2016 Annual Report a Message from Morris Dees and Richard Cohen
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2016 ANNUAL REPORT A MESSAGE FROM MORRIS DEES AND RICHARD COHEN WE REDOUBLED OUR WORK TO FIGHT HATE Anti-Muslim hate groups almost tripled in and seek justice in 2016, a year in which the pres- number – an increase fueled by Trump’s incen- idential campaign of Donald Trump energized a diary rhetoric, including his campaign pledge to growing white nationalist movement and engulfed bar Muslims from entering the United States. the country in a wave of xenophobia that threat- • Our Teaching Tolerance project reported a ened to reverse years of progress. In the face of ris- sharp uptick in the bullying and intimidation of ing far-right extremism, we fought for our coun- children whose races, nationalities or religions try’s highest ideals – exposing those who brought were targeted during the campaign. The Trump hate into the mainstream, helping teachers push Effect, based on our survey of 2,000 educators, back against bias in the classroom, and standing garnered national headlines and alerted the up in the courts for the exploited and the abused. country to the alarming trend. A second, post- Prior to the election, we documented the wide- election survey of more than 10,000 educators spread harassment and bullying of minority chil- reinforced the findings. We responded by pro- dren caused by a campaign that vilified their fami- viding teachers with strategies and resources lies on the basis of race, ethnicity or religion. And to help children see through stereotypes and after it, we alerted the country to an outbreak of reject bigotry. violence and intimidation faced by members of • After the election, we documented a spike in minority groups and the LGBT community. bias-related incidents as white supremacists At the same time, we won justice in the courts celebrated Trump’s victory. In Ten Days After, for some of the most vulnerable and marginal- we found nearly 900 such incidents occurred in ized people in our country: poor people exploited the first 10 days following the election. Among by the criminal justice system, immigrants fac- them: reports of black children being told to ing discrimination and workplace abuse, children ride in the back of school buses and a gay man denied equal opportunities in our schools, and being pulled from his car and beaten by an many more. assailant who told him that the “president says Here are the major highlights of our work in 2016: we can kill all you faggots now.” • We championed the rights of poor people who • We tracked and exposed the activities of more are being needlessly punished in a criminal than 900 hate groups operating across the coun- justice system that targets and exploits them try. The number rose for a second consecutive because of their poverty. Our efforts resulted in year, coinciding with a xenophobic presidential the closure of debtors’ prisons in several Deep campaign that electrified far-right extremists. South cities, part of a multiyear effort that’s SPLC 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 1 making a difference for thousands of indigent • We worked to combat hate crime and domes- people jailed because they can’t pay crush- tic terrorism through the political system and ing court fines and fees for minor offenses. In law enforcement agencies. We testified at four Alabama, we successfully pushed municipal separate congressional events examining anti- courts in more than 70 cities to change bail Muslim hatred, domestic terrorism and extrem- practices that discriminated against the poor. ist violence. And we provided key informa- In one town, our work led to the repeal of a tion, training and life-saving resources to law shameful ordinance that criminalized the fail- enforcement at every level. Those resources ure to pay a water bill. included more than 60,000 copies of our new • We stood up for the LGBT community, forc- training video distributed to officers and policy- ing the removal of Alabama Chief Justice Roy makers to help them respond to the rising threat Moore after he repeatedly stood in the way of of violence from antigovernment extremists. federal court orders – including a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court – directing These are just a few of our important accom- county officials to grant marriage licenses to plishments in 2016, achievements that illustrate same-sex couples. It was the second time in 13 the many ways we’re combating hate and injustice. years that an SPLC ethics complaint removed As we look to 2017, we see a nation facing the notorious “Ten Commandments judge” grave challenges. from his perch on the state’s highest court. The election scarred the nation and emboldened • We defended the rights of abused workers in far-right extremists who reject our country’s high- the Deep South, reaching a $2.3 million settle- est ideals. At the same time, the new administration ment with a luxury golf resort in South Carolina has abandoned President Obama’s efforts to root to resolve a lawsuit on behalf of more than 240 out discrimination against vulnerable populations Jamaican guest workers who were systemati- in the criminal justice system and in other areas of cally cheated out of their wages. great concern. And it has instituted new policies • We stopped institutional discrimination against that are antithetical to the values of our nation. recent immigrants, forcing the state of Louisiana Many of the most marginalized people in our to repeal a discriminatory law that threatened country will be harmed. We’re committed to to block more than 70,000 naturalized citizens defending their rights and providing them with a from the ballot box. And we stopped the state of voice in the nation’s courtrooms, classrooms and Georgia from illegally denying driver’s licenses halls of government in 2017 and beyond. to thousands of immigrants. Our work is possible only because of the gen- • We won justice for prisoners with disabili- erosity of thousands of people across America ties in Alabama, securing a settlement that will who share a commitment to justice and equality. improve conditions in the nation’s most over- We’re deeply grateful for their financial and moral crowded prison system. We also went to trial in support – and inspired by their dedication to the late 2016 to force the state to provide constitu- promise of our nation’s democracy. tionally required mental health care to prison- ers. The proceeding, which was still underway Very truly yours, in early 2017, was the first trial in our broader suit alleging that the mental health and medical needs of prisoners are routinely ignored. Morris Dees, Chief Trial Counsel J. Richard Cohen, President SPLC 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 2 SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER FIGHTING HATE THE INTELLIGENCE PROJECT MONITORS sexual orientation from gay to straight. The SPLC hate groups and extremist activity in all 50 states also helped communities grappling with government- and provides comprehensive updates to law sanctioned displays of Confederate symbols by releas- enforcement, government agencies, the media, ing a guide to such monuments across the country. scholars, policymakers and the general pub- lic through its investigative journal Intelligence Documenting the ‘Trump Effect’ Report, its Hatewatch blog, an e-newsletter, onsite Following a Trump campaign marked by incendi- presentations, the SPLC website and social media. ary statements about Latino immigrants, Muslims During the 2016 presidential election, the and African Americans (also see Teaching Intelligence Project served a crucial function by Tolerance section), the Intelligence Project doc- exposing the mainstreaming of extremist propa- umented hundreds of hate crimes and other bias- ganda on the campaign trail. It helped Americans related events in the days following the election. connect the dots between far-right extremists and The report Ten Days After identified 867 such the politicians who pander to them. The SPLC also incidents in the first 10 days after Trump’s victory. documented bias-related incidents committed across Nearly a quarter of the incidents occurred the day the country in the wake of Donald Trump’s election. after the election. In 2016, the Intelligence Project’s annual cen- Many of the perpetrators invoked Trump’s name. sus of hate groups operating in the United States Among the incidents: multiple reports of black chil- found that the number rose for a second year in a dren being told to ride in the back of school buses; row amid a growing white nationalist movement – the words “Trump Nation” and “Whites Only” rebranded as the “alt-right” – that was electrified being painted on a Maryland church with a large by Trump’s candidacy. immigrant population; and a gay man being pulled The SPLC’s expertise was repeatedly sought from his car and beaten by an assailant who said out at the highest political levels. SPLC officials the “president says we can kill all you faggots now.” appeared at four separate congressional events on The findings, which were widely reported in the issues of anti-Muslim hatred, domestic terror- the national media, likely described only the tip ism and extremist violence. Throughout the year, of a large iceberg. “I have experienced discrimi- the SPLC provided key information, training and nation in my life, but never in such a public and life-saving resources to law enforcement across the unashamed manner,” an Asian-American woman country to help officers combat domestic terrorism. reported after a man told her to “go home” as The project released an in-depth examination she left an Oakland train station. A black resi- of the fraud that is “conversion therapy,” a pseudo- dent whose apartment was vandalized with the scientific practice that claims to change a person’s phrase “911 nigger,” reported that he had “never SPLC 2016 ANNUAL REPORT 3 FIGHTING HATE witnessed anything like this.” A Los Angeles 623 last year.