SouthernWorldwide.com – A watchdog organization has raised concerns regarding substantial taxpayer-funded support, totaling at least $3.85 million, that is linked to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). This funding includes a significant federal grant for a university-led initiative aimed at incorporating the SPLC’s racial justice curriculum into middle school classrooms.
The taxpayer watchdog group, OpenTheBooks, utilized public records requests to compile a report released on Friday. The report details $1,352,655.07 in taxpayer funds that have been paid “directly” to the SPLC since fiscal year 2016. These payments originated from various public entities, including school districts, states, cities, counties, and universities.
Furthermore, OpenTheBooks identified an active grant from the National Institutes of Health, managed by the University of Michigan, valued at $2.5 million. University documentation indicates that this project integrates the SPLC’s “Learning for Justice” curriculum, formerly known as “Teaching Tolerance,” into its programming for middle school students.
The grant’s initial application, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, specified that researchers intended to integrate “the Teaching Tolerance curriculum from the Southern Poverty Law Center” into an existing middle school program. This program was slated for testing across six middle schools in Genesee County, Michigan.
Representative Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, expressed his disapproval of using taxpayer resources to promote what he described as “harmful, leftwing rhetoric in our education systems.” He stated his support for efforts to identify and expose organizations like the SPLC and commended the House Judiciary Committee’s work in revealing the SPLC’s “nefarious agenda, funding, and tactics.”
This scrutiny of the grant funding comes in the same week that the House Judiciary Committee convened a hearing titled “The Southern Poverty Law Center: Manufacturing Hate.” The committee examined the SPLC’s alleged role in “distorting civil rights policy” and presented new information suggesting the organization may have channeled funds to extremist groups it purports to combat.
An individual identified as O’Neil commented on the SPLC’s “Learning for Justice” project, stating that it promotes critical race theory and transgender ideology. O’Neil further criticized the SPLC for using its “hate map” to target parental rights groups on opposing issues, effectively silencing dissent by drawing comparisons to the Ku Klux Klan. The assertion was made that federal tax dollars should not be used to advance such divisive programs in schools.
The University of Michigan’s current project page describes the NIH-backed program as integrating the SPLC’s Learning for Justice curriculum into a middle school initiative focused on addressing “racism and racial discrimination.” The program also aims to measure students’ “racist beliefs and behaviors.” In parallel, the SPLC’s current Learning for Justice materials frame their program around concepts such as “educating for liberation,” “racial equity,” and the “deconstruction of White supremacy.”
These teaching materials direct students to the SPLC’s “map of active hate groups,” which is part of the SPLC’s broader work in tracking hate groups. The organization has previously indicated that this work was supported by its now-disbanded informant program. The Department of Justice has alleged that this program secretly funneled donor money to informants within extremist groups, a claim the SPLC has denied.
OpenTheBooks contends that the reported dollar figures may not fully represent the SPLC’s footprint of taxpayer-backed support. This is because free classroom resources and teacher-training materials are often not captured in standard spending databases.
The watchdog’s report states that OpenTheBooks only discovered the details of “Teaching Tolerance” and the SPLC curriculum after submitting a FOIA request and waiting ten weeks. This suggests that there could be considerable indirect support for the nonprofit that is not readily apparent to taxpayers. The report further notes that anecdotal evidence supports this claim, citing a second investigation by OpenTheBooks into the Pentagon’s K-12 public schools, which also revealed SPLC learning materials.
Defending Education has stated that the materials promoted themes including “anti-racism,” White privilege, White supremacy, “whiteness,” gender ideology, and “queer theory.”
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John Hart, president of OpenTheBooks, emphasized that taxpayers have a right to know how organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center, which he claims has financed racial animosity, are utilizing their money.
