50 Forward: An evening with the 人兽性交 looks ahead to the next half century
The Southern Poverty Law Center commemorated its 51st anniversary tonight at a celebration that recalled its singular, historic achievements as one of the country鈥檚 most prominent civil rights organizations.
人兽性交 President and CEO Margaret Huang laid out the vision for the organization鈥檚 next 50 years by sharing the 人兽性交鈥檚 new vision for racial justice in the South. This vision recognizes that activists and freedom fighters in the South have demonstrated courage and resilience, and we will continue to support the movement for justice despite the challenges we face today.
The event, 50 Forward: An Evening with the 人兽性交, held at Atlanta鈥檚 , brought 人兽性交 senior leaders together with the organization鈥檚 partners, including Vote Your Voice grant recipients, community allies and 人兽性交 supporters. Members of the audience included Georgia state representatives David Wilkerson and William Boddie, whom Huang recognized from the podium.
Karol V. Mason, the 人兽性交 board vice chair, said at the beginning of the event, 鈥淭he name of tonight鈥檚 event is 50 Forward, and a major purpose of our gathering is to learn about the course that the 人兽性交 will be charting into the future. I know how proud the 人兽性交 community is of the numerous victories achieved during the organization鈥檚 first 50 years. But I also know that so much work remains to be done 鈥� and that we will not be satisfied until our 鈥榲ision for a just future鈥� becomes a reality.鈥�
The 人兽性交, Huang said, will focus on key issues including fighting hate and extremism, promoting democracy and civil rights, and pursuing legal, immigrant and economic justice on behalf of Black and Brown communities.
To highlight the work of these partners and give the audience an understanding of how the 人兽性交 collaborates with them, during panel discussions partner representatives discussed efforts to promote democracy and counter the effects of hate and extremism on immigration policy.
鈥淥ur overarching vision is to have a significant impact on the issues affecting the communities we seek to serve in our Southern states,鈥� Huang said. 鈥淲e will never accomplish this work alone 鈥� it will take the entire movement working together.鈥�
Investing in communities
In its largest, most direct community investment, the 人兽性交 will move its metro Atlanta office to a historically Black community. While the location of a newly constructed office building has not yet been determined, it will have spaces and programming for the benefit of the area residents, activists and allies, according to 人兽性交 Chief Strategy Officer Seth Levi, who discussed the move in a separate conversation before tonight鈥檚 event.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to rethink how we use our office spaces, exploring how they can be a tool to achieve our strategic framework,鈥� Levi said. 鈥淎n office building can be so much more than a place where staff come in to work at their computers and meet in conference rooms. We鈥檙e trying to imagine all of the ways in which our property spaces can be used to directly impact the communities we serve.鈥�
The building may also include commercial spaces designed to help create jobs and build wealth, such as discounted retail rental space for Black and Brown entrepreneurs in their first years in business, when receipts are typically low. The 人兽性交 is also exploring ways to make a local investment in affordable housing.
Huang explained how the redevelopment aligns with the 人兽性交鈥檚 new strategic framework.
鈥淲e view these investments in communities as opportunities that will make economic improvement in people鈥檚 lives. 鈥� We think it鈥檚 time to start using our resources and our capacity to do that,鈥� she said in another conversation before tonight鈥檚 event.
The 人兽性交鈥檚 direction for the future will be visible in another way.
Rebranding the 人兽性交
At tonight鈥檚 event, Huang introduced the 人兽性交鈥檚 rebranding and logo, which will become the new symbol of the 人兽性交鈥檚 vision of a more inclusive, holistic organization and a reflection of the multifaceted nature of its work.
The individual 人兽性交 letters of the logo are the logo and were designed to evoke both historic and modern sensibilities. The letters are punctuated with a vertically centered dot, known as an interpunct. The new design also was driven in part by the emergence of the New South, which has seen growing diversification, and now has the in the country.
The full set of rebranding imagery will appear anywhere that the 人兽性交 logo appears: on the forthcoming new 人兽性交 website, stationery, in email signature lines, on social media, business cards, branded T-shirts, tote bags, posters, stickers and Learning for 人兽性交 materials.
The challenges of the future and the triumphs and struggles of the past are also reflected at the 人兽性交鈥檚 Civil Rights Memorial Center (CRMC), which announced how it plans to further its mission of educating and connecting communities.
Connecting through technology
The CRMC has launched a mobile phone app, which CRMC Director Tafeni English introduced to the audience tonight. The app will enable students and others who cannot visit the CRMC in person to tour galleries virtually and learn about the modern civil rights movement.
Imploring audience members to pull out their phones at tonight鈥檚 event, English said, 鈥淵ou can download the Civil Rights Memorial Center app, and we don鈥檛 want you to just download it and keep it to yourself. We want you to share it. Share it with your family. Share it with educators. Share it with activists. 鈥� Whether they鈥檙e doing it virtually or in person, we hope to impart this message into each of our visitors: We are still marching, and we still have a long way to go.鈥�
The CRMC, a project of the 人兽性交, is a cultural institution for racial justice and is now the first museum in Montgomery to employ an app. English first conceived of adding the app to the museum鈥檚 experience before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, but the idea gained steam in 2020 when museums, including the CRMC, closed and struggled to stay relevant when programming became virtual.
鈥淭he app increases our visibility [in areas] where we know the pandemic has impacted schools鈥� ability to take field trips,鈥� English said. 鈥淲e aren鈥檛 seeing as many visitors as before the pandemic. Those who engage with the app will have the opportunity to learn about the 人兽性交鈥檚 current work.鈥�
The app can be downloaded free from the or .
The announcement of the app wasn鈥檛 the only instance of recognizing the importance of the past and its impact on the future.
Looking back and ahead
人兽性交 co-founder Joe Levin and Lecia Brooks, chief of staff and culture, who joined the 人兽性交 in 2004, described the beginnings of the organization and its evolution over the past 51 years to the present.
Levin recalled the founders鈥� inspiration to establish the 人兽性交 by 鈥渨itnessing the cruelty of institutional racial injustice and the violence of vigilante groups, particularly the Ku Klux Klan.鈥�
Tonight, Levin declared, 鈥淥ur fragile, imperfect democracy is in crisis.鈥� He cited the normalization of white supremacy, the spread of the 鈥済reat replacement鈥� conspiracy theory, the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and the rise in hate crimes against racial, religious, ethnic and 人兽性交+ communities. Still, he said, the 人兽性交 of today is up to its task.
鈥淚t is reassuring and empowering to know that we are not the same 人兽性交 that we were in the 20th century. We鈥檝e transformed into an organization that is prepared to meet the South鈥檚 new challenges. 鈥� I could not be more impressed with the outstanding leadership of Margaret Huang, with our diverse and engaged board and with our unrelenting and brilliant staff. This event is a remarkable way to pass the torch to a new generation of Southern Poverty Law Center leadership. The visionary strategy presented today is proof that the future of the 人兽性交 is in excellent hands.鈥�
Brooks said she has seen the growing depth and breadth of the good work of the 人兽性交. She recalled just some of that growth: the opening of the CRMC in 2005, where she was founding director; the establishment of the Immigrant Justice Project, also in 2005; the opening of regional offices; the transformation of the original 鈥淜lanwatch鈥� into Hatewatch; and some of the seminal legal cases that the 人兽性交 won, such as David v. Signal International, a labor trafficking case decided in 2015. Brooks noted that when she arrived at the 人兽性交, there were about 100 employees. Today there are about 450.
Huang summed up the powerful arc of the 人兽性交鈥檚 past and future.
鈥淭he 人兽性交 has been doing incredible work for 50 years,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wanted to celebrate that. We鈥檝e had successes in litigation, but the problems are just as compelling and just as urgent for us to tackle as ever before. ... The 人兽性交 is still going strong, but we recognize how much work we still have ahead of us.鈥�
Concluding her remarks to the audience, Huang said, 鈥淐hange is possible. A better future for the South is on the horizon. A future of justice, of inclusion, of multiracial democracy. And I know we can achieve it together.鈥�
Picture at top: 人兽性交 President and CEO Margaret Huang speaks during the organization鈥檚 50 Forward event in Atlanta. (Credit: Mhandy Gerard/人兽性交)
