Friend,
We welcome President Biden's announcement today
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that the White House will host a national summit next month to
address hate violence and extremism.
Biden has repeatedly demonstrated that he understands the importance
of speaking out against hate. We hope the summit will provide an
opportunity for elected officials and faith, business and community
leaders to come together to identify best practices to address
hate-fueled violence. And we hope this event will launch a continuing
commitment to address these issues in our communities.
Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General for
Civil Rights Kristen Clarke have also demonstrated great leadership
and a deep commitment to effective enforcement of our nation's
hate crime laws.
The enactment of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act
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in May 2021, which included the provisions of the Khalid Jabara and
Heather Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to
Equality Act (NO HATE Act), was a major step forward. Later that
month, Garland announced a series of initiatives
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designed to improve the Department of Justice's capacity to
respond to hate violence. And, on the anniversary of the act this
year, Garland announced
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a number of new Department of Justice initiatives designed to better
coordinate a more interagency, holistic federal response to hate
violence and to promote community healing and build trust to address
this national crisis.
We look forward to participating in this important meeting and we urge
the administration to focus on three things at its United We Stand
Summit:
* First, it is impossible to address our nation's hate crime
problem without measuring it accurately. Though the FBI has been
collecting hate crime data from the nation's 18,000 law
enforcement agencies since 1991, the reporting is voluntary, and
many agencies do not provide their information. The federal
government should promote compliance incentives and announce
that, going forward, it will condition funding for law
enforcement agencies on credible reporting of hate crimes.
* Second, we must acknowledge that hate-fueled violence and the
harms it causes cannot be solved by law enforcement
alone.?We must do more to support victims, survivors and
their communities. This convening should center the victims and
survivors of hate crimes, extremism and gun violence - and
focus on both individual families and building trust and
community resilience.
* Third, the United We Stand Summit cannot be a one-time event or
just a photo opportunity. The summit must include plans
demonstrating a long-term commitment to continue this work,
including community-based follow-up roundtables to highlight
best practices, public-private partnerships, restorative justice
initiatives and effective law enforcement and community response
to hate crimes and extremism.
When confronting bias-motivated hate, white supremacy and violent
extremism, words matter. The Southern Poverty Law Center has
documented how false conspiracy theories and polarizing rhetoric
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and President Trump's incitement and executive actions helped
create a climate in which hate has been normalized and mainstreamed
and has emboldened individual perpetrators to act. There is an urgent
need to confront the hate-filled, divisive forces that seek to divide
our nation.
We applaud the president's important effort to help unify our
nation and we stand ready to assist in this essential work.
In solidarity,
Margaret Huang
SPLC President and Chief Executive Officer
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