Southern Poverty Law Center appoints new leadership

The The Southern Poverty Law Center has named an interim president after its founder was fired and its president resigned, reports the Associated Press. The Alabama civil rights group announced last week that Karen Baynes-Dunning is interim president. She is a former judge who served on the SPLC board since 2017. Baynes-Dunning is the first Black woman to head the group, which at times has been criticized for having mostly White leadership. The SPLC last month announced it had dismissed its founder, prominent civil rights attorney Morris Dees, for unspecified conduct. Longtime president Richard Cohen also announced he was stepping down. The organization said it is bringing in an outside group to review its workplace practices. Baynes-Dunning says the SPLC will remain a leader at tackling discrimination, combatting hate and extremism and promoting anti-bias curriculum in public schools.