( 6 reviews )
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( 3 of 3 found this review helpful ) Posted: Oct 5 2008
Morris Dees was born to a sharecropper family. Rising from white Southern poverty, Mr. Dees went to law school and became a fighter for justice on behalf of the poor. I have met Mr. Dees. He was the keynote speaker at my law school graduation. His Southern Poverty Law Center once assisted my Firm on a case when it turned out that one of our opponents was an active Klansman. Mr. Dees is passionate about his work with the SPLC, and its "Klanwatch" which has expanded to monitor all domestic hate groups. This book discusses several of Mr. Dees' more high-profile and more personally meaningful cases. It's an important document that sheds light on an aspect of our national character that brings out the worst in many and the best in some like Mr. Dees and his associates.
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Posted: Sep 7 2008
A Lawyer's Journey: The Morris Dees Story by Morris Dees with Steve Fiffer is an autobiography which reads like a novel. It is Morris' story of growing up in a share-cropper's family on a cotton farm in Mississippi in the post Depression years. He worked in the fields with the black laborers, whom he heard talking among themselves as no other white ears could hear. With a compassionate father who treated negroes kindly in a period and place when other whites treated them cruelly or unfairly, Morris' character was developed to be sympathetic to the underlings of society. He grew up to be a successful lawyer and founded the Southern Poverty Law Center, which fairly and without charging represents poor clients so they can receive just treatment in a legal system which still favors the rich, white accused. The book is a compelling and poignant read and one you cannot put down. It will pull your heart strings and educate you to cruel realities in America today. An excellent book you won't want to miss
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Posted: May 10 2008
No one could help but be a fan of Mr. Dees when he is addressing issues of white racism. That people like him stood up years ago for justice when others turned their backs, should be commended. But reading this book in the light of current events made me wonder: is the bigotry in a church, say, like Jeremiah Wright's dealt with by the SPLC? Just go to the Southern Poverty site and check for yourself. No way. It seems bigotry is only one-sided. This ashame. Bigotry in all its forms should be dealt with in an even-handed manner. It just makes you wonder what (or what isn't) going on down there in Montgomery.
