Friend,

2023 showed us that hate and extremism are seeping into the mainstream – infiltrating our legislative bodies, schools, places of worship and other institutions. With more relentless attacks coming from the far right, our commitment to eradicating bigotry has never been more vital. But even though we face challenges ahead, we made major progress in the march for justice last year.

Our 2023 Impact Report highlights our wins in four major areas: Strengthening Democracy, Fighting White Supremacy, Eradicating Poverty and Reducing Incarceration. We spend countless hours building a more inclusive, equitable society, but our work is still far from over.

The SPLC’s mission to end hate, reduce mass incarceration and expand voting rights is made possible through caring supporters like you. Your partnership empowers us to keep fighting the good fight whether it’s in the courts, in our nation's Capitol or in the classroom. We are honored to have your alliance in this fight.

The SPLC is committed to ending the inequities of the criminal legal and immigration systems while helping safeguard the rights of those trapped within them. We focus on disrupting mass incarceration and the school-to-prison pipeline, fighting the criminalization of Black and Brown communities, and investigating the human rights abuses of detained and incarcerated people.

Some of our 2023 highlights include:

• 66+ total years in criminal sentences were reduced for formerly incarcerated people in Louisiana and Mississippi through the SPLC’s early release aid program.

• 4,865 volunteer attorney hours were worked to provide free legal aid to immigrants in detention through the SPLC’s Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative (SIFI).

• The Lawyering Project, joined by the Southern Poverty Law Center, filed a federal lawsuit after Alabama’s attorney general threatened to criminalize people helping pregnant Alabamians access legal abortion care in other states. While abortion is banned in Alabama, the state has no power to criminalize people engaging in lawful activity in other states. However, the fear of prosecution forced the plaintiff, Yellowhammer Fund, to cease operation of its abortion fund.

• Helped remove children in secure custody from Angola state penitentiary, an adult maximum-security prison, where they reportedly faced abuse and lack of educational services. In 2022, then Governor Jon Bell Edwards announced plans to move children in the custody of the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) to Angola, the largest maximum-security prison in the nation. Many civil rights advocates, including the SPLC, urged the U.S. Department of Education to investigate and eventually filed a federal lawsuit to prevent the transfer. The litigation continued even after an injunction was denied and attorneys challenging the plan were able to demonstrate how horrifying life was for children at Angola. After visiting the prison, U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick ordered the state to remove the children, citing several reprehensible conditions.

Our work to reduce incarceration is fueled by your support. Please help the SPLC achieve more wins in 2024 by making a special gift today. These funds sustain critical projects and programs that help reduce incarceration, support a quality public education and eradicate the school-to-prison pipeline.

When passionate, mission-driven people like you stand with us in the frontlines, change is possible. We are deeply appreciative of the critical role you play in carrying out our shared mission. Thank you. 

Sincerely,

Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center