We are proud to announce that as of February 25th, 2021, the Law Offices of Neil Crane have become official Friends of the Southern Poverty Law Center! The SPLC is a non-profit organization that fights for racial justice in and beyond the southern region of the US “working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.”
The organization is currently monitoring over 1,600 extremist hate groups across the nation including the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi movement. They work to expose these groups’ actions to the public as well as file investigative reports and train law enforcement officers. In 2020 alone, they tracked 838 American groups which can be found in their comprehensive Hate Map on their website. The SPLC has published an annual census of hate groups operating within the country since 1990.
SPLC also works closely with educators and students within their Learning for Justice program. They provide free resources to schools in order to supplement curriculum while not only transforming communities into inclusive, safe spaces but also implementing the value of social justice into the development of children that they will carry to their adulthood. Currently, the Learning for Justice program includes more than 500,000 educators who subscribe to the organization’s resource materials.
In terms of legal triumph, the Southern Poverty Law Center has battled through several landmark cases starting with Smith v. Young Men’s Christian Association in 1969. The city of Montgomery, Alabama closed its recreational facilities instead of integrating them and when the local YMCA took over its programs, they continued to exclude Black people. Morris Dees, the SPLC co-founder, sued and won this case forcing the YMCA to integrate its programs. Throughout the years, SPLC continued to fight for the human rights of Black people, disabled people, women, children, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community.
We are more than honored to be Friends of the Southern Poverty Law Center because of their monumental work throughout history and continued determination to achieve social justice across the entire country. For more information contact The Law Offices of Neil Crane today.
