Permission to reprint or copy this article or photo, other than personal use, must be obtained from BARRIOZONA,
Call 480-983-1445 or e-mail admin@barriozona.com with your request
Phoenix, Arizona (March 15, 2009) - A report by the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center ─a civil rights law firm─
reports that the number of hate groups operating in the United States continued to rise in 2008.
According to the “Year in Hate” issue of the SPLC's Intelligence Report released today March 18, last year’s increase in the
number of hate groups was fueled by “immigration fears, a failing economy and the successful campaign of Barack
Obama.”
The Center is internationally known for its educational programs on tolerance, its many victories in courts against white
supremacists, as well as its tracking of hate groups.
Report’s data reveals that since 2000, hate groups have grown by 54 percent. This represents more than 4 percent growth
from the 888 groups that were documented in 2007, and far above the 602 groups documented in 2000.
A total of 926 active hate groups in the nation were identified in this report, 19 of them as being based in Arizona, and of
which 10 are Neo-Nazi. Among Arizona cities where hate groups have membership are: Apache Junction, Black Canyon
City, Colorado City, Cottonwood, Goodyear, Mesa, Phoenix, Sierra Vista and Tempe, and the counties of Maricopa and
Cochise.
Other hate group’s affiliations are Racist Skinhead, the Christian Identity religion, General Hate, White Nationalist, Black
Separatist, Anti-Immigrant, and Ku Klux Klan. Other groups listed in the report target gays or immigrants, and some focus
on producing racist-based music or on spreading propaganda aimed to deny the Holocaust.
The growth of hate groups have translated into an increase in hate crimes. According to statistics from the Federal Bureau
of Investigations, between 2003 and 2007 there was a 40 percent growth in hate crimes against Latinos.
In addition to what SLPC describes as “immigration fears,” the Center cites two new factors that in 2008 further fueled the
volatile hate-motivated movement: the deteriorating economy and Obama’s presidential campaign.
Mark Potok, editor of the Intelligence Report, affirms that racist extremists have been inflamed by President Barack
Obama's election. According to Potok, White supremacists perceive the first African-American president’s campaign “as
another sign that their country is under siege by non-whites."
"The idea of a black man in the White House, combined with the deepening economic crisis and continuing high levels of
Latino immigration, has given white supremacists a real platform on which to recruit," added the editor.
In his “The Year in Heat” article in the Intelligence Report, associate editor David Holthouse, points out that, “From white
power skinheads decrying "President Obongo" at a racist gathering in rural Missouri, to neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klansmen
hurling epithets at Latino immigrants from courthouse steps in Oklahoma, to anti-Semitic black separatists calling for
death to Jews on bustling street corners in several East Coast cities, hate group activity in the U.S. was disturbing and
widespread throughout 2008, as the number of hate groups operating in America continued to rise.”
Along the on-going immigration debate, and Obama’s campaign, extremist groups are spreading the idea that minorities
and immigrants are to blame for the home mortgage crisis.
Copyright © 2009 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
Grassroots Journalism
www.barriozona.com
|
SPLC’s report shows significant growth of hate groups nationwide; 19 are based in Arizona.
By Eduardo Barraza
BARRIOZONA
March 18, 2009
Latino Immigration, Bad Economy and Obama
Fueling Hate in the United States