BLACK LIVES MATTER

Unchecked Treatment: The Anti-Black Hate Crime Epidemic

More silent dangers mount amongst the consistent rise in racial hate crimes against African Americans.

Quintessa L. Williams
Momentum
Published in
5 min readAug 30, 2023

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Black Lives Matter Poster Illustration by Seth Herald | Photo Courtesy of BET

The recent 2021 Hate Crime Statistics found that reported hate crime incidents increased by over 11%, — from 8,210 in 2020 to 9,065 in 2021. According to the report, over 63% of single-bias hate crime incidents were motivated by the offenders’ prejudice toward a victim’s race or ethnicity.

Of the reported 11% increase, the majority of incidents were motivated by bias against African Americans. However, as anti-Black hate crimes increased over time, only 100 incidents between January 2010 and July 2018 have been federally pursued nationwide.

Moreover, anti-Black hate crimes remain the largest bias incident category of all racial groups; — accounting for over 30% of all hate crime incidents in 2021. For a minority-populated demographic, African Americans remain disproportionately overrepresented among hate crimes in America.

Of course, hate crime victims were targeted due to other significant factors such as sexual orientation or religion. However, anti-Black violence has long persisted as a common hate crime in America. And no matter how hate crimes…

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Momentum
Momentum

Published in Momentum

Momentum is a blog that captures and reflects the moment we find ourselves in, one where rampant anti-Black racism is leading to violence, trauma, protest, reflection, sorrow, and more. Momentum doesn’t look away when the news cycle shifts.

Quintessa L. Williams
Quintessa L. Williams

Written by Quintessa L. Williams

Afra-American Journalist 📝📚| #WEOC | Blacktivist | EIC of TDQ | Editor for Cultured & AfroSapiophile. Bylines in The Root, MadameNoire, ZORA, & Momentum.

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