MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Southern Poverty Law Center is leaning on its Alabama origins and civil rights history as it continues to file lawsuits and complaints in the state over student discipline, due process and other civil rights issues, even as the organization faces a federal indictment and a separate state investigation.
Founded in Montgomery in 1971, the SPLC says its Alabama office is focused on continuing the state’s civil rights legacy and advancing racial equity and social justice. The group recently launched its Alabama state office and named Tafeni English-Relf as its first director, part of what the organization calls a broader effort to deepen local work in the state.
In education cases, the SPLC has repeatedly pressed Alabama school districts over student due-process rights. In December 2024, the organization said it filed lawsuits against the Montgomery County Board of Education on behalf of two students who were expelled after a school shooting-related incident, and it described those cases as part of a broader string of challenges to exclusionary discipline practices in Alabama. The SPLC also said it previously sued the Athens City Schools Board of Education and the Elmore County Board of Education over expulsions it said were imposed without adequate due process.
The organization has also said Mobile County public schools continue to violate student rights, including by suspending students for minor infractions without proper notice and hearings, according to an amended complaint it filed in that long-running case. In another Alabama matter, the SPLC said Tuscaloosa County Schools agreed to let LGBT students attend prom with same-sex dates and recognize clothing expressing acceptance of LGBT people after the organization raised concerns on behalf of a student.
Beyond the courts, the SPLC’s Alabama policy priorities include voting rights, children’s rights, economic justice and efforts to combat white supremacy, according to its state priorities page. The organization says its work in the state is meant to support vulnerable communities and promote equality through legal advocacy and public education.
That local profile now sits alongside mounting scrutiny. In April, a federal grand jury in Montgomery indicted the SPLC on charges including wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to commit money laundering, allegations tied to the group’s former paid informant program. The Alabama attorney general’s office later said it opened a civil investigation into the SPLC over possible deceptive fundraising practices and issued a subpoena seeking records.
The SPLC has rejected the allegations and said its informant program was designed to gather information about extremist groups to help protect potential victims, while recent reporting said the organization is seeking dismissal of the federal case as vindictive prosecution. The group has also maintained that federal law enforcement knew for years about the program.