A special year-end message from Morris Dees and Richard Cohen

We marked the 50th anniversaries of the historic Selma-to-Montgomery march and the Voting Rights Act with the release of our latest Teaching Tolerance documentary on voting rights.

And, in the wake of the tragedy in Charleston, we exposed the way hate groups radicalize young people and successfully pushed the government to more vigorously confront the danger of far-right terrorism.

We owe our success not just to the skill and devotion of our colleagues here at the SPLC but also to the commitment of our generous supporters.

We hope you will continue standing with us – and those we help – in the coming year as we face an array of new challenges in our pursuit of justice for the most vulnerable among us.

Fighting hate

We were all sickened by the white supremacist attack in Charleston this summer.

But, to tell you the truth, we weren’t surprised when our investigators found out the shooter had been radicalized and inspired by a racist hate group we’ve been tracking for many years.

Just months earlier, we’d issued a major study showing that the vast majority of recent terrorist attacks were committed by “lone wolf” extremists. Many of these killers are indoctrinated online, in the echo chambers of hate provided by Internet forums.

After the horror in Charleston, we testified before Congress and told lawmakers that, since 9/11, the government had taken its eyes off the ball — even as the threat of violence from the radical right mounted. The Department of Justice has since announced a new director-level position to coordinate the fight against violent domestic extremists.

But that’s only part of what we’re doing.

Significant obstacles, progress

We’ve made significant progress in our campaign to disrupt the activities of hate groups that use online propaganda to turn troubled young people into violent killers. We’ve persuaded leading Internet music retailers to live up to their own codes of conduct by stopping the sale of hate music that indoctrinates young people. And, heeding our call, other Internet companies are cutting off services that help hate groups raise money.

In addition, we shipped 70,000 copies of our new training video on “lone wolf” terrorists to law enforcement officers nationwide. Because of your support, we’re able to provide our law enforcement resources, including face-to-face training sessions, free of charge.

We’re now tracking nearly 1,600 extremist groups operating across the country and providing key intelligence to law enforcement. We’re looking forward to more progress in the coming year.

Seeking justice

We had major success in the courtroom this year.

In New Orleans, we won a $14 million jury verdict on behalf of Indian guest workers who were victimized by a massive labor trafficking and racketeering scheme engineered by a Gulf Coast marine services company and its agents.

Then, working with law firms across the country, we helped reach a $20 million settlement to resolve 11 similar suits that we spearheaded after a judge ruled that we could not represent hundreds of workers in a single lawsuit.

In Birmingham, Alabama, our suit challenging the use of pepper spray by police stationed in public schools was successful when a judge ruled officers violated the constitutional rights of schoolchildren by spraying them for typical adolescent behavior, like “backtalking.”

And, in a New Jersey courtroom, we exposed gay-to-straight “conversion therapy” for what is: a dangerous scam that can cause devastating psychological harm to young people.

In this first-of-its-kind case, a jury ruled that a group called JONAH committed consumer fraud by claiming its abusive “therapy” could change someone’s sexual orientation. It’s an important ruling, because religious-right zealots are claiming gay people are sick and need to be “cured.” We know that’s a lie — and now a court has agreed and JONAH is shutting down.

We had many other legal successes in 2015.

For example, in Alabama, our lawsuit against a private “probation” company that extorts court debt payments from the poor by threatening them with jail has resulted in the company closing its remaining offices in the state. More than 70 cities canceled contracts with the company after we warned them that the company’s tactics were illegal.

In a small Mississippi town, we reached an agreement with school officials to halt the harassment of LGBT students, and in South Carolina we stopped discriminatory policies that kept the children of immigrants from attending college.

Finally, in Georgia, our case on behalf of a transgender woman in prison brought international attention to the horrific mistreatment of prisoners who have gender dysphoria. The lawsuit, which continues, has already forced positive changes in Georgia’s prison policy.

Teaching Tolerance

Our Teaching Tolerance project once again worked hand-in-hand with America’s educators to create nurturing, inclusive classrooms free of bigotry and to create equal opportunities for every child.

Among the highlights was the release of our newest classroom documentary, Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot, which is designed to inspire young people to not only vote but to be ambassadors for social justice.

The film, released in time for the 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery march, tells the heroic story of the students and teachers in Selma who stood up to oppression, risking jail and even their lives for voting rights.

We’re also providing free DVDs to community groups to use in their efforts to register and turn out voters. We’ve already sent more than 40,000 copies of Selma to educators and community groups, and we’ve hosted numerous free screenings across the country.

March continues

Of course, we know that – 50 years after Selma – the civil rights movement is far from over.

We’re facing a renewed backlash to our nation’s growing diversity – a far-right reactionary movement hell-bent on turning back the clock.

That’s why it’s so important that we stand together and fight for the values we share.

We’re all thankful for the accomplishments of the past year, but we’re facing many challenges ahead in courtrooms and classrooms across America in 2016.

We thank everyone who has stood with us. All of us here wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season.