Southern Poverty Law Center

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was formed as part of the U.S. civil rights movement in 1971. Its first site was Montgomery, Alabama, where a number of major protests had begu. Its co-founders were attorneys Morris Dees and Joe Levin, and its first president was Julian Bond.

It has increased its scope beyond legal assistance on precedent-setting activities. Its Intelligence Project was created in 1981, to track hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. Today the SPLC Intelligence Project monitors hate groups and tracks extremist activity throughout the U.S. It provides comprehensive updates to law enforcement, the media and the public through its quarterly magazine, Intelligence Report. Staff members regularly conduct training sessions for police, schools, and civil rights and community groups, and they often serve as experts at hearings and conferences.

To deal with hate at a more fundamental level, in 1991, it set up the "Teaching Tolerance, an educational program to help K-12 teachers foster respect and understanding in the classroom. Teaching Tolerance is now one of the nation's leading providers of anti-bias resources – both in print and online.