Recent Southern Poverty Law Center Commentaries

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Ignore Trump? I Was Wrong!
Last week, I wrote that the media needs to ignore former president Donald Trump. I was wrong. None of us should ignore Donald Trump. Time and time again, Trump has proven himself to be a bigoted, misogynistic, narcissistic and dangerous liar. Now, he’s crossed the Rubicon . . . no course correction . . . no going back . ....
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December 6, 2022
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What We Need to Be
“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” — Oprah Winfrey Confederate statues are coming down. Quaker Oats is dropping Aunt Jemima from its maple syrup. Even the new streaming service, HBO Max, has withdrawn, for the time being, the 1939 film, Gone with the Wind, due to its racist depictions. From appearances, the country...
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June 22, 2020
Read Some of the Most Recent Articles
The Latest... And Often Greatest
“What Is Essential Is Invisible to The Eye.”
That line from The Little Prince by French aviator and author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is the essence of the story and the essence of what...
The Move That Mattered Most
I’ve played chess about two dozen times, and every match feels less like a game and more like mental boot camp. It’s not difficult; it’s...
The Difference Between Right and Rights
“There’s a difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.” United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said...
Integrity and Edmund G. Ross
Moments of character often define a person—sometimes even a nation. I first came across Senator Ross’s story when reading President Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage. What...
Integrity and Elliot Richardson
The measure of a public servant isn’t how tightly they hold onto power, but how faithfully they hold their integrity when the pressure to bend...
America’s Moral Crossroad
Writer David Brooks is rarely prone to hyperbole and often resists the easy pull of partisanship. A thoughtful conservative who has moved toward the center,...