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CSUSB center: Hate crimes targeting Asian Americans spiked by 150% in major U.S. cities
VOA News
March 2, 2021
Hate-fueled attacks on Asian Americans spiked across major U.S. cities last year — in some cases by triple-digit percentages — even as overall hate crimes declined, newly analyzed police department statistics show.
Moreover, the alarming trend has continued into this year, experts say.
There were 122 incidents of anti-Asian American hate crimes in 16 of the country’s most populous cities in 2020, an increase of almost 150% over the previous year, according to data compiled by California State University, San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism and exclusively shared with VOA. VOA independently collected data for two of the cities.
“While most cities experienced overall hate crime declines, including attacks against groups that had recently spiked like Jews, attacks against Asians rose materially in most cities, and only declined in one — Washington, D.C.,” said Brian Levin, executive director of the hate and extremism research center.
Read the complete article at “Hate crimes targeting Asian Americans spiked by 150% in major U.S. cities.”
CSUSB professor interviewed for article on Asian American family targeted with harassment, racial slurs by teens
Los Angeles Times
March 2, 2021
Brian Levin, executive director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, was interviewed for an article about an Orange County neighborhood that has come out to support an Asian American family that had been the target of vandalism, racial slurs and other harassment by a group of teens.
Last year, California saw a consistent increase in hate incidents and crimes targeting Asian Americans, said Levin.
Stereotyping and conspiracy theories identifying Asians as responsible for COVID-19 have been embraced by wide swaths of the country, Levin said, with a new Center for Public Integrity/Ipsos poll showing that nearly 1 in 4 Americans have concerns about being physically near Asian people.
A “catalytic event” like the pandemic, with stereotyping by political and social influencers acting as an accelerant, often leads to increased targeting of racial groups, Levin said.
The attacks against the Si family fit another pattern — the homes of minority residents tend to be targeted by neighbors in certain age groups, Levin said.
“The most common offenders of these residential crimes are turf-oriented youths with moderate prejudices out for a thrill or older neighbors reacting to a perceived threat or change,” Levin said.
Read the complete article at “An Asian American family in O.C. was being harassed. Now their neighbors stand guard.”
Hate incidents and crime expected to rise post-COVID-19, CSUSB professor says
San Jose Spotlight
March 1, 2021
Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, was interviewed for an article about Santa Clara County’s first ever hate crime task force — created in December as hate crimes across the U.S. spiked, particularly among Asian Americans.
Levin said he expects hate incidents and crime to rise post-COVID-19.
“Once these COVID-19 restrictions end and these stressed out people … are able to gather and rub elbows, I think you’re going to see other things,” Levin said. “(And) as these bigger, more notorious groups (like QAnon and Proud Boys) get larger and begin to splinter, (we’ll see) more loners, duos and larger cells.”
Levin’s department is working on assembling a report on the rise in crimes against Asian Americans, which have already been noticeably rising.
Read the complete article at “New hate task force in Santa Clara County launches as incidents rise across county.”
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