The hate is real out West. According to a new report from California’s Attorney General, hate crimes in California have increased by over 30% in 2020, mainly fueled by a big jump in crimes targeting Black people following the racial tensions of the past year and death of George Floyd.
Black people only account for 6.5% of California’s population of an estimated 40 million people, but yet represent 30% of all hate crimes. “What we see from these reports is what we have seen and felt all year — we are in the midst of a racial justice reckoning in this country. It’s multi-faceted, and it cannot be solved overnight.” Attorney General Rob Bonta said.
California saw some of the largest protests following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. And it also saw a surge in attacks on people of Asian descent following the emergence of the coronavirus in China. “For too many, 2020 wasn’t just about a deadly virus, it was about an epidemic of hate as well,” Bonta said while speaking in Oakland’s Chinatown..
“There was a surge in anti-Asian violence correlated with the words of leaders who sought to divide us when we were at our most vulnerable,” Bonta, a Democrat, said in an apparent reference to former President Donald Trump.
California’s Governor, Gavin Newsom, said he is seeking $300 million to address hate crimes, with one-third going to support victims and the remainder for community-based responses. We’ll see if he comes through though.