Since 1998, United Methodist Women have been tracking hate crimes in their state by sending in newspaper clippings to the Women's Division.
Within the 311 total articles received, 152 separate hate incidents were
identified. 137 of these incidents have been categorized as alleged hate crimes
by the media or law enforcement. The other cases, entitled suspected hate
crimes, deal with incidents where the nature of the crime is not reported by the
media and/or law enforcement to be a hate crime though the possibility remains.
For example, the Kokomo case that should be classified as a hate crime, but is
classified as a suicide by law enforcement and the mainstream media is thus
found in the suspected hate crimes category. There are 15 such incidents that
fall under this category listed below.
All categories have been tabulated by incidents and not by victims. For example, Benjamin Nathaniel Smith’s shooting spree in Illinois counts as “1” on the chart, even though several people were hurt. An additional note: There was some overlap in reported incidents between the ‘98-‘99 articles and the ‘00-’01, thus the slight disparity in numbers between the yearly totals and the cumulative report.
Click on your state abbreviation and see what they have found!
AL AK AZ AR CA CO DE FL GA HA ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MO MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY
We have differentiated for reporting purposes how crimes/incidents were reported. It helps to understand the media’s reporting on acts of hate, racism, and bigotry. There is an upcoming Action Alert to address reporting. Below is a chart showing all data gained from the articles.
46 murders 17 in 2001 1 in 1991
30 assaults 27 in 2000 1 in 1987
19 cases of harassment or stalking 45 in 1999 2 in 1980
12 acts of vandalism 38 in 1998 2 in 1966
11 arsons 5 in 1997 1 in 1963
9 cases of discrimination 2 in 1996 1 in 1948
2 conspiracies to commit murder 1 in 1994 1 in 1906
1 attempted murder 1 in 1993
2 murders in 2001 2 murders in 1999
6 murders in 2000 1 case of harassment in 1999
1 assault in 2000 1 assault in 1999
2 assaults in 1998
1998: Matthew Shepard’s murder in Wyoming 23 articles
1999: The murder of James Byrd in Texas 15 articles
1999: Benjamin Nathaniel Smith’s Shooting Spree in Illinois/Indiana 11 articles
1999: The Columbine School Shootings in Colorado 7 articles
2000: Raynard Johnson’s hanging in Kokomo, Mississippi 40 articles
2000: Shooting Sprees in Pittsburgh, PA 7 articles
2000: Shooting Spree at a Gay bar in Virginia 7 articles
2000: The Murder of Arthur Warren Jr. in West Virginia 7 articles
2001: Cemetery Vandalism in Missouri 10 articles
In response to continuing incidents of hate-based violence in the United States, the Women’s Division for the past two years has coordinated an effort to document incidents. United Methodist Women members from around the country have been sending newspaper clippings about reported incidents to undergird efforts to educate people about the prevalence of such crimes, to provide support to victims and communities, and to help eradicate attitudes that contribute to an atmosphere of hate and violence.
Continue to send newspaper clippings of hate crimes (or possible hate crimes) with the newspaper name and date to Sandra Peters, 475 Riverside Drive, #1502, New York, NY 10115.