Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is based in Montgomery, Alabama, in the South of the US. It was started in 1971 by Morris Dees and Joe Levin as a
civil rights law firm. It is known for its tolerance education programs,
its legal victories against white supremacist groups, its
monitoring of hate groups, and its sponsorship of Maya Lin's Civil Rights Memorial. The Center publishes an in-depth analysis
of political extremism and bias crimes in the United States in the quarterly Intelligence Report.
History
The first case the Center took on forced the local YMCA to racially integrate their
athletic offerings. In 1979 the Center brought its first of its many cases against the
Ku Klux Klan. In 1983, the Klan
responded by burning down the Center's offices. Several other attempts to bomb the center and kill Morris Dees have been
thwarted.[1] (http://www.splcenter.org/center/history/)
Controversy
Because of its work, it is not surprising that the SPLC is controversial. Some criticisms have focused on its fundraising
methods. Critics cite a 1996 USA Today
article claiming that the Southern Poverty Law Center is "the nation's richest civil rights organization", with $68 million in
assets at the time. Critics also cite an a 2003
article in the Fairfax (VA) Journal claiming that 89% of income was
spent on fundraising and administration.
In 1994 The Montgomery Advertiser published an investigative series alleging financial mismanagement, poor
management practices, misleading fundraising, and institutionalized racism at the Center. Former black employees asserted that
the Center was run like "a plantation" and complained of discrimination by
white supervisors. The Center threatened legal action against the newspaper during the publication of the series, and lobbied
against its consideration for journalism awards. However, the investigative series was a finalist for a 1995 Pulitzer Prize.
The Center has asserted that these are attempts to smear its reputation, and dismisses these claims as being brought forward
by "extremist" groups.
Hate groups
A continuing source of controversy is the identification and monitoring of organizations that the SPLC labels hate
groups. The SPLC further categorizes these groups as Black Separatist
(Nation of Islam), Klu Klux Klan, Neo-Nazi, Christian Identity, Racist Skinhead, Neo-Confederate (League
of the South), and Other. Some organizations described by the SPLC as hate groups object strenuously to this characterization
of them, particularly those in the Other category. They protest that such designations are politically motivated, and do
not accurately reflect their beliefs. Organizations on the list in 2004 categorized as
Other included:
External links from the SPLC
External links containing criticisms of SPLC
- 'The Church of Morris Dees' (http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a3e5cb925c4.htm) - A critical look at the SPLC and its
founder from Harper's Magazine, republished in the Free Republic
- Harvard University's
Nieman Foundation for Journalism (http://niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=about.Panel%20Discussion:%20Nonprofit%20Organizations%20May%2099)-
Panel discussion with the investigative reporter/editor who helped cover the SPLC for The Montgomery Advertiser
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