The state of hate in Pennsylvania exploded onto the world stage last year with the October shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh that left 11 dead. The shooting is believed to be the single-worst anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.
But a new report released Wednesday shows that the organized advocacy of hatred by one group towards others has been a persistent problem for the Keystone State. The Southern Poverty Law Center’s report on hate groups counted 36 distinct hate groups as operational in Pennsylvania in 2018.
The 36 groups counted here was unchanged from 2017, and also equals the 10-year average for Pennsylvania from 2008 through 2017.
In raw numbers, that leaves Pennsylvania tied for eighth-place nationally, with Ohio and Tennessee, in the number of hate groups operating here. California leads with 83. But when indexed to population, the Keystone State falls outside of the top 10.
Nationwide, the report counted 1,020 active hate groups in 2018, marking an all-time high, the SPLC reported.
The number represents a 7-percent increase from 2017 and a 30-percent jump over the past four years. The previous record high of 1,018 hate groups was recorded in 2011, but then the number dropped for a few years, the SPLC said.
The annual SPLC count attempts to track all parts of the hate spectrum, from the Ku Klux Klan and white nationalist gangs to neo-Nazis to black nationalists.
Groups on the list have all done some “real-life” activity over the course of the year as captured by news reports, law enforcement, citizen monitors or their own publications. Those acts can range from holding marches or rallies, leafletting areas with recruitment flyers, having regular meetings or, in the worst cases, committing criminal acts.
Entities that appear to exist only in cyberspace are not included.
For a look at SPLC’s interactive map, click here.
Chad Dion Lassiter, executive director of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, said he suspects the persistence in the Pennsylvania hate group count is tied to several factors, including:
- Economic dislocation.
The decline of coal, steel and general manufacturing in Pennsylvania has created a new class of economically-disadvantaged residents, who are more prone to those who would look to blame others for their problems, and;
- Cultural sameness.
In large swaths of Pennsylvania, especially in many of the smaller towns and rural areas that have been hit hardest by the economic changes, there is not a great deal of cultural diversity. So fewer people are “racially socialized,” as Lassiter put it Wednesday.
Heidi Beirich, director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project, assigns some of the blame to President Donald Trump. She contends Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric and policies have “given people across America the go-ahead to act on their worst instincts.”
SPLC cited, as a prominent example, the case of Robert Bowers, who killed 11 at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life. Prosecutors have said Bowers was motivated in the attack by hatred of Jews.
The SPLC defines a hate group as an organization that – based on its official statements or principles, the statements of its leaders, or its activities – has beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Groups operating in Pennsylvania cover a wide range of targets.
Ten of the groups are categorized as identifying with the KKK, as “white nationalist” or “racist skinhead,” all of which adhere to some form of white supremacist ideology. Five more were identified as neo-Nazi, whose principal targets are Jews.
But 11 of the Pennsylvania groups fell into the black nationalist movement, which SPLC defines as a reaction to centuries of institutionalized white supremacy in America. Members often advocate for forming separate institutions, or even a separate nation, for black people.
Lassiter added this caveat.
While he denounces their vitriol and expressed hatred for any segment of society, it’s a reality, he said, to note the black nationalists have typically not resorted to the type of race-based violence that’s so central to the legacy of the white supremacist movements.
Two groups in Pennsylvania are identified as anti-Muslim, and one is anti-LGBT. The seven others fell into a “general hate” category.
Lassiter and his boss, Gov. Tom Wolf, said the SLPC map reaffirms Pennsylvanians have work to do to live up to William Penn’s ideals of tolerance and respect for all.
“The Tree of Life shooting was a tragic reminder of how dangerous hatred can be," Wolf said in an emailed comment about the SPLC report.
"It is our obligation to protect our citizens. Our state police, along with federal and local partners, monitor for any groups that engage in criminal activity, including those driven by hatred. I strongly support any effort to reduce hate-based crimes and further protect citizens.”
PHRC, Lassiter added, will continue to do its part through the investigation of all discrimination and bias complaints brought to its attention. The group is organizing “No Hate In Our State” town halls and other events designed to generate community-based solutions to race-based incidents, and continuing to celebrate the benefits of cultural diversity in schools and elsewhere.