In 1968, the first federal hate crimes law was passed to address the pattern of law enforcement often refusing to investigate or prosecute lynchings & race-based crimes.

50+ years later, here's how hate crime laws have expanded:

#HateCrimeAwarenessMonth bit.ly/3rvdyug
The law made it a federal crime to forcefully injure, intimidate or interfere with someone based on race, color, religion or national origin.

But only while they were participating in the six federally protected activities, like voting or attending school. #HCAM

📢 On Wednesday, SPLC and other voting rights advocates participated in a roundtable commemorating 10 years since the disastrous Shelby v. Holder decision that gutted the Voting Rights Act. In discussing the recent decision in Merrill v. Milligan and the process of drawing new maps to ensure the Black community in Alabama is adequately represented in Congress, Jerome Dees, Alabama policy director for SPLC, had this to say:

Law enforcement detained at least 35 demonstrators in Atlanta on Sunday, including an SPLC employee who was arrested while acting — and identifying — as a legal observer on behalf of @NLGnews #StopCopCity This is part of a months-long escalation of policing tactics against protesters and observers who oppose the destruction of the Weelaunee Forest to build a police training facility. #STOPCopCity

🧵THREAD: Despite inconsistent data reporting, the @FBI's Hate Crime Statistics Act has been the most comprehensive snapshot of hate violence in the U.S. for 30 years.

But that changed this year –– We should have no confidence in the 2021 data submitted. 1️⃣ The data is drastically incomplete.

There were 3,300 fewer participating agencies than in 2020, including @nycgov, @LACity, @chicago, @CityofPhoenixAZ, and dozens of other large cities.

Also, essentially, the entire states of Florida and California.

📽️LIVE: SPLC President & CEO @MargaretlHuang testifies on the rise in violence against #HBCUs.

HBCUs are central to Black scholarship and the inclusion of Black voices in American dialogue.

We condemn the targeted violence and support the HBCU community. splcenter.org/news/2022/02/1… Educational institutions, houses of worship & other community institutions have historically been safe spaces for all people – sanctuaries for communities to gather, share, learn, fellowship, and build a support network.

This is particularly true for communities of color.

Today, a jury acquitted Kyle Rittenhouse for the murders of Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum and the attempted murder of Gaige Grosskreutz.

SPLC President and CEO @MargaretLHuang issued the following in response to the lack of justice: splcenter.org/presscenter/so… “Our hearts are with the victims in this case – the individuals killed & wounded by Kyle Rittenhouse as well as the families & community torn apart by the consequences of this deadly violence.

You can read our blog post to learn more about SPLC's history of fighting for justice and racial equity: splcenter.org/news/2021/07/3… We’ve launched groundbreaking cases to challenge conversion therapy; protect #LGBTQ children from violence and harassment in school; ensure the parental rights of LGBTQ people; protect the right to proper medical treatment and safe housing for transgender prisoners and much more.

As the far-right expanded its network of hate online, it relied on a popular digital medium to get its message out: Podcasts.

In this four-part report, SPLC researchers @MeganSquire0 and @hannahgais detail podcasts' role in far-right mobilization: splcenter.org/techwatch In Part 1, the researchers zeroed in on 18 different podcasts from 2005–2020.

These shows –– which featured 882 cast members on 4,046 different episodes –– revealed how extremist leaders worked together to build their movement into a political force.
splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021…

🚨TODAY:

Following the torture & forced deportation of #Cameroonian asylum seekers under the Trump admin, SPLC joined allies @theCCR @ProjectSouth in filing FOIA requests for government records on abuses against Black immigrants.

More in our statement:splcenter.org/presscenter/fo… The FOIAs request records of communication on the deportation of Cameroonian immigrants between 8/1/20 and 1/19/21.

Read the 2 FOIA requests here: splcenter.org/sites/default/…

TW: Sexual abuse

Today #AshleyDiamond, a Black trans woman, celebrates her birthday from a men's prison where she has been sexually assaulted at least 16 times since Oct '19.

We've helped her request an emergency order for protection.

Our statement:bit.ly/3tiDRQ9 The motion filed asks that the #Georgia Dept of Corrections take immediate steps to:

🔴Protect Ashley from physical & sexual violence.
🔴Transfer her to a women’s facility.
🔴Provide medically necessary treatment for gender dysphoria.
🔴Protect her & witnesses from retaliation.

.@POTUS @VP @SecMayorkas: We urge you to immediately SHUT DOWN 10 ICE facilities & cancel their contracts! #FirstTen #CommunitiesNotCages

🗣️Adelanto & Mesa Verde in CA
🗣️Berks in PA
🗣️Dilley, Karnes & Hutto in TX
🗣️Etowah in AL
🗣️Farmville in VA
🗣️Irwin in GA
🗣️Otero in NM Karim Golding has been detained by ICE for 4+ yrs & is currently detained at the Etowah Detention Center, where he faces retaliation for demanding freedom.

His story shows the inhumanity of detention & why Biden must #ShutDownEtowah.

#FirstTen #CommunitiesNotCages #FreeKarim

The military has a growing problem with white supremacy & extremism –– because our country does.

Lecia Brooks, SPLC's Chief of Staff, testified before @HASCDemocrats today about white supremacists' presence in the military.

Read her remarks:

#RefuseHate splcenter.org/news/2021/03/2… Over the years, SPLC researchers have identified dozens of former & active-duty military personnel among the ranks of some of the country’s most dangerous and violent white supremacist groups.

Those groups include👇

The Base
The Atomwaffen Division (AWD)
The Boogaloo Movement

Birds of a feather flock together, and as @hatewatch previously reported, Stephen Miller has a long history of promoting white nationalist ideas.

We’re not surprised Miller is joining Rep. Mo Brooks.
thehill.com/homenews/campa… Before the 2016 election, @Hatewatch received 900+ leaked emails from Stephen Miller to Breitbart editors –– where Miller shared links to white nationalist sites, recommended a racist novel & tried to influence coverage of the 2016 primaries & immigration.
splcenter.org/stephen-miller…

Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the 8 victims who lost their lives in the mass shooting last night in the Atlanta-area.

We all must call on elected officials to take steps to #StopAAPIHate & other extremist/hateful ideology.

apnews.com/article/georgi… @MargaretLHuang, SPLC President & CEO, issued the following statement following the horrific mass shooting:splcenter.org/presscenter/sp…

🚨NOW: Chief of Staff Lecia Brooks is testifying before
@FSCDems on how domestic terrorists — like the right-wing extremists who overran Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 — finance their operations & how to cut off money sources to prevent future attacks.

Tune in 👇 Since 1990, we've published an annual census of hate groups operating within the U.S. The number is a barometer, albeit only one, of the level of hate activity in the country.

This #YearInHate2020, we counted 838 hate groups.

View our hate map 👇 splcenter.org/hate-map

VICTORY! A federal court has ruled that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education cannot divert desperately needed money away from public schools and into private schools! This is a huge win for public education and sends a clear message that Secretary DeVos cannot use illegal means to advance her agenda of funneling scarce public resources to private education

Exclusive: Ryan Balch, who says he marched with Kyle Rittenhouse and a contingent of militia conducting armed patrols in Kenosha, WI, promoted far-right, Nazi and white supremacist rhetoric on his social media, including a video featuring Hitler, a @Hatewatch investigation found. Balch, 31, has not been accused of a crime or been linked to the shooting by law enforcement. He volunteered info about this acquaintance with Rittenhouse on his Facebook page.

The Republican National Committee has caved to white supremacists and hate groups.

splcenter.org/presscenter/sp… This resolution is an attack on our definition of hate groups in order to excuse the Trump administration's history of working with those who malign entire groups of people — including #BlackLivesMatter, #immigrants, #Muslims and the #LGBTQ community — with dehumanizing rhetoric.

🚨#BREAKING: We just filed a notice of appeal on behalf of a 14 y/o #GA student who was permanently expelled after being accused of an off-campus misdemeanor that was later dismissed.

@GwinnettSchools🗣️harsh disciplinary tactics push students of color out of the classroom. It’s long past time to end the #SchoolToPrison pipeline being perpetrated in @GwinnettSchools's front yard.

It’s no coincidence the County’s disciplinary hearing building is directly across from the county jail.
splcenter.org/presscenter/sp…

#JackPosobiec uses his social media and professional platform as @OANN host to spread disinformation and white supremacy. He's been praised by @realDonaldTrump for it.

He also interviewed Stefan Molyneaux, a eugenicist with white supremacist ideas.
bit.ly/2EaS4Kl The interview took place in Warsaw, Poland after #JackPosobiec and Stefan Molyneaux attended a neo-Nazi march in 2018.

#POTUS shouldn't listen to — let alone praise — #JackPosobiec.

BREAKING: Far-right @OANN host #JackPosobiec — a @RealDonaldTrump favorite — collaborated with white supremacists, neo-fascists & antisemites for years, creating propaganda #Trump has openly embraced, a new @SPLCenter investigation finds. splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020… .@SPLCenter reporter @MichaelEHayden reveals that @OANN’s #JackPosobiec rose to prominence while operating a #GameOfThrones fan account that he used to tweet racist remarks and target Jews with antisemitic hate. He did this while praising @realDonaldTrump.