Morris
Dees is a man who rose against stereotypes, society structure,
and attitude to bring justice to those who needed it. As one can
see from the reading the biography, he chose to make a difference.
In 1969, Morris Dees, a self-made millionaire, chose to make a
sudden career shift that has since affected hundreds of thousands
of people across the United States and perhaps around the world.
It is said that one person can make a difference, but not many
people believe it is true.. Morris Dees has made a difference
to so many directly and through the Southern
Poverty Law Center. A period in his life that wasn't covered
in Morris Dees's biography was the period in which he became involved
in politics. Being a campaign manager and financer taught him
how to write letters. It taught him how to ask the people for
money to support a cause. This skill was critical to the success
of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Today, the courts appoint laws for defendants who can not afford
them. It is a part of their Miranda rights. However, no matter
who is your appointed lawyer of the court, he cannot compare to
the top of the class corporate lawyer at the other table. This
is because corporate lawyers are doing pro bono work. It's
somewhat like volunteer work. They are not getting paid and are
not motivated to work as much. This was the cases in the 1970s
regarding minorities. In crimes they did not commit or crimes
in which the severity was disproportioned the lawyers did not
care and/or did not have the resources to find the truth. Luckily,
Morris Dees had the money
needed to find the truth using private investigators, scientists
to piece together evidence, and other specialists. This allowed
him to present winning and persuasive cases. Unfortunately in
today's society, money is critical to success.
These skills helped bring in the first donors to the Center when
it first started. Soon enough they had enough money to have the
Center run along smoothly with the interest from the bank on that
money. But several periods of inflation in the late 1970s caused
the Center to turn to donors once more. Today, hundreds of thousands
of people donate to the Southern Poverty Law Center to fight for
a cause.
