SPLC Fights Back Against Bigotry in White House
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Southern Poverty Law Center Non Profit Org. 400 Washington Avenue • Montgomery, AL 36104 U.S. Postage PAID www.splcenter.org Southern Poverty SPLC REPORT Law Center Published by the Southern Poverty Law Center Spring 2017 Fighting Hate • Teaching Tolerance • Seeking Justice Volume 47, Number 1 SPLC fights back against IN THIS ISSUE a a a a SPLC president on bigotry in White House extremism of Trump administration The Southern Poverty Law and closest advisers – including Many expressed the belief that it was “one of the most excit- Center took strong action to pro- Stephen Bannon, who helped they finally had a friend in the ing nights of my life. Make no PAGE 2 tect our country’s fundamental nurture a growing white White House. mistake … our people played a values following a presidential nationalist movement. HUGE role in electing Trump!” a a a a election that electrified far- The SPLC also began push- Racists rejoice Days later, about 200 white right extremists and ushered a ing back in the courts against a Former Ku Klux Klan leader nationalists met just a few blocks SPLC in court to white nationalist agenda into White House that appears set on David Duke, perhaps the nation’s from the White House and protect mentally ill the White House. rolling back decades of progress. best-known racist, wrote that shouted “Hail Trump! Hail Our Immediately after the vote, “Our country hasn’t seen this People! Hail Victory!” as their in Alabama prisons the SPLC exposed a wave of kind of extremism in the White leader quoted propaganda from PAGE 4 hate crimes and other bias-re- House in modern times, if ever,” the Third Reich and prompted PUBLISHED BY SPRING 2017 // ISSUE 162 lated incidents that swept SPLC President Richard Cohen THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER sieg heils from the audience. a a a a the country. said. “But, at the same time, our Immediately after the elec- It documented a surge of country’s ideals of equality and tion, hate-fueled violence and Bequests classroom bigotry spawned justice are deeply rooted and our intimidation broke out across COVER ART BY SEAN MCCABE BY ART COVER PAGE 5 by President Donald Trump’s democracy is resilient. the country. xenophobic rhetoric – and cre- “We’ve been encouraged by In response, the SPLC quickly Memorial gifts ated resources to help teachers the powerful outpouring of sup- assembled a team of research- protect vulnerable students port for our work and by the THE YEAR IN ers and began to document the PAGE 6 from harassment. millions of people who have taken HATE AND incidents related to the cam- EXTREMISM Tribute gifts And it played a key role in to the streets to express their dis- AFTER HALF A CENTURY, THE RADICAL paign – swastikas painted on helping the media and public gust at the president’s policies.” RIGHT ENTERS THE MAINSTREAM churches, mosques vandalized, PAGE 9 understand the extremist ties White supremacists were PLUS HATE GROUP MAP & LISTING INSIDE of some of Trump’s appointees ecstatic on election night. Continued on page 3 IR 162 Cover.indd 1 1/24/17 1:06 PM Hate groups rise, fueled by Trump campaign The number of hate groups an arson that destroyed a 49 people at a gay nightclub record set in 2011, but high by Also, in two SPLC surveys – in the United States rose for a mosque in Victoria, Texas, in Orlando. historic standards. during and after the campaign second year in a row in 2016 as just hours after the Trump ad- “2016 was an unprecedented – educators said the climate at the radical right was energized ministration announced an ‘Unprecedented year for hate’ year for hate,” said Mark Potok, their schools had been nega- by the candidacy of Donald executive order suspending The SPLC reported the findings senior fellow and editor of the tively affected. Many described Trump, the Southern Poverty travel from some predominant- of its annual hate group census Intelligence Report. “The coun- heightened anxiety and fear Law Center has found. ly Muslim countries. in the Spring 2017 issue of the try saw a resurgence of white among students whose race, eth- The most dramatic growth The hate group increase was Intelligence Report. It can be read nationalism that imperils the nicity or religion was targeted by was the near-tripling of an- fueled by Trump’s incendiary at www.splcenter.org, where racial progress we’ve made, Trump or other candidates. ti-Muslim hate groups – from rhetoric, including his cam- readers will find an interactive along with the rise of a president Numerous teachers report- 34 in 2015 to 101 last year. paign pledge to bar Muslims map showing the names, types whose policies reflect the values ed widespread bullying and the The growth has been ac- from entering the United States, and locations of hate groups of white nationalists. In chief use of slurs, derogatory language companied by a rash of crimes and anger over terrorist attacks across the country. White House strategist Steve and extremist symbols in their targeting Muslims, including such as the June massacre of The total number of hate Bannon, these extremists think classrooms. groups operating in 2016 rose to they finally have an ally who has 917 – up from 892 in 2015. The the president’s ear.” ‘Patriot’ groups decline number is 101 shy of The overall number In contrast to the growth of the al1-time of hate groups likely un- hate groups, antigovernment derstates the real level “Patriot” groups saw a 38 per- of organized hatred in cent decline – plummeting from America as a growing num- 998 groups in 2015 to 623 last ber of extremists operate year. Composed of armed mili- mainly online and are not tiamen and others who see the formally affiliated with federal government as their en- hate groups. emy, the “Patriot” movement Aside from its annual over the past few decades has census of extremist groups, flourished under Democratic 917 the SPLC found that administrations, but it declined hate groups in U.S. Trump’s rhetoric rever- dramatically when President KU KLUX KLAN 130 NEO-NAZI 99 berated across the nation George W. Bush occupied the WHITE NATIONALIST 100 in other ways. White House. RACIST SKINHEAD 78 CHRISTIAN IDENTITY 21 In the first two weeks af- Even before Trump’s victo- NEO-CONFEDERATE 43 ter his election, the SPLC ry, energy was draining from BLACK SEPARATIST 193 documented more than antigovernment groups as the ANTI-LGBT 52 ANTI-MUSLIM 101 1,000 bias-related incidents Republican nominee co-opted GENERAL HATE 100 across the country. some of their key issues. 2 SPLC REPORT // WWW.SPLCENTER.ORG SPRING 2017 A MESSAGE FROM SPLC PRESIDENT RICHARD COHEN SPLC REPORT Published by the Southern Poverty Law Center SPRING 2017 Administration’s lies test democracy The Southern Poverty Facts are stubborn things. conspiracy theories and par- appeared on Jones’ radio show without any evidence, that the Law Center is dedicated to So said John Adams, our sec- anoid worldview not only fuel and pronounced his reputation news media has covered up fighting hate and bigotry ond president, who added, “[W] the fantasies and prejudices of “amazing.” That’s quite a compli- terrorist attacks by Muslims, and to seeking justice hatever may be our wishes, our far-right extremists but now ment for a man who has claimed another echo of Jones. He sug- for the most vulnerable inclinations, or the dictates of command the attention of mil- that the Sandy Hook massa- gested there was a terrorist members of our society. our passion, they cannot alter lions of people. cre was a government act and attack in Sweden when there Using litigation, education, the state of facts and evidence.” And he probably would be that Hillary Clinton “has per- was none. Conway, meanwhile, and other forms of Those are wise words from aghast to hear the sonally murdered went on MSNBC and referred to advocacy, the SPLC one of our Founding Fathers. president of the and chopped up and a “Bowling Green massacre” that works toward the day Our 45th president would do United States re- raped” children. never happened. when the ideals of a great service to the country peatedly uttering To their credit, many jour- equal justice and equal and the world by heeding them. outright lies, all MICHELLE LELAND Be outraged nalists have pushed back hard opportunity will be a Adams, a highly esteemed while accusing se- Like Jones, Trump against the lies. But the Trump reality. The SPLC also lawyer and statesmen who rious journalists has a long history of team appears unfazed. sponsors the Civil Rights helped lead America’s rebel- of purveying “fake mendacity. He was Stephen Bannon, a champi- Memorial, which honors the memory of individuals lion against the monarchy of news” and describ- the most prominent on of white nationalists and now who died during the civil England, realized early on that ing the press as of the “birthers,” the Trump’s chief strategist, told the new nation’s success rested “the enemy of the conspiracy theorists The New York Times that the me- rights movement. Richard Cohen on the rule of law. We would be American people.” who falsely claimed dia should “keep its mouth shut EXECUTIVE EDITOR a nation of laws, not men. Yet, this is where we are President Barack Obama was and just listen for a while.” Booth Gunter But, as everyone who has in 2017. And our democracy born in Kenya. During his In other words, stop report- MANAGING EDITOR ever watched a courtroom dra- is facing a test of its strength campaign, he trafficked in misin- ing the facts because they put Christine Harrison ma on TV knows, the rule of law and resilience.