SLRC in the News
29 August 2003

Dees Kicks Up Quite a Stir in Roanoke

by Zeke Barlow

Roanoke, VA --  It was an evening with much talk of hate.

First came Morris Dees, the controversial leader of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who was at Roanoke College on Thursday to talk about his center's work to stamp out hate groups.

Then came the people Dees said are in the hate groups, who in turn said they hated Dees for labeling them as such.

Then there were the students who said they hated the fact that they couldn't get into the college's Bast Center because of a bomb threat called in 90 minutes before Dees' speech began.

Though the bomb threat turned out to be a hoax, plenty of verbal bombs were still dropped around campus throughout the day.

With about a dozen protesters holding signs such as "Heritage not Hate," and "Dees is Greed" on three sites near campus, Dees turned out to be the most controversial speaker that college spokeswoman Teresa Gereaux said she'd seen in her 15 years at the school.

Dees has been on many talk shows recently for his successful lawsuit to have the Ten Commandments removed from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building. He talked earlier Thursday about the Sons of Confederate Veterans and how he thinks the group is changing from a heritage group into a hate group.

"Small gangs are trying to hijack the group for hate," Dees said. "A contingent of small groups of people besmirches the image of the people of the Confederacy."

This is one of the reasons members of the SCV were protesting Dees' presence.

"Dees is a guy who has attacked the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and we are tired of it," said Ron Wilson, who was in town from Easley, S.C.

"What does Dees know about our group?" said Brag Bowling, commander of the Virginia Division.

Dees said, "Most people in the South are trying to put the Confederacy and the Civil War behind them."

It was a quote the SCV members found laughable, citing a large membership that takes pride in its heritage.

"It's about honor," said Henry Kidd. "It's a matter of family."

As the SCV protesters stood in front of the college campus, one student drove by and shot them the middle finger.

"What's that, your IQ?" one shot back.

Jerry Aldhizer of Goodview, who is not affiliated with the SCV, said he was there to represent "the Southern white man." His picture recently appeared in the Southern Poverty Law Center magazine depicting him as a racist, which Aldhizer, who is a Civil War re-enactor and likes teaching Civil War history, denied. When asked what he'd say to Dees, he said he'd freeze up.

"I'd probably get so mad I couldn't tell him anything," he said.

Across campus, near the Sigma Chi fraternity house, a group of students gathered to watch the protesters while they waited for police to finish their bomb sweep.

Junior Cat Jackson said all the commotion was worth it.

"I don't agree with the protesters," she said, but "it promotes a lot of dialogue about controversial issues that should be discussed."

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