Skip to content

Southern Poverty Law Center

News

Black Voters Matter isn’t giving up on Black voters in Alabama

“When you don’t vote, you give away your power,” said Arnee Odoms, Alabama state coordinator for Black Voters Matter.
October 1, 2020

SPLC’s Margaret Huang receives civil rights award at Washington Film Festival

The March on Washington Film Festival this week awarded Southern Poverty Law Center President Margaret Huang an award for her work with the Montgomery-based foundation. The festival honored Huang at its awards gala Monday night. In addition to Huang, the festival honored the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, who died this summer. … Continued
September 22, 2020

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies at 87

United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — a champion of women’s rights and voter protections on the nation’s highest court — died Friday at the age of 87 from complications from metastatic pancreas cancer. The justice died at her home in Washington D.C., surrounded by family. Only the second woman ever to be … Continued
September 19, 2020

Trial begins in lawsuit challenging state’s COVID-19 election rules

A virtual trial opened on Tuesday in a lawsuit charging that Alabama’s requirements of witnesses and photo ID for absentee ballots and a “de facto ban” on curbside voting are unconstitutional. The suit, People First v. Merrill, was filed on May 1 by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, … Continued
September 9, 2020

SPLC: Stopping excessive use of force by police is urgent

The Southern Poverty Law Center on Tuesday called for action to address use of force policies that continue to result in the killings of Black men by police in the U.S.  Margaret Huang, SPLC president and CEO, issued a statement after two men were shot, one fatally, in the preceding days in different states. Both … Continued
August 25, 2020

Alabama Democratic Party chair commends Merrill for expanding absentee voting

Alabama Democratic Party chairman, State Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, commended Secretary of State John Merrill for expanding absentee voting opportunities ahead of August municipal elections and the Nov. 3 general election. Merrill used his emergency powers to expand absentee voting opportunities by allowing individuals to use a health excuse based on the COVID-19 pandemic for … Continued
July 21, 2020

SPLC urges Congress to pass the “NO BAN Act”

The Southern Poverty Law Center’s president and CEO, Margaret Huang, sent a letter to all members of Congress, urging representatives to support the “National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act” — or the “NO BAN Act” — which is scheduled for a vote in the U.S. House on Wednesday. “The unnecessary, cruel entry bans have dramatically … Continued
July 21, 2020