2017 saw the heaviest voting for our Yearly Referral Reward Winner we’ve had, but our clients have spoken loudly and clearly. In today’s political climate, as hate and bigotry are casting off their hoods around the world, perhaps it’s no surprise that our wining group had such strong backing. They’ve began in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1971, with the mission to “…use litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy to work toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality”. Today their work is sadly just as relevant as it was more than 40 years ago, and they are one of the loudest voices tracking, exposing, and fighting hate groups and working for social justice. We’re very proud to announce that the winner of our 2017 Referral Reward Yearly Award is…
The SPLC is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality.
SPLC History (From the Southern Poverty Law Center website…)
By the late 1960s, the civil rights movement had ushered in the promise of racial equality as new federal laws and decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court ended Jim Crow segregation. But resistance was strong, and these laws had not yet brought the fundamental changes needed in the South. African Americans were still excluded from good jobs, decent housing, public office, a quality education and a range of other opportunities. There were few places for the disenfranchised and the poor to turn for justice. Enthusiasm for the civil rights movement had waned, and few lawyers in the South were willing to take controversial cases to test new civil rights laws.
Alabama lawyer and businessman Morris Dees sympathized with the plight of the poor and the powerless. The son of an Alabama farmer, he had witnessed firsthand the devastating consequences of bigotry and racial injustice. Dees decided to sell his successful book publishing business to start a civil rights law practice that would provide a voice for the disenfranchised. His decision led to the founding of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
In the decades since its founding, the SPLC shut down some of the nation’s most violent white supremacist groups by winning crushing, multimillion-dollar jury verdicts on behalf of their victims. It dismantled vestiges of Jim Crow, reformed juvenile justice practices, shattered barriers to equality for women, children, the LGBT community and the disabled, protected low-wage immigrant workers from exploitation, and more.
Ready to fight hate in your community? Start here.
In the 1980s, the SPLC began monitoring white supremacist activity amid a resurgence of the Klan and today its Intelligence Project is internationally known for tracking and exposing a wide variety of hate and extremist organizations throughout the United States.
In the early 1990s, the SPLC launched its pioneering Teaching Tolerance program to provide educators with free, anti-bias classroom resources such as classroom documentaries and lesson plans. Today, it reaches millions of schoolchildren with award-winning materials that teach them to respect others and help educators create inclusive, equitable school environments.
As the country has grown increasingly diverse, our work has only become more vital. And our history is evidence of an unwavering resolve to promote and protect our nation’s most cherished ideals by standing up for those who have no other champions.
SPLC Strategy
The SPLC “employs a three-pronged strategy to battle racial and social injustice”. Links below will take you to the relevant sections of the SPLC Website.
The Southern Poverty Law Center monitors hate groups and other extremists throughout the U.S. and exposes their activities to law enforcement agencies, the media and the public.
We know we don’t achieve equality and justice through the courts and investigative reporting alone. The future of our great country lies in the hands of today’s young people.
We use the courts and other forms of advocacy to win systemic reforms on behalf of victims of bigotry and discrimination.
SPLC Hate Group Tracking
SPLC’s Teaching Tolerance programs and legal work draw a little criticism, but their classification and tracking of hate groups has drawn much more. The controversy makes some degree of sense… since there is no formal definition or measure of a “hate group”, any count of such groups would involve some subjectivity and none (well, few) of the groups on the list appreciate being categorized as hate groups. But despite the allegations that all it takes to be listed as a hate group is to “disagree with the SPLC” they do have other standards for who they include and have a FAQ page addressing them. (For a flavor of the controversy, check out “Answering the SPLC’s Attacks Upon Family Research Council”, compare it with why the SPLC put FRC on the list, and wash it all down with a nominal neutral party to arbitrate. You’ll get the idea of what’s going on). Yet despite the controversy, the hate group tracking is arguably one of the most useful things SPLC does… certainly no one else is doing it. Check the map above to see what the haters are doing in a town near you.
