(Seems to have a very long history)
The name C.W.Burpo rings no bells to speak of - other than the fact that he was a "radio minister" who was virulently anti-communist and died in 1982. One of the things I've noticed, in researching a lot of these "radio ministers" who preached a steady stream of right-wing extremist diatribe during their "messages to the children of God" is that not many of the recordings seem to exist. Certainly, the Library of Congress has a policy not to accept recordings of any of those broadcasts, with the possible exception of Father Coughlin, who was something of a pioneer of the form.
But C.W. Burpo hosted a daily program, heard over a large number of radio stations in middle and Southern America for a number of years, beginning in the late 1950's and going to the late 1960's. After the first few minutes of citing scripture and praying for God's guidance, he launched into a tirade over the perilous nature of our lives here in America.
As sampled by this 1965 broadcast dealing with the Civil Rights Movement.
C.W. Burpo: “I’m talking about real, red-blooded patriotic Americans, and I say there’s no doubt in the minds of those Americans that Nazism and Fascism are evil, and that we want no part of it. And yet with increasing intensity, we observe references in the press to Nazis and Fascist activities in our country. Now there’ve been no exposures of such activity, just references veiled insular references, as far as we’ve been able to learn there is no real Nazi or Fascist threat within America, but we have during the course of investigation learned something very revealing. And that is, that there is a Communist conspiracy against this nation, against the churches, against the homes, against the schools and against your very life. And as a major tactic of this conspiracy – well AS a major tactic of this conspiracy is to smear the opposition with a Nazi or Fascist label. But let’s look at the real trouble that we’re facing today. Communist infiltration into the Race Revolution is becoming evident as investigation exposes leaders and organizations. A partial list of organizations involved in the Civil Rights Movement, which reportedly has Communist or Communist fronters in its leadership are . . .now I have a copy of this so I’m going to give it and I want every station to hold steady because we’re not going to incriminate you.
Now here are some fronters – The Southern Conference Educational Fund Incorporated, The NAACP, The Montgomery Improvement Association, The National Council of Churches, The Young Socialist Alliance, The militant Labor Forum, The Congress On Racial Equality, The Communist Party U.S.A., and other movements that I’m not allowed to mention, but we have it in print. A thorough probing of some leaders in the forefront of racial agitation has brought to light the following – according to Frank A. Capell, editor of the Herald Of Freedom and Metropolitan Review, he says, and I quote: ‘Adam Clayton Powell is an immoral clergyman and Congressman from Harlem New York City. He has been affiliated with a hundred and fourteen Communist causes, he works in close cooperation with all agitation groups, including Malcolm X and his Riflemen and the Black Muslims who have over 100,000 members’. Mister Capell continues; Martin, and I quote ‘Martin Luther King has been working with the Communists for years, a fact which has finally been admitted by even liberal writers. Carl Prussian (sp?), a friend of mine and FBI counterspy made a sworn affidavit which clearly proves this and it has been unchallenged.”
He makes numerous references to a journalist "friend" of his, Frank J. Capell who, it turns out was something of an extreme nutcase and wild-eyed ultra-conspiracy theorist.
And all under the guise of religion.
