"This nation is going to be tested. This is a watershed election for America."
With those thoughts, civil rights advocate Morris Dees, famous for his pursuit of hate groups in the United States, used the upcoming presidential election as the backdrop for his recent presentation at Penn State Harrisburg. Dees' appearance was the concluding installment in the campus' yearlong diversity lecture series which also featured TV and radio host Tavis Smiley and political commentator Donna Brazile.
The founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center and a longtime champion of justice for all segments of U.S. society, Dees' hourlong talk touched on a number of topics and challenges facing the nation today in addition to the upcoming election -- the remarkable increase in both hate crimes and hate groups, immigrant justice, and the "divide that separates us in this nation." Dees was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Penn State in 2002.
"We have a front row seat to history in the making," Dees said, emphasizing the magnitude of the possibility that the Democratic nominee will be an African-American male, Barak Obama, or a female, Hillary Clinton. Dees said the real question is "Can we really share power in this country with people who are different -- a black man? A woman?"
On the rise in hate activity, Dees said a recent Southern Poverty Law Center study noted a 48 percent increase in the number of active hate groups in 2007, bringing the estimated number to nearly 90. The study also revealed in excess of 200,000 hate crimes across the nation
But Dees added that "systemic bias and prejudice" are an equally prevalent problem. He cited several examples of how bias subtly infiltrates daily activities, whether it is being passed up for a job interview because of the ethnicity of one's name or being watched more closely by retail clerks because of the color of one's skin.
"The biggest divide that separates us in this nation is along racial and economic lines," Dees said. "Understanding, acceptance, appreciation, and the love for those who are different" will help to bridge the divide, he said. "America is great because of its differences, not in spite of them."
Referring numerous times to the work and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Dees stressed his "march for equality and justice continues today." Quoting King's "I Have a Dream" speech in which he spoke of the sons of former slaves and former slave owners someday sitting down together at the table of brotherhood, Dees said, "we must build a table for others."
"Martin Luther King was worried that we may not continue as a nation. We need to cross that River Jordan and build a community with justice and fairness for all," Dees said.