- The Southern Poverty Law Center and

it's leadership tangled in controversy,

recently fired co-founder Morris Dees.

Founded to fight racism, it'sleaders are now accused of it

and the mistreatment of women.

Here's CBN's Dale Hurd.

- Once upon a time, theSouthern Poverty Law Center

served as a champion inthe civil rights struggle.

Now it's engulfed in scandal,

facing charges of racism and more,

with critics saying it'sstrayed far from its beginnings.

It's said that the SPLC helped

put the Ku Klux Klan out of business.

Klan membership usedto be in the millions.

Today it's only a few thousand.

But when you look at the SPLC's map of

hate groups in Americatoday one would think

America is consumed with hate.

Or is it?

But this is a new version of hate,

because the SPLC needed tofind new enemies to fight.

One of those new enemiesis former Vanderbilt

history professor Doctor Carol Swain.

Swain grew up in the Old Southand fought poverty and racism

to become a university professor.

She's an expert on white nationalism,

but she's publicly attacked the SPLC

and Swain, a conservative Christian,

found herself on the SPLC's hate list

as quote, "an apologistfor white supremacists."

Other SPLC targets haveincluded Doctor Ben Carson,

who was then removedfrom the SPLC hate list,

female genital mutilationvictim Hirsi Ali,

and even small charitieslike The Ruth Institute

who's mission is to helpfamilies and children.

The Ruth Institute said, "If this makes us

"a hate group, so be it."

Among the list of Christian groups on

the SPLC's hate map aremany local churches.

Usually, because theyoppose the gay agenda.

It includes The Family Research Council.

Executive Vice PresidentGeneral Jerry Boykin

when asked about itdoesn't pull any punches.

- Well SPLC, first of all,you need to understand is

probably one of the mostevil groups in America.

They've become a money making machine

and they've become an absolute

Marxist, anarchist organization.

- [Dale] Also on the list,the Christian legal group

Alliance Defending Freedom.

- They did good work, many years ago,

but the SPLC lost its way a long time ago.

- [Dale] Kerri Kupec atADF dismissed the SPLC

as a quote, "direct mail scam",

but marvels at the SPLC's revenues

with assets north of 300 million dollars.

- I have never heard of agroup with poverty in its name

that has so much money.

- [Dale] Apple, JP Morgan,and actor George Clooney

are just a few who havegiven millions to the SPLC.

There's so much moneycoming in that some of it's

going into off shore investments.

The SPLC says "theirlisting of Christian groups

"who oppose the LGBT agendais completely unrelated

"to religion, Christianity or the Bible.

"These groups are listedbecause they repeatedly lie

"in an effort to defame LGBT people."

In 2007, SPLC spokesman Mark Potok,

in this blurry video from aconference in Michigan said-

- I want to say plainlythat our aim in life

is to destroy these groups,completely destroy them.

- [Dale] Dale Hurt, CBN News.