SPLC EXCLUSIVE: Alleged LAX shooter referenced antigovernment 'manifesto'

By Mark Potok, Senior Fellow
11/02/2013

Paul Anthony Ciancia’s language and references in his 'manifesto' seemed to put him squarely in the conspiracy-minded world of the antigovernment “Patriot” movement. The attack comes at a time when the Patriot movement has been growing by leaps and bounds, from some 149 groups in 2008 to 1,360 last year, according to counts by the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

SPLC victorious against Alabama anti-immigrant law

10/29/2013
Alabama’s vicious anti-immigrant law, which passed in 2011 amid warnings that it was unconstitutional, has been effectively gutted by an agreement the SPLC and other civil rights groups have reached with the state to permanently block key provisions of the law – adding Alabama to a list of states that have seen their anti-immigrant laws stopped by federal lawsuits.

A look back: SPLC case provided homes for hundreds of African-American children in Alabama

By Jamie Kizzire
10/27/2013

In Alabama, African-American children who were orphaned or neglected were routinely sent to live at a “reform school” for juvenile offenders, because state-licensed homes were segregated and few would accept black children. An early SPLC lawsuit changed that practice, opening the doors of such homes to all children in need.

SPLC sues Mississippi town for prohibiting gay bar

10/01/2013

The SPLC filed a federal lawsuit today against the town of Shannon, Miss., its mayor and its aldermen for unjustly denying a business license to a bar catering to the LGBT community.

USDA proposal for poultry plants would make a bad situation worse

09/26/2013

For thousands of workers in poultry plants, a federal proposal to speed up processing lines will only bring more injuries and more pain.

SPLC reaches agreement with Florida school district to ensure children at county jail receive an education

09/24/2013

The SPLC has reached an agreement with Florida’s Polk County School Board that will ensure children held at the Central County Jail receive an appropriate education vital to helping them return to their communities.

Court rejects motion to dismiss SPLC lawsuit challenging use of pepper spray on Alabama schoolchildren

09/19/2013

A federal judge denied a motion today by the Birmingham Police Department in Alabama to dismiss an SPLC lawsuit challenging the use of pepper spray on Birmingham public schoolchildren – a ruling that allows the case to move forward.

Lisa Sahulka SPLC

Southern Poverty Law Center appoints Lisa Sahulka as chief operating officer

09/17/2013

The Southern Poverty Law Center today announced the appointment of Lisa A. Sahulka of St. Petersburg, Fla., as chief operating officer. Former chief financial officer for the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) of Pinellas County, Fla., Sahulka assumed her new role as a member of the SPLC senior leadership team effective Sept. 16, 2013.

The day after the church bombing

By Morris Dees, Founder, Chief Trial Attorney
09/16/2013

I think everyone who follows our work will be interested in this article from the Atlantic. It's about a speech given fifty years ago today -- the day after the infamous Birmingham church bombing that killed the four little girls who we remember on the Civil Rights Memorial in front of our office.

Teaching Tolerance magazine examines how to end bullying behavior

09/13/2013

Though schools across the nation have adopted anti-bullying policies that protect victims and punish perpetrators, they may be missing an opportunity to address the causes of bullying and help students break free of this behavior, according to the latest issue ofTeaching Tolerance magazine, released today by the SPLC’s Teaching Tolerance project.

SPLC President Richard Cohen

Remembering the Birmingham Bombing

By Richard Cohen, President
09/10/2013

This afternoon, I had the privilege of attending the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony honoring Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley (Cynthia Diane Morris) — the four little girls who were killed in the Birmingham church bombing by Klansmen 50 years ago this month.

SPLC urges federal agencies to protect poultry, meatpacking plant workers

09/03/2013

The SPLC and a coalition of civil rights groups filed a formal petition today urging the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to better protect workers in poultry and meatpacking plants, where federal policies allow workers to operate in hazardous conditions that often leave them with disabling injuries, illnesses and pain. 

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