Who is morris dees

Colleges and universities have recognized his accomplishments with honorary degrees, and the University of Alabama gave Dees its Humanitarian Award in In , the National Education Association selected Dees as recipient of its Friend of Education Award, its highest award, for his "exemplary contributions to education, tolerance and civil rights. In , he was Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern's finance director.

Dees also served as former President Carter's national finance director in and as national finance chairman for Senator Kennedy's presidential campaign. Dees frequently speaks to colleges and universities, legal associations and other groups throughout the country.

Over the years, he has been awarded at least 25 honorary degrees. His third book, Gathering Storm: America's Militia Threat, exposes the danger posed by today's domestic terrorist groups. It was published by Harper Collins Publishers in Whatever reasons they had of theirs, I don't know. On Thursday, he said he hadn't tried a case in at least a decade and hadn't recently been involved in the day-to-day operations of the SPLC. What the SPLC wants the "next steps" to address or correct remains unclear.

An SPLC spokesperson said the organization was "in the process of hiring" the firm for the workplace climate assessment, and no other leadership changes had been announced. But I refuse to say anything negative about the center or its employees. When asked if he was offered the chance to resign or retire, the year-old said, "I've told you all I can tell you.

Dees' biography appeared scrubbed from the SPLC's website as news broke of his termination on Thursday afternoon. He burnished his marketing chops by managing a direct sale book publishing company while attending the University of Alabama, where he also earned a law degree.

In the late s, in response to an alarming increase in white supremacist activity, Dees made combating extremism one of his priorities. To keep young people from coming under the influence of hate groups, Dees created the Teaching Tolerance project in , providing teachers with free educational tools to help them instill in their students an appreciation of diversity and democratic values. Although race was his primary focus, Mr.

Dees has taken on other human rights issues as well. A current focus is the plight of recent immigrants. The Center has recently brought a number of class actions against employers who violate the human rights of these workers and has issued major reports detailing the conditions faced by guest workers and other low-wage immigrants.

Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options. The anti-extremist legal group, which is facing workplace complaints from women and people of color, gave no official reason for his departure. By Matt Pearce Staff Writer. Matt Pearce. Follow Us twitter instagram email facebook. More From the Los Angeles Times.