MONTGOMERY, AL – In 2001, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) created “Mix It Up at Lunch Day,” an annual event to encourage schoolchildren to spend time with another kid with whom they might not normally associate.

The Montgomery-based nonprofit civil rights organization—best known for its court victories against white supremacist groups, and its monitoring of extremist organizations—designed the project as a way for schools to promote tolerance, with a long-term goal of breaking up cliques and sensitizing kids to the evils of bullying. More than 2,500 schools take part nationwide, most of them on Oct. 30.

This month, the conservative American Family Association (AFA) sent an email to its supporters, in which it denounced the event as “a nationwide push to promote the homosexual lifestyle in public schools.” It called upon parents to keep their children home on Oct. 30.

According to the SPLC, as of last Friday, about 200 schools had cancelled their scheduled commemorations. “I was surprised that they completely lied about what Mix It Up Day is,” Maureen Costello, the Director of the Teaching Tolerance project of the SPLC, told The New York Times. “It was a cynical, fear-mongering tactic.”

The SPLC recently added the AFA to its list of active hate groups, which includes neo-Nazis, white and black separatists, and Holocaust deniers. The AFA, which is based in Tupelo, Miss., says its mission is to combat “increasing ungodliness” in America.

Bill Keller, the self-described “world’s leading Internet evangelist” and founder of LivePrayer.com, said last week that he plans to file the $100 million defamation lawsuit against the SPLC, the Montgomery, Alabama-based organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups, as well as its legal representation for victims of hate groups, its monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations, and its educational programs that promote tolerance.

According to Keller, “Groups like the [SLPC] give license to individuals who oppose a Biblical worldview to take whatever actions they deem fit, even acts of violence, to silence those they disagree with.

Sadly, this intimidation has worked, because there are very few like myself who are willing to go into the mainstream media and promote Biblical truth that a large percentage of society now rejects.”

After the suicide last year of gay teen Jamie Hubley, Keller blamed “the homosexual community and media who promote this lifestyle to society,” specifically citing Anderson Cooper, Ellen DeGeneres, and Rachel Maddow, adding that the hosts “validate legally and ethically this choice of sexual behavior and relationships to our children as normal, even desirable behavior!”

In a ceremony and presentation held during the Florida ADL’s Regional Board Meeting on Tuesday at the Westin Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Wierzbicki received the prestigious Anti-Defamation League Doris and Murray Felton Excellence in Law Enforcement Award for his “extraordinary efforts in combating hate crimes and bullying in Broward County.” Katherine Fernandez Rundle, the State Attorney of Miami-Dade County and Chairperson of the Selection Committee, said that Wierzbicki’s and the Task Force he commands “exemplifies an ongoing commitment to make your community a better place to live and work.”

Wierzbicki, who was nominated for the commendation by Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti, has also been the recipient of the Dolphin Democrats of Broward County’s Community Alliance Award, and has been cited by both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for his contributions to promoting the film Bullied.

The documentary—based upon the true story of a gay teen’s court battle to uphold the rights and safety of LGBT students–has done much to raise awareness of the scourge of anti-gay bullying in schools. It has been shown several times in Broward County, most recently in Coral Springs: at that showing, a private citizen donated $25,000 to promote the film and anti-bullying initiatives.

Of their decision to select Wierzbicki, a former Chief of Police of Wilton Manors, the committee wrote: “We concur with Sheriff Al Lamberti, who nominated you for this honor, on your unwavering dedication and involvement with various initiatives.”