The Andrew Goodman Foundation’s Statement in Solidarity with the Southern Poverty Law Center
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23rd, 2026
1:00 p.m. ET
MEDIA CONTACT
Mo Banks
mo.banks@andrewgoodman.org
(201) 502-6144
The Andrew Goodman Foundation’s Statement in Solidarity with the Southern Poverty Law Center
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – On April 21, officials from the United States Department of Justice announced that a grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, returned an indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
“This indictment represents a troubling escalation in efforts to undermine organizations that have dedicated decades to confronting hate and defending civil rights in America. The Southern Poverty Law Center has been at the forefront of holding violent extremist groups accountable, including its historic legal victories against the Ku Klux Klan, which helped dismantle networks of terror that once operated with impunity across the South.”
The Andrew Goodman Foundation’s mission is rooted in the legacy of Andrew Goodman, who was murdered in 1964 alongside his co-civil rights workers, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, by members of the Ku Klux Klan for their work advancing voting rights during the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project. That act of racial terror remains a stark reminder of what is at stake when hate goes unchecked and justice is denied.
For decades, the SPLC has exposed and challenged organized racism, secured justice for victims, and strengthened democracy through the rule of law. Attempts to target or discredit this work risk empowering the same forces of extremism that organizations like the SPLC have opposed in courts and communities.
At a time when democratic values are under renewed pressure, we reaffirm our commitment to civic engagement, equal justice, and the protection of those who speak out against hate. The legacies of the many lives lost, including those of Andrew Goodman and the students of Freedom Summer, call for vigilance, courage, and a steadfast defense of civil and voting rights for all Americans..
The current administration’s attack against the Southern Poverty Law Center is a direct threat to the ideals and values that make America unique among all nations. In this time of peril for our democracy, The Andrew Goodman Foundation joins our nation’s civil and voting rights organizations in standing in solidarity with the Southern Poverty Law Center.
About The Andrew Goodman Foundation
The Andrew Goodman Foundation’s mission is to make young voices and votes a powerful force in democracy by training the next generation of leaders, engaging young voters, and challenging restrictive voter suppression laws. The organization is named after Andrew Goodman, a Freedom Summer volunteer and champion of equality and voting rights who was murdered, alongside James Earl Chaney and Michael Schwerner, by the KKK in 1964 while registering Black Americans to vote in Mississippi. To learn more, visit www.andrewgoodman.org.
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