Southern Poverty Law Center President Richard Cohen to step down

[Jose Garcia]

Source: USA TODAY NETWORK

Southern Poverty Law Center President Richard Cohen said in a statement Friday he has asked the board of the troubled organization to "to immediately launch a search for an interim president in order to give the organization the best chance to heal," and took responsibility for problems that have swept out the senior leadership of the group in just a week.

Cohen, who has worked at the SPLC since 1986 and served as president since 2003, said in the statement that "we'll emerge stronger" after an audit of the organization's practices by Tina Tchen, a former White House official and Chicago-based lawyer.

"Given my long tenure as the SPLC president, however, I do not think I should be involved in that process beyond cooperating with Tina, her team, and the board in any way that may be helpful," the statement said. "Whatever problems exist at the SPLC happened on my watch, so I take responsibility for them."

When reached for comment on Friday evening, an SPLC spokesperson said the center cannot comment on the specifics of individual personnel decisions.

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[Socal31]

1. Last thing I expected.

[DRoseDARs]

2. Jesus what is happening over there? First Dees is "consciously detached" re:fired, now Cohen leaves?

[PoliticAverse]

3. See...

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-reckoning-of-morris-dees-and-the-southern-poverty-law-center

[Docreed2003]

4. Dang....that's a gutpunch of an article

I suppose I was naive in my views on the SPLC

[DRoseDARs]

5. I had to stop reading a third of the way through. Good gawd, I imagine it gets worse from there. nt

[OhNo-Really]

6. The original founders are clever, greedy jerks it seems. However, SPLC does good work

Hopefully, the auditor will be able to help establish a new culture more aligned to the missions, and fair to the employees.

[murielm99]

10. I was naive too.

I am glad it was posted here. We need to know.

[murielm99]

7. Dear God,

I have given them money and support since their beginnings. I want to believe in their mission.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Ditto.

[Igel]

9. "Want to believe"

is really the same as "easily deceived about".

As soon as I want to believe something, the first thing I do is turn my attention to all the details of the thing I want to believe.

The things I don't want to believe I'll pull to pieces to show that I'm right in not wanting to believe them. I'm already opposed to them, and need serious convincing.

But if I want to believe something, it's a warning to myself that it's an area where I'm already very gullible and that constitutes warning to myself to avoid providing not inconsiderable aid to others as they possibly deceive me.

It always pisses me off when I realize that years ago I didn't check something that I wanted to believe at the time. My first response is to be mad at the "other guy" for tricking me, but then I "check my stupidity" to see if I assisted the person. If I helped, it's hard to blame the other person since I'm complicit in my own self-deception and presumably bear a greater responsibility for my own well-being than the other person.