“…to create just these kinds of tests—next-generation assessments aligned to the common core. When the tests are aligned to the common standards, the curriculum will line up as well—and that will unleash powerful market forces in the service of better teaching.”
– Bill Gates, 2009 Speech To Natl. Conf. of State Legislatures

The goal is to align everything so that students and the money have nowhere to go but Common Core.

This is a multi-part series on certain Social Activism curriculum claiming to be aligned to Common Core as created by ‘Teaching Tolerance’, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. This is the final edition, part five.   [Read: Part one, Part two, Part three, Part four]

Follow The Money

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is a 501(c)3.  To say they are ‘well-funded’ would be a gross understatement.

From their website:

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a tax-exempt, charitable organization incorporated in 1971 under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All contributions, grants and bequests are tax deductible. Our tax identification number is 63-0598743.

Our work is supported primarily through donor contributions. We do not receive or use government funds. During the last fiscal year, approximately 68% of our total expenses were spent on program services. At the end of the fiscal year, our endowment – a special, board-designated fund established to support our future work – stood at $245.3 million. We are proud of the stewardship of our resources.

Note that SPLC says the do not receive or use government funds. That’s because they don’t need to — the center has “immense wealth“.

Donors over the years have included large charitable trusts like the Renaissance Charitable Foundation, Horizons, California Community Foundation and the Seattle Foundation.  Of course, the list also include George Soros’s Tides Foundation.

SPLC listed just under $315 million in revenue on their 2014 IRS 990 form.  SPLC received $188,829,974 in “Public Support”; gifts, grants, contributions and membership fees.

The 2014 990 also revealed fundraising being done in foreign countries in Asia, Europe and Central America.

Their CEO, Richard Cohen, was paid over $318k and had additional compensation of $39,480.  Cohen was not the top paid employee. Founder and ‘Chief Trial Counsel’, Morris Dees, was compensated at just under $365k.  None of SPLC’s executive officers made under $130K.

Where Does That Money Go?

According to the same 2014 IRS 990, an expenditure of $13,939,783.00 was made to support “education efforts”. This includes ‘Teaching Tolerance’, it’s materials and activities.

These ‘materials’ are chock full of social justice, revisionist history and militant activism tips — for the classroom.

In 2011, Teaching Tolerance promoted multiple materials, which included the book, Planning to Change the World: A Plan Book for Social Justice Teachers.  The book is praised by leftist and revisionist history pusher, Howard Zinn.

The money also goes into ‘free’ teaching kits, which include film. Some examples of these teaching kits are:

Viva La Causa
Viva La Causa focuses on one of the seminal events in the march for human rights – the grape strike and boycott led by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta in the 1960s. Viva la Causa will show how thousands of people from across the nation joined in a struggle for justice for the most exploited people in our country – the workers who put food on our tables.

Bullied
Bullied is a documentary film that chronicles one student’s ordeal at the hands of anti-gay bullies and offers an inspiring message of hope to those fighting harassment today. It can become a cornerstone of anti-bullying efforts in middle and high schools.

Parents should definitely check out the “resources” being offered to teachers for things like Using Photographs to Teach Social Justice.  The overall theme is racism, racism, racism and more racism.

If you want to be truly horrified, use the menu on the left of the page and choose grade level “Pre K to K‘”.  One lesson teaches kids to see social justice pretty much everywhere.  The number of ‘gender bender‘ type lessons in “Pre K to K” is incredible.

I encourage parents to explore and see if they recognize any of these ‘lessons’ from their children’s classes. Better check on their lunchtime in the cafeteria too.