Southern Poverty Law Center

Known for its successful legal victories against hate groups and focus on promoting tolerance, the SPLC began its work in 1971 under Morris Dees and Joseph Levin Jr. Julian Bond served as its first president from 1971 to 1979, at which time the organization brought its first cases against the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups. A notable publication, Teaching Tolerance, influences generations of teachers and calls attention to ongoing problems of race in American society.