Tag: hate

Hate crimes targeting LGBTQ people increase in California

By Natalie Hanson | Posted July 24, 2024

photo courtesy of EMS
Andy Ruiz

Community organizations are relying heavily on partnerships with the Golden State’s government to aid LGBTQ people who face an increase in hate crimes across California.

There were 405 reported hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation bias (an increase of 3.6% from the previous year) in 2023, and 76 hate crime events motivated by anti-transgender bias (an increase of 7.04%). California’s attorney general Rob Bonta called those increased reports “alarming,” according to a report from Ethnic Media Services (EMS).

The state’s Department of Justice reports that despite the category increases cited above, there was a 7.1% decrease overall in hate crimes in 2023 from the previous year. read more

Activists turn from personal pain to community healing

Marginalized and minority communities see uptick in threats, harassment
By Natalie Hanson | Posted June 12, 2023

photo by Leslie Layton
In the last several months, Bethel AME Church has been the target of “cryptic messages.”

At a time when hate-fueled speech, crime and violence are threatening marginalized communities nationwide, it often falls on grassroots community movements to create change and promote healing from injustice, experts say.

Chico has tragically faced numerous incidents of hate against people who have historically faced discrimination. The city’s oldest Black church, Bethel African Methodist Episcopalian Church (AME), has reported repeated vandalism since 2020. Art by indigenous organizers has been vandalized. Unhoused people face ongoing verbal harassment and death threats. Anti-Semetic flyers have been delivered to homes across the city several times this year. Stonewall Alliance Chico says it is aware of growing fears of harassment, particularly among LGBTQ youth who face calls for public schools to repeal codes protecting their privacy to avoid discrimination. read more