Barnard
Medal of Distinction Citation for Morris Dees
Morris
Dees, you have dedicated your life to the teaching
of tolerance and to the fight against hate groups
and radical militia movements - an extraordinary
blending of visionary leadership with hard-nosed
recognition of reality. You enlighten by example,
and despite ruthless attacks on your person and
your character, you retain an ardent belief in
the viability of universal justice and equality
for all groups and individuals.
As founder, Chief Trial Counsel and Executive
Committee Chair for the Southern Poverty Law Center,
you have brought carefully researched suit against
one after another of the hate groups that scar
a just society. In 1981, you won a precedent-setting
case that stripped the Klan of its assets. And
you went on to make history again and again, prevailing
in court against white supremacist groups, bankrupting
them and diminishing the threat they pose to our
nation.
And
we honor you as a teacher. The Center's Teaching
Tolerance Project, which you launched in 1991,
has distributed to schools all over the country
materials designed to teach racial respect. Again,
in your words, "You can fight hate in court .
. . but you teach tolerance in the classroom."
As
part of your effort to educate young people about
the civil rights movement and pay lasting tribute
to those who gave their lives in the fight for
justice and equality, you also spearheaded the
building of the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery,
Alabama.
The
road you have taken - from raising cotton on an
Alabama farm to using the law to fight intolerance
and promote diversity - has brought you awards
and accolades. Following this road has been hard
work indeed. Yet you have said, "The work I do
is not work. . . . If you can do something that
you really enjoy doing and you feel tangibly affects
people's lives, then that's a valuable thing."
Morris
Dees, there is no more valuable thing than the
struggle against injustice and intolerance. With
rare courage and tenacity, you continue to fight
on behalf of us all.
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