riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (12/05/84)
Because of the magazines I subscribe to and the charities I've given money to,
I get an awful lot of direct-mail appeals for contributions from all sorts of
political and social action groups. I generally dislike responding to such
solicitations, partly because of the disgustingly low level to which even
reputable organizations stoop when they're after my money, but occasionally
among the junk is something which arouses my curiosity.
One such piece of mail arrived this week from an outfit I'd like to know more
about. It is the "Southern Poverty Law Center/Klanwatch Project," run out of
Montgomery, Alabama, by an attorney named Morris Dees. The envelope contained
the usual form letter and obligatory note from a movie star (this one: Gregory
Peck) begging for money, as well as a rather lurid photograph of a young black
man who was recently lynched by members of the Ku Klux Klan. In addition
there was an offprint of a May, 1984 Newsweek article about Dees' work in
opposing the Klan. According to the article, Dees has been suing Klan members
in civil courts and using subpoenas to go after testimony and evidence which
Federal investigators can't or won't pursue, then turning his findings over to
prosecutors for use in criminal cases. (The Newsweek article didn't explain
why civil suits and subpoenas are effective when ordinary criminal
investigations aren't.) Dees' own letter also mentions educational work and a
film and newsletter on the Klan which he distributes to community groups and
law enforcement agencies.
Looking beyond the fundraising gimmickry, this sounds very good, but I'll
admit that I'd like to know more. I certainly think that the Klan deserves
much more effective prosecution than it has received in cases where it has
actually committed acts of violence and terror; at the same time, though, I
know that there are groups opposing the Klan who sometimes seem to contribute
to the problem more than they help to solve it by rivaling the Klan itself in
their militancy and violent rhetoric. (I'm thinking of the John Brown
Anti-Klan Committee, for instance).
So I'd like to know: has anyone out there heard of Morris Dees, the SPLC or
the Klanwatch project? What do you think of them? Please reply to me by
mail. If there's any interest, I'll summarize.
Oh, and for those of you who are curious and would like to contact the SPLC
directly, the address is: SPLC, 1001 South Hull St., Montgomery, AL 36195.
--- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.")
--- {ihnp4,harvard,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddleriddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (12/16/84)
I only got one response to my query about the Southern Poverty Legal Center and its Klanwatch Project: >> The organization is legitimate. They have been on my contribution list for >> years. For those of you who may be interested, the address is: SPLC 1001 South Hull St. Montgomery, AL 36195. --- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.") --- {ihnp4,harvard,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddle