Morris Dees

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GEORGE McGOVERNMISSOULA, MONTANA

D ear Friend,

I am writing you today, not for some political cause, but to seekyour immediatehelp for a good friend in Alabama in his dangerous and courageous fight to put hate

groups out ofbusiness,

My friend, Morris Dees, was a young lawyer back in ran for president.

H e took two years ofhis life to direct the successful effort that brought mo re than

600,000 caring Americans into that campaign.

Since then, his highly successful lawsuits against the Ku Klux Klan , the Aryan

Nations, and other hate groups has made him their No. 1 enemy. More than two dozen

people have been convicted in connections with plots to kill Morris or blow up his bu ilding.

Klansman burned. his law offices attempting to destroy evidence he had gathered

showing Klan violence. The leader got a IS-year prison sentence.


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won a $2.5 million verdict against the leaders ofthe Imperial Klans ofAmerica (IKA)for the savage beating ofa Kentucky teenager. Shortly before Morris began this case, an

lKA splinter-group member was arrested for a plot to kill President Obama and dozens of

African-American students.

In tes timony to Congress, FBI Director Robert Mueller recently reported that

domestic "home-grown and lone-wolfextremists" now represent as serious a threat as

al-Qaeda and its affiliates.

T he Secret Service and all major enforcement agencies depend on SPLC for

timely information about hate groups and for much-needed training. CBS News once

reported that Morris' group has "crackedcases tha teven FBIcouldn'tsolve.

SPLC no t only sues hate groups but also supplies mo re than 50 000 schools

nationwide with free education materials as part ofits Teaching Tolerance project. Morris

believes that because young people commit most hate crimes, it's important to teach

them acceptance and tolerance .

Bill Moyers has called Teaching Tolerance boldmove in toAmerica's to

curb the rising tide ofracial hatred. Many more teachers faced with steep budget cutS,

will look to SPLC for its free, award-winning resources .

I can assure you that Morris and the Southern Poverty Law Center are do ing


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2007

Over three decades, SPLC has torn down institutional racism

in th e South and toppled some ofthe nation's largest whitesupremacist hate groups by helping victims of racist violence

sue for monetary damages. The groups usually don't have

much money, but thejudgments won by SPLC have effectively

put them out ofbusiness. SPLC is currently tracking the

activities ofmore than 900 hate groups in th e u.s.

These accomplishments were funded entirely by SPLC

supporters. SPLC never takes any part ofou r clients' award s,

and we accept no legal fees or any government funds.

2008 Taking Down the Imperial Klans of AmericaA $2.5 million legal verdict was

rendered against Ron Edwards, leader

of the Imperial Klans ofAmerica, and

his chieflieutenant for the savage

beating ofa 16-year-old boy ofLatino

descent at a county fair in Kentucky.The boy suffers permanent physical

and mental damage.

Winning Justice for Billy Ray JohnsonA jury awarded $9 million to a

mentally challenged black man who

suffered permanent brain damage after

a racially motivated beating by four

11994 The Harold Mansfield CaseA $1 million judgment held the white supremacistgroup, Church ofthe Creator, accountable for the

murder ofa black Gulf War veteran. The "Church's"

mission asks its followers to "purify" the white race,

eliminating "mud races" and Jews from the earth.

Leaders encouraged followers to show loyalty by

committing acts to bring about aRacial HolyWar.

1990 Taking on the White Aryan ResistanceA Portland, Oregon, jury ordered the racist

skinhead group Wh ite Aryan Resistance to pay

$12.5 million for the brutal murder ofEthiopian

student Mulugeta Seraw. SPLC sued on behalf

ofSeraw's son.

1988 Shutting Down the Invisible EmpireAjury assessed nearly $1 million in damages against two Klan

organizations and 11 followers responsible for attacking black

marchers in Forsyth County, Georgia, on the anniversary ofDr. Martin

Luther King Jr.'s death. SPLC traced the assets ofthe Klan leader for

five years to ensure the group felt financial pressure from the verdict.

1987 The Michael Donald LynchingMembers of the United Klans of


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o YES, Senator McGovern, I accept your request to help Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Centercombat hate in the courtroom and the classroom. I will support their worktracking and suing hate groups,

assisting law enforcement agencies with investigations, and teaching tolerance to the next generation with free

educational materials for schools.


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048687

A Journey:TheMorris DeesStory365 page award-winning autobiography

As a small token ofappreciation, individuals who support Morris Dees and the

Southern Poverty Law Center wi th a gift of$25 or more will receive this inspiring book.

This book reads like a best selling novel. But it is all true . .. death threats from the

Klan .. . his law offices set ablaze .. . armed racists stalking him in the dead ofthe night.This is the story ofhow, from a boy picking cotton in rural Alabama, he grew into the

man Caretta Scott King called "by any measure one ofthe most dedicated and effective

civil rights lawyers in U .S. history. "

.. . the inspiring story ofMorris Dees, a " .. . a gripping study ofman s inhumanity to man

Southern lawyer ofhumble beginnings, who and the snuggle against injustice by Morris Dees

has dedicated his life to rhe pursuit ofjustice and the Southern Poverty Law C enter."and compassion for the powerless ." Rosa Parks

- Jimmy Carter

SPLC400Washington Avenue ' Montgomery, AL 36104

Morris Dees

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