George And Amal Clooney Donate $1 Million To Fight Hate Groups
George Clooney and wife Amal Image by Getty Images
By Aiden Pink August 22, 2017
George and Amal Clooney are donating $1 million to the Southern Poverty Law Center to fund an initiative that will fight hate groups.
George, an Oscar-winning actor and producer, and Amal, a prominent international lawyer and human rights activist, said in a statement that they were inspired to donate after witnessing events earlier this month in Charlottesville, Va., where a white nationalist protest ended in a riot with one death and many injuries.
“We are proud to support the Southern Poverty Law Center in its efforts to prevent violent extremism in the United States. What happened in Charlottesville, and what is happening in communities across our country, demands our collective engagement to stand up to hate,” the pair said in a statement.
George Clooney added in a separate statement to CNN that “Amal and I wanted to add our voice (and financial assistance) to the ongoing fight for equality. There are no two sides to bigotry and hate.”
Clooney appeared to be referring to President Trump’s statement after the events in Charlottesville that there was “blame on both sides.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center monitors extremist groups in the United States.
Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
