Testifying today before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, SPLC President and CEO Margaret Huang urged government action to address the recent spate of bomb threats against Historically Black Universities and Colleges (HBCUs) and attacks against other minority communal institutions. 

HBCUs have been essential for the education and elevation of Black leaders and intellectuals for over 150 years and are renowned as indispensable hubs of Black excellence. Of the 107 HBCUs in the United States, 44 are in the five states where the SPLC has a significant presence – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

These threats have a grave impact on the communities we work alongside. They are a symptom of the white supremacy that the SPLC was founded to dismantle and are alarmingly reminiscent of this country’s long history of white supremacist attacks on Black leaders and Black churches – attacks aimed explicitly at terrorizing Black communities to assert control.

In her testimony, Huang addressed the current threat of extremist violence and hate crimes and urged support for victims and for programs designed to prevent radicalization. She also underscored the necessity for digital literacy and for inclusive education that grapples with our nation’s hard history of discrimination and oppression.

You can read the full testimony here.

Press reports indicate that the FBI has focused its investigation on six radicalized, “tech-savvy” youthful suspects who appeared to time their threats to disrupt Black History Month. One of the young offenders reportedly claimed a connection with the Atomwaffen Division, a terroristic, neo-Nazi organization the SPLC has been tracking over the past five years. This kind of radicalization is increasingly common as extremist propaganda reaches vast audiences through social media.

Dangerous and false conspiracy theories like the “great replacement” theory now circulate widely in extremist spaces and infiltrate the political mainstream. This racist premise asserts that there’s a systematic attempt to replace white people in the U.S. and broader Western world with non-white immigrants to dilute white power. And it lays the groundwork for terrorist violence. Since 2015, extremists inspired by this theory have launched deadly terror attacks in Charleston, South Carolina; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Christchurch, New Zealand; Poway, California; and El Paso, Texas – killing dozens of people. Despite its clearly violent implications, politicians and pundits now repeat the myth regularly.

To help address this problem, the SPLC and American University’s Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) have published a guide for parents and caregivers to help them recognize the signs of radicalization.

At the conclusion of her testimony, Huang shared the following five policy recommendations to encourage Congress to take action to prevent future violence and halt increasing radicalization:

Speak out against hate, political violence and extremism

Words matter, especially from our leaders. It is impossible to overstate the importance of elected officials, business leaders and military commanders using their public platforms to condemn hate crimes, threats to HBCUs and vandalism and violence against houses of worship and other minority institutions.

Improve government response to domestic extremism

The Biden administration and Congress should continue to closely track and assess the nature and magnitude of domestic extremism and should fund resilience and digital literacy initiatives and government and academic research on best evidenced-based prevention programs.

Enforce current laws

Every state prohibits private militias, and many states have laws that prohibit political violence, restrict firearms in state capitol/government buildings and near polling places, and ban paramilitary training in furtherance of, or in preparation for, civil disorder. Federal and state authorities should take action to raise awareness about these laws – and enforce them.

Promote online safety and hold tech and social media companies accountable

It is frighteningly simple for racists and extremists to disseminate propaganda, recruit followers, generate profits and spread intimidation on major social media platforms. Tech companies must create – and enforce – Terms of Service and policies to ensure that social media platforms, payment service providers and other internet-based services do not enable the funding or amplification of white supremacist ideas, or otherwise provide a safe haven for extremists.

Teach truth and fund prevention initiatives to steer individuals away from hate and extremism

Disinformation and conspiracy theories are galvanizing attacks on democracy and government institutions. Many groups sharing conspiracy theories offer their potential supporters simple answers to complex questions. We must confront the insidious nature of this disinformation and conspiratorial thinking, which can lead to ideologically motivated violence.

In Solidarity,

The Southern Poverty Law Center