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.
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chiefSupport our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
