“Richard told the board that a number of legacy civil rights organizations had transitioned to a new generation of leaders in recent years and that we should, too,” spokeswoman Jen Fuson told CNN. A spokeswoman said the group’s leadership has taken the initiative to improve culture, and that Cohen urged leadership changes in October, prompting the SPLC board to appoint a search committee for his replacement. The SPLC communications department, while defending the group’s handling of the current crisis, has not responded to questions about the specific substance of the various allegations. The judgment bankrupted the United Klans of America, which had to sell its national headquarters to help pay it off. In 1981, Dees successfully sued the Ku Klux Klan and won a $7 million judgment for the mother of Michael Donald, a black lynching victim in Alabama. As part of the judgments he helped win against those groups, courts would then seize the groups’ assets. WSFAĪs SPLC’s chief trial counsel, Dees began in the early 1980s to use courts to secure monetary damages against hate groups. Richard Cohen stepped down from his role as president of the SPLC. In the past few years, Dees said, he mostly went to the center to make calls to big donors. He only said that he “can let (his) life’s work and reputation speak for itself.” He would not elaborate on how he learned about his dismissal or the reasoning behind it. I’ve devoted 50 years of my life to the center. When initially asked about his termination, Dees told CNN it wasn’t his decision to leave SPLC. He didn’t do anything to change the culture, and he left because of it.”ĬNN reached out multiple times on Monday to Dees and Cohen about the workplace allegations. One employee said of Cohen’s departure, “Employees asked the president to step down. She would not comment when contacted by CNN. The SPLC continues to go through upheaval, with its legal director abruptly resigning in recent days. “We’ve heard from our staff that we need to do a better job of making sure that our workplace embodies the values we espouse – truth, justice, equity, and inclusion,” Cohen said in a statement. Last week, Cohen himself stepped down after more than 30 years with the center, saying his departure would help the SPLC move forward. SPLC co-founder Morris Dees speaks onstage at a 2016 event in California. “When one of our own fails to meet those standards, no matter his or her role in the organization, we take it seriously and must take appropriate action.” SPLC President Richard Cohen issued this statement on Dees’ dismissal: The organization said Dees had previously been disciplined after a prior investigation into “inappropriate conduct.” It would not elaborate on the nature of that conduct. The SPLC fired co-founder Morris Dees on March 13 and launched a top-to-bottom external review of workplace culture, headed by former Michelle Obama chief-of-staff Tina Tchen. The employee described the current upheaval at the SPLC as a revolution against the organization’s leadership, “initiated by employees” because workers were “tired of seeing the pervasive culture exist” unchallenged by those in charge. She added, “My boss only hires white people.” She also said qualified African-American employees were regularly passed over for promotions – including one African-American colleague she describes as brilliant. Former Michelle Obama chief-of-staff Tina Tchen will lead a review of workplace culture at the SPLC.īut one of the employees who spoke to CNN alleged the organization suffers from a “pervasive racist culture” and an environment in which a woman is not seen or heard.
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