Morris Dees.... a name that, for me, for the last few decades, was synonymous with doing good, fighting the bad guys, and, well, Rosa Parks. Why? Many years ago, when I was a member of the HWPC (The Hollywood Women's Political Committee, which ran from 1984-1997 and included several hundred entertainment industry powerhouses...and me), we had our annual gala at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and honored Morris Dees and Rosa Parks. The autograph I got from Ms. Parks is a proud part of our family archives. Who couldn't heartily support someone who fights the KKK? How great is their "Teaching Tolerance" curriculum, created years before bullying was even "a thing"? To my mind, Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was just one of those great organizations that I could count on to fight for justice and quell the antics of the white supremacists. I could sleep better just knowing that they were there doing their good work.
Until now.
As Bob Moser wrote in his recent Vanity Fair article: "...we were part of the con, and we knew it”.
Last March, it all came crashing down, when Morris Dees (who had already been mostly retired for years) was fired for "undisclosed reasons". I still don't know exactly what those reasons are -- maybe sexual harrassment, maybe a power play by the current leadership -- I don't know. What I do know is that he's out, and the organization has more money than they can spend. (Unreal!) After Charlottesville, the SLPC took in so much money that their endowment has more money in it than the ACLU's total assets.
As Bob Moser wrote in his recent Vanity Fair article:, "...we were part of the con, and we knew it”.
This is so disgusting. All of it. And sad. The staff evidently called the SPLC offices "the Poverty Palace". They laughed about the people (like me) who donated to them, thinking that they were doing good.
More next week...
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