This sobering look at hate crimes provides numerous examples that illustrate their breadth and seriousness. In 2016, according to the FBI, there were 6,121 reported hate crimes, with 7,615 victims. This book profiles the people who commit these crimes and shows how their actions affect individuals and their communities. It mentions well-known hate groups but emphasizes that lone individuals, not organized hate groups, are most likely to commit hate crimes. The significance of the 1998 Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. cases, which spurred efforts to enact federal hate crimes law, is highlighted. The 2017 Charlottesville rally and 2015 murders at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., are described, as are lesser-known cases. The book explains why inconsistencies across states regarding who is protected under hate crime laws make prosecution difficult. It provides examples of anti-hate programs being implemented in schools to teach tolerance and inclusion. Statistics, photos, source notes, further research, and organizations to contact are also included. This timely and important resource will be useful for student reports.

A well-documented overview of contemporary hate crimes and their impacts on victims and communities in the U.S.Marcovitz (The Opiod Epidemic, 2017, etc.) explains that hate crimes are distinct from other crimes as they're motivated by bias against a victim's identity. Typically perpetrators, who most frequently act in small groups, do not know their victims, and the crime is a spontaneous action triggered by seeing someone from a particular demographic. Despite legal efforts to abate hate crimes, people from various religious, ethnic, social, LGBTQ, and other groups face growing hostilities in the U.S. In five succinct chapters the author describes the frequency of hate crimes, their impacts, how legislation addresses hate crimes, challenges with prosecution, and prevention. Supported by statistics and specific, recent case studies covering a diverse range of victims, Marcovitz alerts readers to the shocking truth that over 6,000 hate crimes were recorded in the U.S. in 2016, mostly by people acting independently of organized hate groups. He also offers a brief overview of the history of hate crimes. Color photographs and informative sidebars lend appeal to this work that will speak to readers unnerved by events in the news and their own lives, including school shootings and acts of intolerance or bullying based on identity. Written in an accessible, episodic style, the message is powerful and disturbing, and this work is a worthy purchase. (source notes, organizations, resources, index) (Nonfiction. 13-18)