The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) announced Thursday that it has fired its founder Morris Dees, suggesting in a statement that misconduct played a role in the organization’s decision.
SPLC president Richard Cohen said in a statement that Dees’ termination was effective Wednesday:
Effective yesterday, Morris Dees’ employment at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was terminated. As a civil rights organization, the SPLC is committed to ensuring that the conduct of our staff reflects the mission of the organization and the values we hope to instill in the world. When one of our own fails to meet those standards, no matter his or her role in the organization, we take it seriously and must take appropriate action.
Today we announced a number of immediate, concrete next steps we’re taking, including bringing in an outside organization to conduct a comprehensive assessment of our internal climate and workplace practices, to ensure that our talented staff is working in the environment that they deserve – one in which all voices are heard and all staff members are respected.
The SPLC is deeply committed to having a workplace that reflects the values it espouses – truth, justice, equity and inclusion, and we believe the steps we have taken today reaffirm that commitment.
According to the Montgomery Advertiser, Dees’ biography no longer appears on the Montgomery-based organization’s website. In a statement to the Associated Press, Dees said his dismissal involved a personnel issue, adding that the SPLC was a “wonderful” organization that he wishes luck.
Dees, a Montgomery-based lawyer, co-founded the SPLC in 1971.
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