Morris Dees

A trailblazing force in civil rights litigation, Morris Dees co-founded the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in 1971 with Joseph J. Levin Jr., establishing an innovative approach to combating hate groups through strategic damage litigation. Dees graduated magna cum laude from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1960, subsequently establishing a law office in Montgomery. Concurrently, he built a successful entrepreneurial career in direct-mail publishing, co-founding Fuller & Dees Marketing Group.

His significant contributions to justice and civil rights garnered widespread recognition, including an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree from Whittier College in 1990. He was also honored with the prestigious Salem Award for Human Rights and Social Justice in 1993, acknowledging his profound influence on social progress. Dees’s enduring legacy in civil rights continues to be recognized and celebrated. In 2006, the Morris Dees Justice Award was created in his honor, perpetuating his name and mission within the legal community.

Further acknowledging his exceptional service, the American Bar Association awarded him the esteemed ABA Medal in 2012. Most recently, his lifelong dedication to nonviolent social change was commended with the Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize in 2016, solidifying his place as a towering figure in the fight for equality and justice.