Southern Poverty Law Center

The Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC, is one of the most prominent groups aimed at bringing justice to the victims of hate, and spreading tolerance. The SPLC is dedicated to fighting against hate and bringing the perpetrators of hate crimes and unjust situations down. This is the organization that directly relates to my topic, and is trying to make hate crimes a thing of the past. The SPLC is a non-profit organization that is renowned for its record of legal victories against hate crimes. Founded in 1971 by two civil rights lawyers, Morris Dees and Joseph J. Levin Jr., the SPLC itself has seen attacks by hate groups while trying to promote tolerance and education. In 1983, the SPLC headquarters was firebombed by the clan, which ultimately destroyed the physical building as well as all of the SPLC’s records. The next year, Morris Dees was the target of assassination by a hate group by the name of The Order. One of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s most famous victories came against the United Klan of America, in an unprecedented case where the SPLC held the organization itself responsible for the murder of a young black man in Mobile, Alabama. This case crippled the United Klan of America due to the $7 million that they were forced to repay the mother of the young man.

Some recent cases relating to the SPLC are the reform of Alabama’s death penalty, issues of immigration, the use of mace on Birmingham students, as well as their opposition to the views of Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck and white supremacy group leaders like David Duke. The Southern Poverty Law Center also has programs such as HATEWATCH which is devoted to keeping tabs on extremist groups and radical right wing organizations. Another program that is increasingly helpful and forward thinking, is the website tolerance.org that aims at teaching tolerance to Americans and especially children. This website contains different tools and resources to help teach tolerance in schools and seminars, and to help combat hateful ideology, bigotry, and racism.

This video Shows Mark Potak of the SPLC arguing Lou Dobbs’ views of immigration as well as the influence that Dobbs’ show has on its viewers. Potak explains that the framing of Dobbs’ program lets separatists disseminate their views over national television.

The SPLC reports in this video that there are 926 new hate groups in the U.S. (in 2009) which is a 50% increase from the year 2000. Dees also reports that this rise in hate could be a result of the economic crisis as well as the election of President Obama. He also relates this climate to the climate during the Oklahoma City Bombing by Timothy McVeigh. This makes for a threatening situation in terms of a possible rise in hate crimes.

Groups like the SPLC are an extremely positive and necessary key to the struggle against hate. Tolerance is not an idea that can come to life without the helping hand of such organizations, and the legal victories behind the SPLC are a great reminder of the aid that the SPLC has contributed, and continues to contribute to victims in America.