The FBI’s annual crime report showed an alarming spike in the number of hate crimes since 2017.
Countless news reports reflect the increase in hate crimes over the past year. Most recently, a Black woman was stabbed on a subway by a white man and called a "Black b***h."
According to NBC News, the report revealed an increase in hate crimes that are predominantly race or sexual orientation related.
The FBI released its annual hate crimes report this morning. It shows that hate crimes shot up by more than 17% last year when compared to 2016. That is the biggest jump in more than a decade of FBI tracking. https://t.co/KKupuJeNDa
— Jaweed Kaleem ???? (@jaweedkaleem) November 13, 2018
In 2016, 6,121 crimes were reported versus 7,175 bias crimes in 2017 that targeted 8,493 victims. This 17 percent increase includes 59.6 percent of crimes based on race and the other 35 percent on religion and sexual orientation. The Baltimore Sun stated the data breaks down the crimes by race and shows the top bias is geared toward African Americans, rising by 16 percent alone.
Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League Doron Ezickson shared with The Sun that he believes the spread of white nationalism has contributed to the acts.
“It is clear that hateful rhetoric and speech leads to hate crimes,” Ezickson said.
“When it is allowed or normalized in our public square without condemnation, especially from our leaders, it gives a green light to keep spouting it — and acting on it. This FBI report confirms this, and Maryland is no exception,” he continued.
The Sun noted that police typically underreport hate crimes. In data collected last year by the news publication, they found a 35 percent increase in hate-bias reports by Maryland law enforcement agencies alone.
Since Trump's first year in office, the president has done little to speak out against hate crimes and white supremacists.
The NAACP shared a tweet about the data calling it an “urgent crisis” that needs to be addressed immediately by the Senate.
This is shocking & requires Congress’s full attention. Shouldn’t this urgent crisis be subject of first post-recess Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today, instead of ramming through more Trump judges? Our lives are at stake. https://t.co/4gBEWqNDHn
— NAACP (@NAACP) November 13, 2018
“From campaign to election, this president has spewed the language of division and hate, and it has manifested in not only racist policies but in racists acts against people of color and other groups,” NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson shared in response to the report on the organization's website.
Attorney General Matt Whitaker responded to the report in a statement stating that the numbers are a “call to action.”
"This report is a call to action — and we will heed that call,” he said.
With Trump’s ceaselessly racist rhetoric, we can’t say we didn’t see this coming.
No! Really?! Who could’ve ever imagined! pic.twitter.com/DyFbPrmXeq
— Reggie (@GBear285) November 13, 2018
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