In 2020, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the killing of George Floyd, and a social justice movement against police violence and racism, the FBI documented a rise in hate crimes directed towards African Americans. The majority of the 8,052 reported hate crimes were motivated by race, ethnicity, or ancestry bias, with Black Americans being the most targeted group. The number of hate crimes against African Americans in 2020 increased to 2,871 from 1,972 in 2019, contributing to an overall 9.1% rise in hate crimes. In the five years leading up to 2019, African Americans were involved in approximately half of all cases of bias based on race, ethnicity, or ancestry, according to FBI data. Experts who analyze this data warn that the federal statistics may be incomplete, and that the increase in reported cases could be due to greater awareness and willingness to report such crimes. However, they also suggest that the focus on social justice issues may have contributed to a rise in violence against Black Americans. Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, noted that the events of 2020, including the protests following George Floyd's murder, shifted the focus of prejudice towards African Americans. While national hate crime data for 2021 has not been released, experts in hate crimes report that attacks on Black Americans and institutions have persisted. This year, a significant number of historically Black colleges and universities, as well as houses of worship and other faith-based and academic institutions, were targeted with bomb threats, according to the FBI. In February, three white Georgia men were found guilty of federal hate crimes for killing Ahmaud Arbery because he was African American, shining a spotlight on racially motivated violence. Despite the FBI's annual report on hate crimes, many incidents go unreported to law enforcement, leading to an incomplete understanding of the true scope of hate crimes nationwide. The Justice Department has been urging victims to come forward and has made prosecuting these crimes a top priority. The FBI's report, which was released last year and based on data collected in 2020 from over 15,000 law enforcement agencies, revealed a significant increase in hate crimes, particularly against Black and Asian Americans. The FBI defines hate crimes as crimes motivated by bias, ranging from bomb threats to physical violence. Data from the past decade shows that hate crimes against Black Americans, who account for 12.1% of the population, have been disproportionately high compared to other groups based on religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Over the past decade, there were 20,084 reported instances of anti-Black crimes. During that time period, the second largest category of crimes was anti-Jewish crimes, with 7,688 reports despite Jews making up only 2.4% of the US adult population. The suspect in the Buffalo attack, an 18-year-old white man, used a semi-automatic rifle and embraced white supremacist ideology during the pandemic. He targeted a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood, killing 10 people and injuring three, most of whom were African American. The suspect's online manifesto revealed his hateful motivations, including a racist slur on his weapon and references to replacement theory, a belief that white people are being replaced by people of color and immigrants. This mass shooting, being investigated as a potential hate crime by the Justice Department, is part of a pattern of racial violence stemming from white supremacy, similar to incidents in Charleston, Pittsburgh, and El Paso. Experts studying hate crimes against African Americans note that it is a mix of old and new forms of bigotry. The text discusses the persistent fear of demographic changes and the idea of "replacement" that is present in certain corners of the internet, often fueled by racist political rhetoric. According to Jeannine Bell, a professor at Indiana University Maurer School of Law and an expert on hate crimes, this fear has been a longstanding theme among white supremacists for many decades. She also suggests that the recent increase in anti-Black hate crimes can be partially attributed to a backlash against the protests that followed George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis, which sparked anger towards African Americans. She mentioned that there was a considerable amount of support as well as anger. The media coverage of black victimization was a source of anger for white supremacists, as they dislike seeing African Americans portrayed sympathetically. Bell noted that it is difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of the rise in hate crimes, but significant events like the protests in the summer of 2020 serve as a reference point. She also suggested that there has likely been an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes. "What occurred? An event, a pandemic, led to a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes. Hate crimes against African Americans are challenging to accurately tally due to a lack of dedicated tracking groups. Civil rights organizations urged President Biden to hold a summit to address hate crimes and right-wing extremism. Rev Al Sharpton emphasized the necessity of a national response to the increasing crimes." (Source: The New York Times Company, 2022)