In 2020, amidst the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, the death of George Floyd, and the social justice movement against police violence and racism, the FBI observed a rise in hate crimes directed at African Americans. The FBI reported that out of 8,052 hate crime incidents, 64.9% were motivated by race, ethnicity, or ancestry bias, with Black Americans being the majority of victims. The number of reported hate crimes against African Americans in 2020 increased to 2,871 from 1,972 in 2019, contributing to a 9.1% overall rise in hate crimes. In the five years leading up to 2019, African Americans were involved in approximately half of all cases involving bias based on race, ethnicity, or ancestry, as per FBI data. Experts who monitor this data warn that the federal numbers may not be complete, and some of the increase in cases could be due to higher awareness and a greater willingness to report such incidents. Nevertheless, they believe that the focus on social justice may have also contributed to an increase in violence against Black Americans. Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, stated that the events of 2020, particularly the protests following the killing of George Floyd, have shifted the course of prejudice towards African Americans. While the national hate crime statistics for 2021 have not been published yet, experts in hate crimes indicate that attacks on Black Americans and their institutions have persisted. This year, around one-third of historically Black colleges and universities in the country received bomb threats, in addition to several houses of worship and other faith-based and academic organizations, according to the FBI. In February, three white Georgia men were found guilty of federal hate crimes for fatally chasing and killing Ahmaud Arbery because of his race, sparking renewed attention on racially motivated violence. The trial was notable for its honest examination of racism. The FBI issues an annual report on hate crimes, but the federal tracking system does not mandate police agencies to provide data, leading to significant underreporting. This lack of accurate data paints an unclear picture of the extent of hate crimes nationwide, but the report still offers insight into general trends. The Justice Department has recently made efforts to encourage victims to report bias incidents and has prioritized prosecuting these crimes. The FBI's report from last year, which was based on data collected in 2020 from over 15,000 law enforcement agencies, revealed a significant increase in hate crimes, particularly targeting Black and Asian Americans. The FBI defines a hate crime as a biased-motivated crime against a person or property, which can range from bomb threats and vandalism to physical violence and murder. Federal data shows that over the past decade, hate crimes against Black Americans, who make up 12.1% of the population, have been disproportionately higher compared to those reported against any other group, regardless of religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. The data indicates that there were 20,084 reported instances of anti-Black crimes in the past decade. During that time period, the second largest category of crimes, anti-Jewish incidents, totaled 7,688 reports. Despite Jews making up only 2.4% of the US adult population, according to Pew Research Center. The perpetrator of the Buffalo attack, an 18-year-old white man with a semi-automatic rifle and white supremacist beliefs developed during the pandemic, targeted a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood, resulting in the deaths of 10 people and injuries to three others, most of whom were African American. In a manifesto posted online, the suspect expressed his hatred by writing a racist slur on his weapon and mentioning replacement theory, a far-right concept that fears white people will be replaced by people of color and immigrants. The Justice Department is investigating the mass shooting as a possible hate crime, which is similar to other racially motivated violence stemming from white supremacy, like the Charleston church massacre, the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, and the El Paso Walmart attack where the shooter complained about Hispanic immigrants. Researchers studying hate crimes against African Americans note that it is a mix of old and new forms of prejudice. It involves a persistent fear of demographic changes and the idea of "replacement" that is circulating in certain corners of the internet and often fueled by racist political discourse. According to Jeannine Bell, a professor at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law and an expert on hate crimes, this concept has long been a concern for white supremacists and has become more pronounced during difficult times. Bell also links the recent increase in anti-Black hate crimes to a backlash against the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which stirred up anger towards African Americans. She mentioned there was a significant amount of support and anger, noting that the news coverage of Black victimization angered white supremacists. Bell explained that attributing the rise in hate crimes to a specific source is difficult, but major events like the protests in the summer of 2020 serve as a useful reference point. Bell also suggested that there has likely been a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. "What transpired? There was an occurrence, a pandemic, and a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes linked to the pandemic began to occur." Hate crimes targeting African Americans are challenging to accurately quantify, according to Bell, due to the absence of dedicated groups monitoring such crimes. A coalition of national civil rights and social justice organizations urged President Joe Biden to organize a summit this week to address hate crimes and right-wing extremism. Reverend Al Sharpton stated on Twitter that he had discussed the necessity for a summit with two members of Biden's Cabinet: "There must be a coordinated national response to the increasing crimes immediately." © 2022 The New York Times Company.