Morris Dees, a civil rights activist who became famous for his role in lawsuits against hate groups, will speak at the SIU School of Law about race relations in our country.

Dees is visiting campus 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Law School Auditorium to present a lecture titled A Passion for Justice, as a part of the 1998 Hiram H. Lesar Distinguished Lecture Series.

Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center and Klanwatch, sues hate groups for damages on behalf of the center. When they cannot afford to pay for the damages, the groups are forced to disband.

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He first tried this strategy in 1981, winning a $7-million judgment against Alabama’s United Klan after two of its members lynched a black man in Mobile, Ala. More recently, he won $12.5 million from Oregon’s White Aryan Resistance, whose members murdered an Ethiopian student in Portland.

Through the law center, Dees keeps tabs on more than 200 racist and neo-Nazi groups and 800 anti-government organizations. The center publishes a quarterly Intelligence Report on these groups’ activities; Dees’ latest book, Gathering Storm:America’s Militia Threat, details the danger such private armies present.

Many white supremacists and militia members want Dees dead. The law center has been torched, and he is stalked by skinheads and other violence advocates. He has a personal security detail to protect both himself and his home.

Thomas Guernsey, dean for the School of Law, said he invited Dees because of his expert status on civil rights.

Dees is probably right now one of the leading civil rights advocates in the country, Guernsey said. He’s dealing with one of the most important issues confronting the country.

This guy is a true hero of the single most talked about issue in this world today.

Guernsey said he chose Dees because civil rights sparks the interest of the whole community.

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The idea is to come up with a speaker that attracts the legal community and the general population, Guernsey said. This is not directed toward lawyers.

He has got a lot of support in this community of people who have never met him.

A graduate of the University of Alabama Law School, Dees has received numerous accolades in conjunction with his work at the center. Trial Lawyers for Public Justice named him Trial Lawyer of the Year in 1987. He received the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award from the National Education Association in 1991.

His work has been honored by such groups as the American Bar Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Education Association and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice.

Shekera Shahid, president of the Black Law Student Association, said Dees’ speech will educate students who go into the auditorium with an open mind and a willingness to listen to the seldom heard other side.

The most basic reason to attend is to educate yourself, Shahid said. There is nothing wrong with keeping an open mind. There are many close-minded individuals on this campus.

Morris Dees really epitomizes a conviction and a cause. This is an opportunity for students of Carbondale to make their own opinion.

The lecture series was set up in 1992 to honor the law school’s founding dean, Hiram H. Lesar. Lesar died Aug. 4, 1997 at the age of 85. Lesar served as dean of the School of Law from 1972 to 1980. From there, Lesar taught in the school until his death.

FACTOID:Dees is scheduled to speak at 4 p.m., Tuesday at the Law School Auditorium. An open reception in the law school lounge will follow his speech.