Southern Poverty Law Center, Inc.
Countering Structural Racism and Other Forms of Oppression
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The SPLC is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Education
The SPLC’s public information and education efforts seek to combat hate and bias in our society, expose extremism, and reduce discrimination and injustice. The SPLC provides information about hate groups and other extremists, their activities and their crimes to the public, law enforcement, policymakers, human rights organizations, and the media with the goal of preventing hate and extremism from entering the mainstream. The SPLC provides information and training materials to tens of thousands of law enforcement officers nationwide and conducts in-person training with thousands of officers per year. The SPLC also seeks to foster equality in the classroom and support tolerance education by providing award-winning, anti-bias materials to more than 450,000 teachers and schools nationwide. The SPLC educates the public on the structural causes, and impacts, of inequality and uses a multifaceted approach of community education, mobilization, media and legislative advocacy to combat bias and discrimination against minorities, immigrants, the poor, the LGBT community and other vulnerable members of society. All of the SPLC’s work is provided free of charge.
Legal
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) seeks justice by supporting victims of civil rights abuses and hate crimes, and promoting the civil and human rights of groups most affected by bias and discrimination in our society: minorities, immigrants, guest workers, children, the poor, and the LGBT community – both in the Deep South and nationwide. Its case docket focuses on holding hate groups accountable for murders and other violent acts committed by their members; ending workplace exploitation of immigrants; challenging unconstitutional or discriminatory laws and policies affecting immigrants, minorities and the LGBT community; and working to reform juvenile justice, mental health, and education systems that fail children and routinely push students out of classrooms and into the criminal justice system, disproportionately harming African-American and Latino students living in poverty. The SPLC attorneys focus on these critical civil rights issues from six SPLC offices in the Deep South.
Where we work
Awards
Emmy Award 2005
National Television Academy
Oscar 1994
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Oscar 2005
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Induction into the Trial Lawyers' Hall of Fame by the American Trial Lawyers'' Association 2009
Trial Lawyers for Public Justice named SPLC Founder & Chief Trial Counselor "Trial Lawyer of the Year"
Periodical of the Year 2010
Association of Educational Publishers
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of hategroups in the U.S.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Education
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Context Notes
Each year since 1990, the SPLC has published an annual census of hate groups operating within the United States.
Number of legal practice groups
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Legal
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The SPLC is focused on impact litigation n these practice areas: Children’s Rights, Economic Justice, Immigrant Justice, LGBT Rights, Criminal Justice Reform and Voting Rights.
Number of Facebook followers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of teachers and schools who receive our free anti-bias resources
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Education
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Our community includes more than 500,000 educators who read our magazine, screen our films, visit our website, participate in Mix It Up at Lunch Day, use our curriculum.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Southern Poverty Law Center's goals are to fight hate, to teach tolerance, and to seek justice. We work on behalf of victims of civil rights abuses and hate crimes, and promote the civil and human rights of groups most affected by bias and discrimination in our society: minorities, immigrants, guest workers, children, the poor, and the LGBT community – both in the Deep South and nationwide. We organize our work in eight programmatic priorities: Hate and Extremism; Criminal Justice Reform; Children at Risk; LGBT Rights; Immigrant Justice, Economic Justice; Voting Rights; and, Teaching Tolerance.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The SPLC's strategies combine litigation, public information and education, media outreach, and advocacy.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The SPLC has been on the forefront of social justice since its founding in 1971. We are an internationally recognized leader in advancing civil rights and social equality and considered the nation's preeminent organization monitoring the radical right. We have an active case docket, and focus on holding hate groups accountable for murders and other violent acts committed by their members; ending workplace exploitation of immigrants; challenging unconstitutional or discriminatory laws and policies affecting immigrants, minorities and the LGBT community; and working to reform juvenile justice, mental health, and education systems that fail children and routinely push students out of classrooms and into the criminal justice system, disproportionately harming African-American and Latino students living in poverty. The SPLC attorneys focus on these critical civil rights issues from six SPLC offices in the Deep South.
The SPLC provides information about hate groups and other extremists, their activities and their crimes to the public, law enforcement, policymakers, human rights organizations, and the media with the goal of preventing hate and extremism from entering the mainstream. The SPLC provides information and training materials to tens of thousands of law enforcement officers nationwide and conducts in-person training with thousands of officers per year. The SPLC also seeks to foster equality in the classroom and support tolerance education by providing award-winning, anti-bias materials to more than 450,000 teachers and schools nationwide. The SPLC educates the public on the structural causes, and impacts, of inequality and uses a multifaceted approach of community education, mobilization, media and legislative advocacy to combat bias and discrimination against minorities, immigrants, the poor, the LGBT community and other vulnerable members of society. All of the SPLC's work is provided free of charge.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Hate and Extremism: We are the only organization that produces an annual hate group list, making our efforts essential to gauging the level of extremism in the United States. Currently, there are 954 known hate groups operating across the country, including neo-Nazis, Klansmen, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, racist skinheads, black separatists, border vigilantes and others. We also combat hate through litigation designed to hold hate groups and individuals accountable for their crimes, deter their future misconduct, and win justice for their victims.
Children at Risk: The SPLC has a longstanding commitment to ensure that vulnerable children in the Deep South have an equal opportunity to reach their full potential. Our attorneys focus primarily on two public systems with a significant impact on the life outcomes of at-risk children: the juvenile justice and education systems. Currently we're focusing on stopping the “school-to-prison pipeline; ensuring equal access to for children in poverty and those with disabilities; and ensuring access to mental health services for children living in poverty.
Criminal Justice Reform: We focus on making sure these systems operate fairly and equitably; to ensure the dignity and humanity of those interacting with these systems; and to reduce the population of jailed, detained, and incarcerated juveniles, immigrants, and adults.
Economic Justice: We legal cases and advocacy seeks to ensure that people living in poverty in the Deep South, particularly communities of color, are not punished or exploited because of their economic status. We focus on court debt and bail, government safety nets and consumer protection.
Immigrant Justice: The SPLC works to ensure that immigrants are treated fairly, equally, and with dignity and are empowered to live their lives as full members of society. We focus on immigrant enforcement and “crimmigration"; civil rights of immigrants; and protecting immigrant workers from workplace abuse.
LGBT Rights: We work to eliminate discrimination against the LGBT community, particularly in the Deep South.
Voting Rights: We work to end systematic voter suppression and to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to make their voice heard at the ballot box.
Teaching Tolerance: Our mission is to help teachers and schools educate children and youth to be active participants in a diverse democracy. Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators—teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners—who work with children from kindergarten through high school. Educators use our materials to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Southern Poverty Law Center, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 04/24/2023
Bennett Grau
Retired investment professional and longtime children's advocate
Bryan Fair
Pam Horowitz
Joseph Levin
Karol V. Mason
Verna L. Williams
Katheryn Russell-Brown
Emery Wright
Isabel Watkins Rubio
Josh Bekenstein
Minjon Tholen
Karen Baynes-Dunning
Emery Wright
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes