Morris Dees | |
|---|---|
 Dees in 2015 | |
| Born | Morris Seligman Dees Jr. December 16, 1936 |
| Alma mater | University of Alabama (LLB) |
| Occupation(s) | Civil and political rights, social justice activist |
| Known for | Founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center |
Morris Seligman Dees Jr. (born December 16, 1936) is an American attorney known as the co-founder and former chief trial counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), based in Montgomery, Alabama. He ran a direct marketing firm before founding SPLC.[2] Along with his law partner, Joseph J. Levin Jr., Dees founded the SPLC in 1971.[3]: 132–33 Dees and his colleagues at the SPLC have been "credited with devising innovative ways to cripple hate groups" such as the Ku Klux Klan, particularly by using "damage litigation".[4]
On 14 March 2019 the SPLC announced that Dees had been fired from the organization and the SPLC would hire an "outside organization" to assess the SPLC's workplace climate.[5][6][7] Former employees alleged that Dees was "complicit" in harassment and racial discrimination, and said that at least one female employee had accused him of sexual harassment.[8]
- ^ "SPLCenter.org: Morris Dees Biography". Southern Poverty Law Center. 2009. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
- ^ "Attorney Morris Dees pioneer in using 'damage litigation' to fight hate groups". CNN. September 8, 2000. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved August 17, 2007.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Dees and Fiffer (1991)was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Sack, Kevin (May 12, 1996). "A Son of Alabama Takes On Americans Who Live to Hate". The New York Times.
- ^ Hassan, Adeel; Zraick, Karen; Blinder, Alan (March 14, 2019). "Morris Dees, a Co-Founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Is Ousted". The New York Times.
- ^ "Civil rights organization announces dismissal of founder". Washington Post. Associated Press. March 14, 2019. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019.
- ^ Brown, Melissa (March 14, 2019). "Southern Poverty Law Center fires co-founder Morris Dees". Montgomery Adviser.
- ^ Burch, Audra D. S.; Blinder, Alan; Eligon, John (March 25, 2019). "Roiled by Staff Uproar, Civil Rights Group Looks at Intolerance Within". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 26, 2019.