George & Amal Clooney Donate $1 Million To Combat Hate Groups

George and Amal Clooney have donated $1 million to Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to combat hate groups in wake of the Charlottesville tragedy.

GEORGE & AMAL CLOONEY DONATE $1 MILLION TO FIGHT HATE GROUPS

The SPLC is a leading civil rights group that monitors these hate groups and sets up campaigns to stop bigotry in the U.S. The center has partnered with the Clooney Foundation for Justice to highlight the dangers of the white-supremacist ideology and to stop its spread. A complete breakdown of how the $1 million will be put to use will become available at a later time.

“Amal and I wanted to add our voice (and financial assistance) to the ongoing fight for equality,” Clooney said in a statement. “There are no two sides to bigotry and hate.”

The latter part is a reference to Donald Trump‘s statements following the death of an anti-Nazi protestor at an alt-right rally in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, when he said that violence was stemming from “both sides.”

“We are proud to support the Southern Poverty Law Center in its efforts to prevent violent extremism in the United States,” the Clooneys said in their joint statement. “What happened in Charlottesville, and what is happening in communities across our country, demands our collective engagement to stand up to hate.”

The SPLC has also received donations from Apple and JPMorgan Chase, whose leadres Tim Cook and Jamie Dimon, respectively, both spoke out about America’s need for businesses to take stands against hate.

SPLC president Richard Cohen said his workers were “shocked by the size, ugliness and ferocity” of the rally in Charlottesville. “It was a reflection of just how much Trump’s incendiary campaign and presidency has energized the radical right,” he said. “We are deeply grateful to the Clooney Foundation for standing with us at this critical moment in our country’s fight against hate.”

George Clooney is a leading Hollywood liberal, and was an outspoken supporter of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. Amal Clooney is a human rights lawyer. The couple founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice in 2016 “to advance justice in courtrooms, classrooms and communities” worldwide.