.
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Change of name
In July 2006, the center changed its name from the Center for the Study of Popular Culture to the David Horowitz Freedom Center, 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."
Purpose and scope
The original intention of the CSPC was to establish a foothold in Hollywood, California. It was to serve 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. 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.
Ongoing programs
The Center has the following ongoing programs.
Heterodoxy magazine
Heterodoxy was a news magazine 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.
Funding of Congressional travel
Between July 2000 and February 2006, the center (under its old name) was the sponsor of 25 trips by United States senators and representatives, all Republicans, to six different events. Total expenditures were about $43,000.
Criticism
The Hatewatch blog of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as described it as a far-right organization and an anti-Muslim hate group.
Chip Berlet, writing for the 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." 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." The SPLC replied that they stood by the accuracy of the report, and subsequent critical pieces on Berlet and the SPLC have been featured on Horowitz's website and personal blog.
In a 2011 report, 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 responded, saying that the Center had "joined the Muslim Brotherhood".
The Anti-Defamation League wrote that Horowitz sponsors a college campus project that promotes anti-Muslim views and arranges events with anti-Muslim activists. The DHFC was also a sponsor of the 3 May 2015 Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest in Garland, Texas, which resulted in two Muslim terrorist attackers being shot by a Garland Police SWAT team.