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Problem: According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, even before the September 11 events, up to 50,000 hate crimes per year may have been occurring in the U. S.   A report by Human Rights Watch points out that hate crimes are not only directed against racial, religious, and ethnic minorities, but also against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. See Human Rights Watch, "Hatred in the Hallways," 2001.

Events of September 11, 2001, led to a new wave of hate crimes directed against Muslims, Sikhs, immigrants, and others. These events have highlighted the costs of violence motivated by prejudice or hatred of other races, nationalities, or religions. Muslims are not to be held responsible for the atrocities that were visited on victims of 9/11; the terrorists who perpetrated these dastardly deeds and those who support and protect them are the ones responsible.

"Hussein Ibish, a director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, a national group based in Washington, said that since Sept. 11 more than 400 . . . incidents of violence have been reported nationwide, six of which resulted in death. . . . In New Jersey, where authorities are investigating nearly 80 recent hate crimes against Arabs, Muslims or people who appeared to be Middle Eastern, most of the cases were reported in September. 'As we get farther away from the [Sept. 11] incident, they seem to be tapering off,' said Emily Hornaday, a spokeswoman for the state's criminal justice department. . . . Before [Sept. 11], California, the nation's most racially diverse state, had been averaging about five hate crimes a day. Over the past six weeks, the daily tally often has been four or five times as high. Preliminary hate crime statistics collected from law enforcement agencies in the state's six largest cities in September showed nearly 250 anti-Arab incidents, many of them involving violence. But the figures are returning to normal levels. " Sanchez, "Hate Crimes Against Muslims Nationwide Abate," Washington Post, October 26, 2001, A2.

"The U.S. Department of Justice has opened about 100 criminal investigations into 'ethnically motivated' acts of violence -- including three deaths -- since Sept. 11, a [Justice Department] spokesman said." Murphy, "For Muslims, Benevolence Is Prevailing Over Backlash," Washington Post, October 6, 2001, A15.

"Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Montgomery County [MD] has had 12 reported hate crimes -- largely directed at people of Middle Eastern or Jewish descent -- but has no witnesses, no suspects and no arrests. Yesterday, in an attempt to solve the crimes, county officials announced rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest in each case. . . . Reported incidents have increased around the region since Sept. 11, with most victims being Arab Americans, Muslims, Sikhs, and people who look Middle Eastern. More than 20 such incidents have been reported in Fairfax County [VA]." Ly, "Montgomery Steps Up Its Fight Against Hate: With 12 Crimes Reported Since Sept. 11 Remaining Unsolved, Country Will Offer Reward Money," Washington Post, October 3, 2001, B4.

"A Yemeni grocer was shot dead in his California shop over the weekend in what is being investigated as a possible hate crime triggered by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, officials said. Family members said that a day before Abdo Ali Ahmed, 51, was killed, he received a death threat on the windshield of his car that included anti-Arab statements." "Nation in Brief -- Readley, Calif.," Washington Post, October 3, 2001, A32.

"Since last weekend, an Indian Sikh gas station owner in Arizona, a Pakistani Muslim grocer in Dallas, and an Egyptian Christian in California have been killed. There have been arson attacks on mosques in Texas and Washington state. By week's end, the FBI said it was investigating about 40 reports of hate crimes nationwide." Vendantam, "For Some in U.S., Grief Over Attacks Is Followed by Fear," Washington Post, September 22, 2001, A16.

"A suburban Dallas man who went out to shoot immigrants in revenge for the Sept. 11 attacks was convicted of capital murder for killing an Indian gas station owner. A Dallas jury took less than an hour to convict Mark Stroman, 32, who had told police and a Dallas TV station he shot naturalized U.S. citizen Vasudev Patel last October because he thought the Indian man hooked Middle Eastern and he wanted vengeance. Stroman is also charged with killing a Dallas area convenience store clerk, Waquar Hassan, on Sept. 15 and is suspected in a third shooting that injured another store clerk, Rais Uddin." Nation in Brief, "Dallas," Washington Post, April 3, 2002, A24.

In the days after the destruction of the World Trade Centers and related events, "More than 200 innocent Sikh American men, women and children have been attacked . . . On September 15, in Mesa, AZ, a gunman shot and killed the owner of a gas station presumably because he wore the religious Sikh turban and beard. The gunman associated the victim with terrorists who have absolutely no association with the Sikhs who originate from India." Source: "Sikhs for America," Washington Post, September 25, 2001, A17, and www.sikh.org/hatecrime.

The Arab-American Anti-Defamation League reports a significant increase in vigilante hate crime violence directed against Arab-Americans since September 11, 2001. "[W]hat is at least the third hate crime murder since Sept. 11 occurred in Lincoln Park, Michigan, just outside Detroit. The victim, a 45 year old US citizen originally from Yemen, was shot 12 times in the back by his girlfriend's former lover. According to the suspect's own police confession and the girlfriend's statements, as the two were sleeping, her former boyfriend broke in and dragged the Arab American out of bed, saying 'I'm going to kill you for what happened in New York and DC." The victim ran outside and was killed. " See "ADC Fact Sheet: The Condition of Arab Americans Post 9/11," American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

An arson attempt, "the third apparent hate crime at Temple Beth El in recent weeks," was directed at this Tacoma, WA synagogue, according to the Washington Post, September 25, 2001, A24.

"Charles Franklin, 41, crashed his pickup truck into a mosque [causing about $1,000 in damage], saying after his arrest a nearby bar that he acted out of hated of Muslims, police said." Nation in Brief - Tallahassee, "Washington Post," March 27, 2002, A4.

Problem: The dimension of the hate crimes problem in America may be drastically underestimated due to a voluntary reporting system that results in significant underreporting of these crimes. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center "the number of hate crimes was probably closer to 50,000" than the 8,000 annual figure reported by the FBI.

"Over the past decade, the FBI has reported that about 8,000 hate crimes were committed each year in the United States. But a watchdog group that monitors such crimes says in an analysis released [November 2001] that the FBI's data collection method has routinely missed tens of thousands of cases. The analysis published by the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., concluded that the number of hate crimes was probably closer to 50,000 a year. The reason for the discrepancy, a spokesman for the law center said, is that participation in the FBI's annual Hate Crime Statistics report is voluntary, and several state -- including Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi -- do not participate fully." Fears, "FBI Data Miss Hate Crimes, Watchdog Group Says: Analysis Finds 50,000 a Year in U.S.; Some States Do Not Participate Fully in Reporting," Washington Post, November 29, 2001, A2.

"The FBI collects the data from local jurisdictions under the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, which was passed 10 years ago. At the time, then-President George Bush said, 'The faster we find out about these hideous crimes, the faster we can track down the bigots who commit them.' But little money was allocated to train police officers to determine whether a crime was fueled by hate. Law enforcement personnel in Wyoming, Texas, Alabama and Wisconsin were dismissive of the law, according to the law center's report." Id.

"The report, which incorporates research commissioned by the Department of Justice, cites several crimes that went unreported as hate crimes [including the fatal shooting of a black man by an alleged member of the Aryan Brotherhood white supremacist group and the slaying of a gay man who was "beaten to death and set afire"]. . . . " Id.

"But the law center's findings are hardly news to the FBI, says Maryvictoria Pyne, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services in Clarksburg, W. Va., where hate-crime and other data are compiled for the Uniform Crime Reporting program. . . . 'I think the Justice Department is aware of the weaknesses in the program and has been trying to correct them," Pyne said." Id.

"'The problem with reporting of hate crimes is far greater than originally thought,' said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass), whose Law Enforcement Enhancement Act, a proposed addendum to the hate crimes law is awaiting debate on the Senate floor. 'Now more than ever, we need to give law enforcement the tools and resources they need to both report and fight against these senseless acts of hate and violence.'" Id.

The problem of hate crimes, of course, is not confined to attacks on Arab Americans or African-Americans:

". . . it was January's attacks on Alaska Natives by three white teen-agers-- who drove through downtown Anchorage one night videotaping themselves laughing and shooting frozen paintballs at Natives--that spurred an investigation by the U.S. Civil Rights Commission." Rosen, "Rights Panel Hears Alaskan Natives' Complaints of Bias," Washington Post, August 25, 2001, p. A. 20.

Solutions: A variety of measures that may need to be considered to put an end to hate crimes. One set of solutions relates to education. Others involve community organization, legislation, litigation, and ultimately "change of heart."

Solution -- Education: See the Lessons in Tolerance site developed by San Francisco City College. See also the teaching tools provided by the Teaching Tolerance Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center; by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; and the "No Place for Hate Campaign" developed by The Anti-Defamation League.

Solution -- Grants to Promote Tolerance:

- CA: "The California Endowment . . . has awarded more than $2.4 million to organizations working to eliminate racial, cultural, and religious bias and intolerance in its home state . . . . The [15] nonprofits that received grants operate programs designed to deepen understanding and increase dialogue between various religious and ethnic groups." Foundation Center, "California Endowment Gives $2.4 Million to Promote Tolerance," Philanthropy News Digest, April 9 , 2002.

Solution -- Community Organization and Community Action:

- "In Manassas [Virginia], a local interfaith group contacted Prince Williams County's Muslim Association of Virginia with an offer to guard its mosque, said association president Yaqub Zargarpur . . . 'They said they aid families offering their homes to anyone who did not feel safe,' Zargarpur added. 'I am so proud of Prince William County.'" Murphy, "For Muslims, Benevolence Is Prevailing Over Backlash," Washington Post, October 6, 2001, A15.
- "Patricia Morris, of Falls Church [VA], said it was a walk with her son the day after the attacks that got her wondering about her Muslim neighbors. As they passed Dar al-Hijrah mosque, 'it was the first time I ever saw the iron gates closed, and I wondered what kinds of threats they were feeling,' she recalled. Morris called a Palestinian neighbor. 'She told me, 'We're not doing too well. We're all very scared,' said Morris. . . So . . . Morris went into action, leafleting her subdivision of Lee Boulevard Heights with invitations to a 7 p.m. candlelight vigil of solidarity outside the mosque. More than 30 people attended. . . . Eighty tenants of the nearby Woodlake Towers apartment building sent a statement: 'We want your congregation to know that we welcome you in this community . . . and wish you health, security and prosperity. . . . Linda Jasper, an English teacher at Rockville's Magruder High School, also was spurred to reach out. She and some friends decided that they would stand guard at night for a week outside the nearby Islamic Center of Maryland to make sure it was left undisturbed." Id.
- "On Wednesday March 20, 2002, youth from around Metro Detroit came together to form Teens Against Prejudice (T.A.P.). The formation of this multi-ethnic group comes on the heels of a weekend Summit on Racism held in Detroit, March 15-17, 2002. The event was coordinated by the Michigan Neighborhood Partnership Diversity Youth Council and funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. . . . The 50 teens who participated in the Summit represented 14 middle schools and high schools in metro Detroit. For three days, Arab, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic, Latino and African American youth from Detroit, Dearborn, Farmington Hills and White Lake ate, slept and socialized together while tackling intense discussions on the issue of racism and prejudice. . . . The teens shared honestly about what they had heard about other cultures and the group was able to begin dismantling misconceptions and prejudices. Youth left the Summit more open-minded as well as encouraged to forge new friendships with individuals of different races. . . . The teens involved in Teens Against Prejudice have committed themselves to meeting regularly in order to develop an action plan and write a proposal to solicit funding and sponsorship from foundations and corporations. The group has already identified that it wants to conduct community service projects and plan another Summit on Racism that will include more teens from more communities. . . . Michigan Neighborhood Partnership [MNP] is a 501(C)(3) multicultural, non-partisan, membership intermediary organization based in Detroit, Michigan. MNP was created as a result of the vision, leadership and collaborative values of five of Detroit's leading community development organizations. MNP is the only citywide intermediary organization in Detroit founded by leaders within the African American, Arab American and Latino communities and in partnership with government, corporate and university sectors." See "Metro Detroit Teens Combat Racism," Philanthropy News Network (PNN) Report, March 27, 2002.

Solution -- Legislation: A number of federal, state, and even local bills have been considered, and some passed, to change the hate crimes reporting system from voluntary to mandatory and to toughen criminal penalties for so-called "hate crimes."

- For example, see Sen. Kennedy's Law Enforcement Enhancement Act, a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate for these purposes.
- Oakland, California has passed a local ordinance that "lets prosecutors file civil charges in additional to criminal charges in hate crimes. . . . The Oakland initiative was enacted shortly after Sept. 11 in an attempt to quell hate crimes -- defined as violence, intimidation, or threats against a person based on race, gender, sexual orientation or age." See "Oakland: Officials File 1st Suit Under Hat Crimes Law," Los Angeles Times -- In Brief, March 16, 2002, B10.
- "Burning a church could become a hate crime under a [Missouri] proposal given initial House approval on Monday. The bill, which still awaits final approval, would expand the state's list of hate crimes, which is currently limited to acts against people. It would also stiffen the penalties for those found guilty of such crimes. Under the proposal, anyone convicted of first- or second-degree arson could face 15 years in prison if it was proved that a place of worship was burned for reasons like race, religion or sexual orientation." Napolitano, "MISSOURI: EXPANDING HATE-CRIMES LIST," New York Times, April 17, 2002.

Solution - Legal Action: See the novel legal strategies that have been pursued by the Southern Poverty Law Center to "shut down extremist activity and to help victims of hate crimes win monetary damages against groups like the [KKK]."

Solution -- Stepped Up Enforcement; Rewards: See Washington Post story above dated October 3, 2001, re Montgomery County, MD rewards program.

Solution -- Aloha Spirit: See Murphy, "For Muslims, Benevolence Is Prevailing Over Backlash," Washington Post, October 6, 2001, A1, A15. [more to come]

[more to come]

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