The Great Issues Committee hosted one of its final speakers of the year yesterday-Morris Dees, at 7 p.m. in the Anheuser-Busch auditorium in Cook Hall. Dees is a lawyer who has been fighting hate crimes and domestic terrorism for more than 30 years. He delivered a message of tolerance as his speech highlighted some of his experiences as a lawyer and activist.
Dees is the chief trial lawyer for the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit group that he helped found in 1971. In his time as a lawyer, he has helped to bankrupt the Ku Klux Klan, win lawsuits against the Aryan Nation and educate the American people on the threat of militia groups.
“There are many wonderful things to look forward to in this new millennium,” Dees said early in his speech, but estimated that there are about 650 hate groups in the United States. “That’s a 12 percent increase over last year.”
Dees spoke of both sides of the race relations in the United States by contrasting a tragic story of a Skinhead attack on an Ethiopian immigrant with a story about a small town in Montana that rallied behind a Jewish family that had a brick thrown through its window.
“We know about famous cases of hate crimes,” Dees said, “but there are many more that go silent.” He said that the FBI reports that there about 10,000 hate crimes committed each year but that because so many incidents go unreported there are probably closer to 50,000 each year.
Despite these numerical figures, Dees said he had confidence that the Americans could move beyond their past. “It’s really up to you. Each of you will have an opportunity to look at someone else and decide how they get treated,” he said.
“Our democracy is young, and there is no guarantee it will continue,” Dees explained. “Its success will depend on if we make a place at the table for all people.”
Senior Carrie Sublette said that she has been familiar with Dees’ work for a long time and was impressed with last night’s presentation. “He’s one of the most remarkable people in civil rights,” she said. “Even the way he freely expresses his views . can have a powerful impact on students.”
The GIC will be hosting two more speakers. On Monday, April 22, at 7 p.m. in the Anheuser-Busch Auditorium Jennifer Nichols will talk about the realities of HIV and AIDS in her life. The final speaker of the year will be talking about the history of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments on Tuesday, April 30.
