‘An epidemic of hate’: Anti-asian hate crimes in California jumped 177% in 2021
The number of hate crimes in California rose for the third year in a row in 2021 and included a sizable uptick in the number of anti-asian crimes, according to a report from the state attorney general.
The California Department of Justice released its annual report on hate crimes on Tuesday morning, noting 1,763 reported hate crimes, up 33% from the year prior.
Hate crimes against
Asian Americans saw another year of tripledigit percentage increases, with crimes increasing 177.5% from 2020 to 2021, according to the report. Over the last year the number of anti-asian hate crimes rose from 89 to 247.
“Today’s report reflects a grim reality our diverse communities know too well,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a news conference Tuesday morning. Bonta pointed to the pandemic as giving way to “an epidemic of hate.”
Bonta said that hate crimes have increased to a level California hasn’t seen since the spike in the aftermath of 9/11. At the time, hate crimes jumped to 2,261 reported incidents.
Anti-asian crimes have become a larger portion of the state’s hate crimes involving race. Two years ago, about 8% of racebased hate crimes involved Asian Americans. In 2021, that number rose to 21%.
During that time, the largest share of race-based hate crimes targeted Black people. Anti-black hate crimes rose 13% to 513 in 2021.
Hate crimes against Latinos also saw a 30% increase in 2021, and antijewish hate crimes rose 32%.
Bigotry has become more pervasive in recent years, and has spiked particularly around “conflictual events” such as elections and protests, said Brian Levin, who leads the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino
“It’s not just the darkest corners of the internet anymore, it’s in every space from sports to gaming,” Levin said.
Hate crimes saw a sharp uptick in June 2020 following the police killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests that followed, Levin said. Historically, hate crimes tend to fall after a spike, but that didn’t happen in 2020. Instead, the trend of increased hate crime has become more “sticky and elongated,” Levin said.
The report was compiled using data reported by local law enforcement agencies. As some communities may be more hesitant to report crimes to law enforcement, however, Levin said the numbers could be an undercount.
“We have massive underreporting when it comes to hate crimes,” Levin said. “This is really a snapshot of a trend as opposed to the actual number.”
Reports of anti-asian hate crimes began to tick up in early 2020 as antiasian sentiment coalesced around the COVID-19 pandemic’s origins in China and the rhetoric of then-president Trump.
What followed were assaults on Asian people in Oakland and San Francisco and the deadly shootings of six Asian women at Atlanta-area spas in March 2021.