The Real Pandemic in America is Hate Crimes Targeting Blacks

May 11, 2009 by Eric Ward
Filed under: American Identity, Politics 
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Much has happened since federal hate crime legislation passed out of the U.S House of Representatives two weeks ago. Last week similar legislation, the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, was introduced on the floor of the U.S. Senate. The bi-partisan legislation, named after hate crime victim Matthew Shepard, would allow the U.S. government to prosecute hate crime violence within areas of federal jurisdiction.

Other things have happened as well. In Washington State, an African-American male was repeatedly hit in the head with a large rock and punched in the face. His crime? Having the nerve to be in the company of a woman who happened to be white. In Connecticut 64-year-old Lawrence Mammone Jr. fired his pistol into a group of black men.

Two days ago, Channice Davy, Kenny Johnson and their three children returned to their California home to find the interior vandalized with racist graffiti. According to KTLA, “Their furniture, clothes, beds and even kitchen supplies are all covered with the angry, racist messages.” The family, rightfully so, refuses to return to their home.

Since 1995, when hate crime statistics were first collected at the national level, one thing remains clear. Blacks are more likely to be victims of hate crime than any other identity group in the United States.

In the last decade alone nearly 40,000 hate crimes against Blacks have been recorded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That’s over 3,000 incidents targeting blacks per year. While the reporting of hate crimes over all continues to decline, hate crimes against blacks have remained fairly consistent (hate crimes against Latinos are on the rise).

While 40,000 incidents in a decade should be alarming news, the actual fact is that that number is closer to 600,000 (that’s nearly 45,000 per year). Why? Because hate crimes are notoriously undercounted in the United States. A study done in 2005 by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that hate crimes were actually 15 times higher than reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Because democracy is contingent on participation, hate crimes are also a blow against democracy. If individuals are afraid to participate in society, all of society suffers.

The American Psychological Association says of hate crimes “. . . not only is it an attack on one’s physical self, but it is also an attack on one’s very identity.” This is what makes these types of crime so uniquely dangerous. The whole group becomes a victim of the crime.”

Marcie Morin in a Sunday guest column for the Denver Post wrote,

“In my mind, I can’t reconcile locking people up not just for what they did but for what they were thinking when they did it, and I can’t help but feel that it sets a dangerous precedent.”

In her column, Morin ignores the fact that hate crimes laws, including proposed federal legislation, do not criminalize free speech. Instead they criminalize the action that is motivated by bias, not the bias isolated from the crime. It is no different than enhancing the penalty for a murder that was pre-meditated (i.e. thought out in advance). Simply put, the intent of the perpetrator enhances the crime. Hate crimes should not be judged any differently.

Over the next few months I suspect to hear a growing public discussion on the meaning and value of federal hate crimes laws. Unfortunately some seeking to fuel a bigoted agenda will base the discussion on misinformation. Already homophobia is being wielded as a weapon against the proposed federal legislation by organizations claiming to be Christian (a claim I find highly suspect).

Will federal hate crimes legislation stop all hate crimes? Probably not. But nor do laws criminalizing white collar crimes stop all white collar criminals. The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act is an inclusive law that sends a loud message that it is unacceptable to victimize someone because of who they are perceived to be. Hate crime convictions bring justice which helps the healing process for the survivors of the crime, including the community to which the victim belonged.

Opposition to current hate crime legislation is really a debate about who is an American and more importantly who we believe is not. Hate crimes seek to divide communities based on race, religion, sexual orientations, ethnicity and nationality and is a direct assault on the concept of being an American – “out of many one.”

A nation committed to opportunity and equity must focus this important discussion on facts, not bigoted myths. The result for Blacks in America is nothing more than a matter of life and death.

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Comments

3 Responses to “The Real Pandemic in America is Hate Crimes Targeting Blacks”

  1. Reckert Strait on May 30th, 2009 9:46 am

    I’d like to see someone explore the little known hate crimes commited against Christopher Newsom, 23, and Channon Christian, a 21-year-old University of Tennessee student. The most horrible hate crime that one could imagine occured near Knoxville, Tenn.

    [Reply]

    Eric Ward Reply:
    June 1st, 2009 at 5:35 pm

    Reckert,

    The tragic murders of Christopher newsom and Channon Christian have been covered by extrensively. In fact a whole wikipedia page has been set up on the loss of these two young people.

    I suspect what you are actually trying to say is that the incident did not receive national media coverage because the victims were white and the perpetrators of the crime were black.

    You are wrong when you subtly try to argue that black crimes against whites are not covered by national press. In fact O.J. Simpson would disagee with you immensely.

    Your real point if you were brave enough to actually come out and say it is that crimes against white are never prosecuted as hate crimes.

    But that is also untrue. I would simply ask you to take a look at the same statistics I did put out by the Department of Justice.

    [Reply]
  2. Reckert Strait on June 2nd, 2009 10:59 am

    Eric. I commend you for not deleting my comments, that shows some courage and at least a willingness for a fair discourse. Eric, I was not “trying to say”, I simply said it. Your O.J. comparison is off base, that case was not just about race, it was money and privilege that amped it up. If O.J. and the victims had been working class, we would never have heard about it. In regards to crime statistics, all one needs to do is to look at who preys upon who and in what disproportionate numbers vs their population numbers. The figures are astounding. The FBI crime stats are still somewhat unaffected by political correctness. However it is disturbing that “Latino” crime is being lumped in as “White” so that skews the data more than a bit. I think we can both agree on the fact that we both have an agenda or point of view. My point of view has been shaped by my own personal experience and informed by my studies.

    [Reply]