Southern Poverty Law Center Founded to Fight Civil Rights Violations

Morris Dees and Joseph Levin founded the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, as a civil rights law firm willing to take cases other attorneys refused. Civil rights leader Julian Bond joined as a co-founder. Early cases pursued desegregation of recreational facilities, reapportionment of the Alabama Legislature, and integration of the state trooper force. The SPLC established a model of using litigation to attack the financial structure of white supremacist organizations.