Over 700 incidents of hate-fueled persecutory actions and threats have been reported since the 2016 presidential election.
From the one week period beginning the day after the election, November 9th, to November 16th, there have been 206 anti-immigrant, 151 anti-Black, 80 anti-LGBT, 60 swastika vandalism, 51 anti-Muslim, and 36 anti-woman incidents.
These incidents of harassment are not geographically isolated in certain regions of the country or in correspondence with the way states voted in the presidential election. In Northern California, a student walked into a bathroom that had been segregated by the words “whites” and “colored” that were scrawled above the urinals. A Muslim woman attending school in Michigan was approached by a man who threatened to set her on fire if she did not take off her hijab. Black first-year students at the University of Pennsylvania were added to a flagrantly racist GroupMe account that contained racial slurs and pictures of lynchings.
In addition to the rise of hate crimes, “hate group recruitment” has also increased since the election. One example took place in Texas, where a professor of Native American studies discovered a flyer on his door’s bulletin board reading, “Are you sick of anti-white propaganda in college? You are not alone.”
By location, the highest rates of hate crimes are in schools at 149 incidents, businesses at 129 incidents, universities and colleges at 114 incidents, public streets at 82 incidents, private property at 72 incidents, and while driving at 42 incidents. These 700 plus incidents are only from one week post-election.
A majority of the messages containing hate are said to be derived from those inspired by the rhetoric of Donald Trump. Activists are calling on Trump to do more as they feel he inadequately attempted to pacify the hate in the country, telling his supporters to simply “stop it.”
For the people facing these acts of discrimination and persecution, his two-word statement has not had the impact they need. With his future leadership role coming closer every day, many feel Donald Trump needs to do more to protect immigrants, Blacks, LGBTQ individuals, Muslims, women, and every other person facing harassment and that saying “stop it,” is not enough.
