RACISM + POLITICS
Anti-Black Hate Crimes Are On The Rise. Why Can't We Move Past Awareness?
Knowing about the problem should be the first step, not the last.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, "48.5 percent were victims of crimes motivated by offenders' anti-Black or African American bias." To put those digits into perspective, 4.4 percent were due to anti-Asian hate, and 3.5 percent were due to that individual's mixed race — the majority of hate crimes committed in the United States are because of anti-Black racism. Yet, last year, our Congress passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Bill, which offered protection for Asian Americans, but not Black people. The bill could have addressed both marginalized groups, but it didn't. And in leaving out Black people, the bill passed both houses of Congress with bipartisan support.
But, if the legislators passed the bill because of the increase in hate crime, then why have only hate crimes committed against Asian Americans been addressed? While some people scoff at the idea that America is structurally racist, the Stop Asian Hate Bill's passing without those same legislators seriously considering a Stop Anti Black Racism Bill shows the racial reckoning may have only reached shallow depths. Our country is still not willing to tackle…
