Thank you for the opportunity to add the Southern Poverty Law Center’s voice to the 16th session on the Forum on Minority Issues by sharing “Positive Examples, Good Practices and Approaches” to advance the rights of minorities and inclusive and cohesive societies. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was founded in Montgomery, Alabama in 1971 to ensure that the promise of the civil rights movement became a reality for all. Today, the SPLC envisions a world in which everyone can thrive, and the ideals of equity, justice, and liberation are a reality for all. Our mission is to be a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people. White supremacy has become more overt, normalized, and dangerous following the January 6 attacks. Congress failed to pass federal legislation to restore the Voting Rights Act, while states throughout the South passed draconian voter suppression measures and drew redistricting maps based on partisan and racial gerrymandering. Far right extremists continue to use racist tactics to ramp up their base and intimidate local communities and leaders. Violent hate crimes oppress and kill people of color, religious minorities, and LGBTQ-identified people, traumatizing communities who see little to no redress by their elected officials. The legacies of genocide, slavery, and Jim Crow that grew out of the South continue to perpetuate injustice and harm people today. SPLC is committed to changing the South to lead the way for the rest of the U.S... SPLC’s work is currently focused in five U.S. Deep South states – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. These states are key battlegrounds in the fight to protect our democracy, reverse the tide of white nationalism, and end poverty and mass incarceration. Since the attacks on the Reconstruction movement and impact of Jim Crow laws, state governments in the Deep South have prioritized keeping power and influence in the hands of wealthy, white landholders. These elected officials have rejected the efforts of the federal government to reduce poverty and economic disparities and instead have used scarce resources to build more prisons and benefit those who already have advantages. Today, these same policymakers are seeking to suppress the vote, challenge the teaching of truthful history in public schools, and dismantle democratic institutions. The SPLC has established four programmatic impact goals to focus our work over the next five years 1: 1. Strengthen democracy by increasing voter turnout, challenging voter suppression measures, and ensuring representational diversity. 2. Relegate white supremacy out of the mainstream, reduce its impact on American democracy, and prevent violent harms inflicted on Black and Brown people. 3. Reduce the incarcerated and detained population by decriminalizing and decarcerating Black and Brown people. 4. Eradicate poverty by expanding access to opportunity and eliminating racial economic inequality. In consideration of the goals for the 16th Session of the Forum on Minority Issues convening representatives of minorities from around the world together with others from governments, NHRIs and civil society to discuss ways of addressing the issue of hate speech, the role of social media and the protection of the human rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities, I will focus this presentation on positive examples, good practices, and approaches the SPLC and its partners are utilizing to reduce the impact of hate and extremism on U.S. democracy. Political violence has a long history in the United States. Starting in the late 1970s, political violence shifted rightward with the rise of white supremacist, anti-abortion, and militia groups. The number of