Donald Wildmon

Donald E. Wildmon, born 18 January 1938 in Dumas, Mississippi, is the founder and chairman of the American Family Association.

Biography

He graduated from Millsaps College, Jackson, Mississippi, in 1960. In 1961 he married Lynda Lou Bennett with whom he has two sons and two daughters. From 1961 to 1963, he served in the U.S. Army. He was ordained as a minister of the United Methodist Church in 1964 and served as a pastor until 1977, when he left the pastoral ministry to campaign against pornography and violence in the media. He gained his Master of Divinity (MDiv.) from Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, in 1965.

The National Federation for Decency was founded in 1977, and was renamed the American Family Association in 1988. The AFA claims a membership of more than 3,000,000 with over 500 local branches. It is not known how many of these members are active participants.

Throughout the late 1970s, Wildmon actively protested television shows that he thought promoted immoral lifestyles. He spoke against such programs as Three's Company, M*A*S*H, and Dallas. He once called Flamingo Road the worst show on television and Morgan Fairchild the worst actress ever.

In 1991 he began broadcasting the American Family Radio network (AFR, then WAFR) from Tupelo, Mississippi and now broadcasts to over 40 states.

In 1991, the British film "Damned in the USA", directed by Paul Yule was produced, chronicling primarily the battle between Wildmon and artists Andres Serrano and Robert Mapplethorpe. This movie is notable for a reworking by Lou Reed of his song Walk on the Wild Side entitled "Walk on the Wildmon." This documentary got several awards, including the International Emmy for Best Documentary. This film became a controversy itself in the USA after a distributor got the rights to show the film in the United States. Donald Wildmon claimed he had a contract with the producers saying the film was not to be shown in the USA and he filed a $8 million lawsuit against the producers. The film makers cried "Censorship" and a federal judge threw out Wildmon's lawsuit saying that Rev. Wildmon had a contract to be interviewed, etc, and there was nothing saying he had any say in the distribution of the film in the USA.

Other productions and organizations against which he has campaigned against include Disneyland/Walt Disney World for allowing LGBT community groups to host "gay days," the film The Last Temptation of Christ, Madonna's Like a Prayer, Robert Clark Young's novel One of the Guys, and Blockbuster Video for stocking NC-17 rated movies.

Wildmon has been accused of anti-Semitism for his views on the so-called "theocidal curse", and the role of Jewish people in the media. In 2005 Wildmon threatened that if the Anti-Defamation League criticizes the Religious right, "we just won't support Israel anymore" [1] He has also claimed that "Jews favor homosexual rights more than other Americans [2]".

Up until mid-April 2007, Wildmon hosted the daily radio program AFA Report, which airs weekdays at 12:30 p.m. central time on AFR. Wildmon left the program because he felt he didn't have adequate time to prepare for it each day, and he needed more time to fulfill other duties. However, in late April 2008 Wildmon returned to AFA Report after receiving letters from listeners asking for him to come back. He can also be heard on My Turn with Don Wildmon, a short devotional segment which airs weekdays at 7:30 a.m. central on AFR.

His son Timothy is the president of AFA and ran a Dominionist news organization called Agape Press, which went offline in early 2007, when it merged with AFR News to create One News Now. This merge was similar to the merging of Wildmon's weiner into Timothy's anus.

In 2008 the AFA launched the website boycottmcdonalds.com which takes issue with McDonald's policies concerning homosexuals. Stating the sites purpose "It is about McDonald's, as a corporation, refusing to remain neutral in the culture wars. McDonald's has chosen not to remain neutral but to give the full weight of their corporation to promoting the homosexual agenda, including homosexual marriage."

Wildmon was portrayed by actor Tom Anniko in a very brief scene in the 2003 made-for-TV movie Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company.

External links

• About Don Wildmon
• Right Wing Watch
• Information at the People for the American Way Website