Dear Friend,

Last week's events at the Capitol were horrific. Never before
have we seen the Confederate flag flying in our nation's
Capitol, and the violence that took the lives of five people and
injured dozens more was unprecedented. It was a wake-up call. The
growing threat of white nationalist extremism must be countered by
diligent and dedicated institutions of democracy. Racial justice can
no longer be delayed or deferred but must be at the center of our
work.

The Southern Poverty Law Center's Action Fund has strongly urged
members of Congress to impeach the president. We were heartened by the
courage of lawmakers in the House who voted this week to hold
President Trump accountable for inciting last week's
insurrection. We hope that you will follow the SPLC Action
Fund's work to stay updated on our policy positions and
recommendations in response to the extremist attack.
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Sadly, what was pushed aside by the brazen coup attempt last week were
the incredibly inspiring victories by two Senate candidates in
Georgia. Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff will join the U.S. Senate
next week and shift the balance of power in that body. The timing
could not be more important. As we mark the celebration of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.'s life, his call to eradicate poverty, to expand
voting rights protections and to end the structural racism in our
country is as profound today as it was during the civil rights
movement.

I am deeply proud of the work of the SPLC's dedicated staff
during the runup to the Georgia election. We joined with our partners
in Georgia to register and mobilize voters prior to the January 5
vote. Our Vote Your Voice initiative supported several grassroots
groups to turn out their communities - and that effort will have
an enormous impact on the ability of President-elect Biden to deliver
on his policy promises.

With Biden's commitment to tackling the COVID-19 virus and to
ensuring the safe delivery of vaccinations to all communities, we need
to rebuild trust in our government and do all that we can to help
protect vulnerable communities as we restore our economy and health
care system. Along those lines, our Economic Justice Project team
recently filed suit to compel the Georgia Department of
Labor to process stalled unemployment applications. And we are
continuing our litigation efforts to protect the incarcerated and
detained from COVID; recently, we received long-awaited records about
COVID-19 cases in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, jail after we filed
suit.  
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In the meantime, we will continue tracking and monitoring the hate
groups that threaten our democracy. As you may know, in the first
quarter each year we release our Year in Hate and Extremism report.
This year, our Intelligence Project team is working extra hard to
prepare and release the report early - because we know that some
of the far-right extremist groups we're tracking played major
roles in the deadly attack on the Capitol. The report will be released
on January 26, so keep an eye on your inbox for more details.
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Amid the tension and fear that this month's events have
inflicted, it's important not to lose sight of our power. The
movement for justice and human rights that you and I are a part of
will emerge stronger after these threats. Your support allows us to
continue fighting for our shared values each day. I'm so
grateful to be standing shoulder to shoulder with you and our
dedicated staff members during a time when our mission could not be
more important.

With gratitude,

Margaret Huang
SPLC President & CEO 

  

 


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