Photo: KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty
The United States saw alarming double-digit jumps in the numbers of reported attacks targeting Asian and Black people over the last year, new FBI data reveals.
According to thestudy, attacks on people of Asian descent were up 70% in 2020 compared to the prior year, representing a total of 274 reported crimes, as the COVID-19 pandemic that some blamed on China swept the nation.
But the most-targeted group continued to be Black or African American people, with 2,755 reported attacks, up nearly 40% from 2019.
Overall, across groups singled out for racial, ethnic and gender identity, reported hate crimes were up 6.1%, according to the FBI.
“These numbers confirm what we have already seen and heard from communities, advocates and law enforcement agencies around the country,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in aseparate statement. “And these numbers do not account for the many hate crimes that go unreported.”
He added: “These hate crimes and other bias-related incidents instill fear across entire communities and undermine the principles upon which our democracy stands. All people in this country should be able to live without fear of being attacked or harassed because of where they are from, what they look like, whom they love or how they worship.”
The university report was released during the same week in which a 21-year-old gunman was accused of fatally shooting eight people —six of them Asian women— atthree separate spasin the Atlanta area. The shooter has sincepleaded guilty to four of those killingsand awaits prosecution on the others.
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“There are simple core values and beliefs that should bring us together as Americans. One of them is standing together against hate, against racism — the ugly poison that has long haunted and plagued our nation,” the president said at the signing, emphasizing how “proud” he was that “Republicans and Democrats stood up together to say something.”
Under the new legislation, the Department of Justice will speed up reviews of reported hate crimes. The DOJ will also set up a national online hotline where those crimes can be more easily reported. The law will also appoint an official to oversee the effort at the DOJ.
In addition, the bill will provide grants to states to allow them to set up similar hotlines, while also calling on the DOJ and the Department of Health and Human Services to issue public information in an effort to raise awareness about the rise in hate crimes amid theCOVID-19 pandemic.
source: people.com
