Spring 2008
Morris Dees Inspires Students to Work
for Equality and Justice
Internationally acclaimed civil rights attorney and social justice crusader Morris Dees spoke to a sold out crowd of students, faculty and community members on the evening of March 4 in the Cooperage on the theme With Justice for All. The event was the third annual lecture in the Andrea Neves and Barton Evans Social Justice Lecture Series, also sponsored by SSU's Center for Culture Gender and Sexuality Heritage Lecture Series and Associated Students and organized by the School of Education and the School of Social Sciences.
In his lecture, he warned that Americans will have to overcome their systemic biases against gender and race if they are to take advantage of the historic
possibilities in this year's presidential election. He said, "If we're going to build the bridges that separate the divide in this country, whether they be about race, gender or sexual
orientation . . . it's going to be because we reached across those divides and learned to care about and love people who are
different than we are," Morris Dees said.
Earlier the same day Dees engaged in an informal conversation with students on the topic of social justice in the 21st century, affording students the chance to ask him questions in a smaller, more personal setting. Dees used personal anecdotes and reflections to illustrate the impact that racial and gender discrimination and an ever widening economic divide has on our society, especially in light of the presidential elections.
Dees is the co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit group specializing in lawsuits involving civil rights violations, domestic terrorism, and racially-motivated crimes. Dees and his associates have successfully battled and dismantled a series of hate groups, including the Aryan Nation and Ku Klux Klan, and have secured huge criminal, civil and financial judgments against them.
Dees is also a strong proponent of education about civil rights and the civil rights movement, and he was instrumental in the creation of the Civil Rights Memorial in Mobile, Alabama. For his efforts as an attorney and activist he has been named the Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, and has received the National Education Association's Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award.
To learn more about Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center, visit the website: http://www.splcenter.org
Announcements
CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE
PREMIER F. GEORGE ELLIOTT SCHOLARSHIPS
FACULTY NEWS
JACK LONDON AWARD FOR EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION
Join us to honor innovative programs in Sonoma County public schools on Wednesday, May 7, 2008, 4:00 p.m. in the University Commons. View the invitation.
INSIGHTS MAGAZINE ARTICLE
Voices from the Classroom
Related article from Dr. Mary Gendernalik-Cooper, Dean, School of Education:
Preparing Teacher Credential Candidates for the Opportunity
to Support English Language Learners