FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS STATEMENT
CONTACT: info@aprnetwork.org
April 23, 2026 – Today, the Fair South Coalition made up of Fair Count, Fair Fight Action, Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP), and American Pride Rises (APR) released a joint statement condemning the Department of Justice’s attack on the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC):
“The Trump regime’s coordinated attacks on our civil rights know no bounds – they pose a direct threat to the freedoms that uphold American democracy. We are a weaker nation when those brave enough to stand against discrimination become targets of repression. Since they took office, this regime has undermined the rights and freedoms of all Americans — from dismantling voting rights to gutting critical services and banning equity protections. With this attack on the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the regime intends to flip the very definition of civil rights on its head and eliminate the organizations who work to protect the freedoms of diverse communities. Without organizations like the SPLC, the American Dream slips further from our grasp.
“This authoritarian tactic of attacking truth tellers and defenders of the marginalized is not new. In the South, we continue to live within the remnants of Jim Crow, another time in our history when political leaders used their power to silence the voices of millions. In 1956, Alabama’s attorney general branded the NAACP a “foreign corporation” and effectively banned it from the state for eight years – the same playbook of weaponizing government to crush civil rights groups. Then, as now, they suborned violent means to maintain power and limit progress. Organizations like the SPLC are the bulwarks democracy demands if it is to survive.
“Civil rights advocates have been essential to dismantling systems of oppression, and we must not be intimidated by the dangerous actions of the Trump regime. For more than 50 years, the SPLC has defended all Americans’ rights and freedoms. Born in the South, the SPLC knows the playbook, and they have not wavered in their fight. The Fair South Coalition stands with SPLC at this moment because those of us committed to protecting people from hate, harm and discrimination will not be silenced.”
About American Pride Rises:
American Pride Rises (APR) is an initiative committed to protecting pathways to the American Dream by fighting for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive America for all.