Morris Seligman Dees, Jr. was born in Shorter, Alabama, in 1936.

Professional background:

* Co-founder/chief trail counsel, Southern Poverty Law Center (1971-present) * Founder, Fuller and Dees Marketing Group (mid-1950s)

Education:

* B.A., University of Alabama * J.D., University of Alabama School of Law (1960)

Member of the following boards of directors:

* The Gleitsman Foundation

Partial list of awards:

* Humanitarian Award, University of Alabama (1993) * Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Award, National Education Association (1990) * Trial Lawyer of the Year, Trail Lawyers for Public Justice (1987) * Ten Outstanding Young Men of America, U.S. Jaycees (1966) * Star Farmer of Alabama, Alabama Future Farmers of America (1955)

Publications:

* A Season for Justice * Hate on Trail: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi * Gathering Storm: America's Militia Threat

Quotations:

"We're involved in a war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo and other places in the world where we're trying to impose our values of freedom and democracy on people who don't understand or accept our values. And we're involved in a war here at home, and that's a battle over whose America this is going to be."

Speech at Western Kentucky University

Nominating Speech:

Nominated by: Progressive Government Institute

Administer homeland security with the understanding that abandoning civil liberties or the Bill of Rights will not make us safe;

Support directing resources to areas where the need is greatest. Homeland security funds are not for pork projects;

Remember that international exchange, visits from foreign scholars and students promote international understanding and a safer world;

Put more resources into public health, a vital part of our security infrastructure.