But Dees discovered that, in order to avoid desegregating its recreational facilities, the city of Montgomery had signed a secret agreement with the YMCA to operate them as private facilities and on the city's behalf. He introduced evidence of this agreement in court and challenged the constitutionality of the YMCA position. The trial court ruled that the YMCA effectively had a "municipal charter" by this agreement with the city, and was therefore bound by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (and Civil Rights Act) to desegregate its facilities. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit partly affirmed the trial judge's finding, reversing his order that the YMCA use affirmative action to racially integrate its board of directors. According to historian Timothy Minchin, Dees was "emboldened by this victory" when he founded the SPLC in 1971.