Dees is chief trial counsel and chair of the executive committee for theSouthern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit organization that combats hate,intolerance and discrimination through education and litigation. The Centerspecializes in civil rights violations and racially motivated crimes, and worksto expose and undermine hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and armedanti-government militias that espouse violence.
The recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award from the NationalEducation Association in 1990, Dees devotes most of his time to developingideas for "Teaching Tolerance," the Center's education project. He is also theauthor of several books, including the most recent, Gathering Storm:America's Militia Threat (1996) and his autobiography, A Season forJustice (1991).
A highly successful lawyer, Dees has been named Trial Lawyer of the Year bythe Trial Lawyers for Public Justice and was awarded the American BarAssociation's Young Lawyers Distinguished Service Award. He has also beenhonored by the American Civil Liberties Union with its Roger Baldwin Award.
In addition to his work at the Center, Dees frequently speaks to colleges anduniversities. and a variety of other groups throughout the country.
