Just one year ago, our country was gripped by the spectacle of hundreds of white supremacists bellowing racist and anti-Semitic chants on the streets of Charlottesville, Va. Though some wore polo shirts and others waved Nazi flags, they stood united under the same hateful message: Non-whites have no place in today’s America.
In Charlottesville, the so-called “alt-right” showed the country that they were no longer an internet nuisance, but a real-world white supremacist movement. They brought together more than 600 extremists for an event where raw hatred was on full display. Neo-Nazis, Klan members, alt-right agitators, anti-immigrant zealots and more put aside their differences to gather in an unprecedented show of unity. Charlottesville reminded us that hatred of the “other” is still very much a part of our society today.
In the tri-state area, it would be easy to view the events of Charlottesville as an outlier, led by individuals who do not exist in regions and communities like ours. But, unfortunately, the haters are closer to home than we may want to believe. The “Unite the Right” rally attracted participants from at least 36 states, including several from Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
More emboldened than ever in today’s politically divisive climate, white supremacists are doubling down on their online vitriol and real-world activity. Recent Anti-Defamation League reporting shows that incidents of white supremacist propaganda on college campuses surged during the last two school years, as bigots have shamelessly promoted their hate of immigrants, African Americans, Jews, LGBT individuals and others. White supremacists targeted 18 campuses in Pennsylvania during that time period, as well as campuses in New Jersey and Delaware.
ADL has also documented a nationwide increase in anti-Semitic incidents, including vandalism, harassment and assault, which were up nationally by nearly 60 percent in 2017. In Pennsylvania, incidents of anti-Semitism rose 43 percent last year, giving the state the sixth-highest total in the nation. New Jersey witnessed the third-most incidents in the country. Delaware endured its largest single-year increase in more than 10 years.
ADL is concerned that the climate created by Charlottesville had an impact on those numbers. And the most recent FBI statistics indicate that hate crimes are up across the nation in virtually every category.
In recent weeks, much has been said about the fact that Charlottesville was not the kind of victory hoped for by the white supremacists who organized the event. The division and disunity caused within the movement post-Charlottesville are evident in the efforts to organize an anniversary event in Washington, D.C., which has led to infighting among key white supremacist figures. Many extremist groups and individuals have definitively stated that they will not attend this year’s demonstrations.
But the movement that organized Charlottesville is hardly on its last legs. In fact, while the backlash against the alt-right may have hurt many of its leading spokespeople, others have picked up the banner and continue their activities.
And ADL fears an even more detrimental consequence from Charlottesville: that American society may slowly be raising its tolerance for bigotry, so that what was once unthinkable might conceivably become commonplace. This is the slippery slope that good-hearted people everywhere have stood up against for all of American history. We cannot allow ourselves to slide backward.
Much work still needs to be done to combat hate in this country. There are five states without hate crime laws on the books, and Pennsylvania’s statute on hate crimes is sorely insufficient, with no coverage for ancestry, mental or physical disability, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.
Our federal government needs to combat right-wing extremists, who committed over 70 percent of extremist-related violence over the past decade, with the same vigor that it demonstrates in pursuing Islamic extremists. Internet and social media platforms must do more to prevent extremists and hatemongers from using their networks to recruit and spread bigotry. Most importantly, individuals must not allow hate to become normalized in their communities — they must speak out whenever and wherever it rears its ugly head.
We can take heart in knowing that many elected officials watched the proceedings in Charlottesville with horror, and immediately committed themselves to uprooting bigotry. Last November, ADL joined with the U.S. Conference of Mayors to launch the Mayors’ Compact to Combat Hate, and more than 300 mayors from 45 states signed the compact. Locally, mayors from Allentown, Bethlehem, Cherry Hill, Downingtown, Easton, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Scranton, Wilmington and York joined the 10-point plan.
But this is only a first step — we need everyone to stand together against prejudice, especially when our most powerful leaders refuse to do so.
Charlottesville should be remembered as a warning to America: This is what happens when bigots unify under one banner. It will take an ongoing and coordinated effort by public officials, private industry, the corporate sector and civil institutions to ensure that our society’s hateful elements are pushed back into the margins where they belong.
Nancy K. Baron-Baer, Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Philadelphia region serving eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.