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WASHINGTON, June 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Morris Dees, founder and chief trial counsel of the Southern Poverty Law Center, will address a newsmaker Luncheon at the National Press Club on Friday, July 10. Dees will speak on the recent upsurge in hate crimes and right-wing extremism, illustrated most recently by the attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

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Dees has been a leader in the fields of civil rights and civil liberties litigation for more than forty years. At the start of his legal career, he took pro-bono cases that led to the desegregation of recreational facilities, the reapportionment of the Alabama state legislature and the integration of the Alabama State Troopers. He pioneered the strategy of holding hate groups responsible for violent acts by their members, filing civil suits that bankrupted the United Klans of America, the neo-Nazi Aryan Nations and seven other major white supremacist organizations. As a result, he has won plaudits from the American Bar Association, the National Education Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League, as well as several attempts on his life.

The National Press Club luncheon will begin promptly at 12:30 p.m. Remarks will begin just after 1 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session. Reservations should be made by telephoning 202-662-7501. Cost of luncheon admission is $17 for National Press Club members, $28 for their guests and $35 for general admission. Full tables, seating 8 to 10 people each, are also available for reservation.

The National Press Club is located at 14th and F Streets Northwest, one block west of Metro Center.

SOURCE National Press Club