SPLC Unveils New Visual Brand, Centering Southern Communities and Honoring Legacy of Defending Civil Rights

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Today, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) launched a new brand identity that builds on its legacy of fighting in the courts for justice and charts its course as a catalyst for people-powered, transformative change in the South and beyond.  

“Rooted in the Deep South, centered in racial equity and grounded in civil rights history, the SPLC is beginning a new era of work to build power for multiracial, inclusive democracy and reverse the tide of white nationalism,” said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

The bold, new brand uses the organization’s widely recognized acronym and a visual style — inspired by the generations of freedom fighters who marched before us and who continue to march — to reflect the organization’s commitment to working in deep partnership with communities and shifting political power to Black and Brown people in the South. That work builds on the organization’s history of successful litigation and leverages its organizing, advocacy and community outreach capacity. 

“This new era of the SPLC is about justice, truth-telling and activating our collective power to make change in the South. That power only grows as we elevate the needs and voices of those most impacted,” said Jamaal Nelson, chief of staff and culture at the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

As part of the SPLC’s evolution, the organization is launching new state offices to serve as connective points for the organization and communities — and to get proximate to the people and the unique challenges they experience across the South. Through these state offices, the SPLC will work in deep partnership with local groups and impacted communities to organize, innovate and transform the South. The first state office, led by Waikinya Clanton, launched in May 2022 in Jackson, Mississippi. Last week, the SPLC announced its second state office in Alabama, led by Tafeni English-Relf. 

“Across the South, we continue to see attacks on voting rights, criminalization of poor people, lack of access to housing and health care, environmental injustices, and the erasure of Black history from textbooks, among other issues. Together with communities, our state offices will address these challenges head-on and lead the way for the nation in achieving equity, justice and liberation for all,” said English-Relf.