Morris Dees

Morris Dees
Dees in 2015
Born	Morris Seligman Dees Jr. (1936-12-16) December 16, 1936 (age 88) Shorter, Alabama, U.S.[1]
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 lawyer and activist. He is known as the co-founder and former chief trial counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).^[2] Dees founded the SPLC in 1971. Dees and the SPLC have been thanked for finding ways to weaken hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan through litigation.^[3]

In March 2019 the SPLC announced that Dees had been fired from the organization.^[4][5][6] He has been accused of racial discrimination and sexual harassment.^[7]

1. ↑ "SPLCenter.org: Morris Dees Biography". Southern Poverty Law Center. 2009. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
2. ↑ "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.
3. ↑ Sack, Kevin (May 12, 1996). "A Son of Alabama Takes On Americans Who Live to Hate". The New York Times.
4. ↑ 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.
5. ↑ "Civil rights organization announces dismissal of founder". Washington Post. Associated Press. March 14, 2019. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019.
6. ↑ Brown, Melissa (March 14, 2019). "Southern Poverty Law Center fires co-founder Morris Dees". Montgomery Adviser.
7. ↑ Burch, Audra D. S.; Blinder, Alan; Eligon, John (2019-03-25). "Roiled by Staff Uproar, Civil Rights Group Looks at Intolerance Within". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-26.