Letter to DPC Director Tanden on Anniversary of United We Stand Summit

View the PDF of this letter here.

Dear Director Tanden:

As we commemorate the first anniversary of the White House’s September 15, 2022, important “United We Stand” Summit we are again tragically reminded of the too frequent devastating violence hate can produce. We appreciate the meaningful steps President Biden has taken to address the scourge of hate crimes from signing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which included the Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer NO HATE Act, into law to his willingness to name and denounce white supremacy, centering victims and survivors of hate crimes and their families.

As you know, The Leadership Conference is a coalition of more than 240 national organizations committed to promoting and protecting the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States and its Hate Crimes Task Force includes civil rights, community, religious, and educational groups that work together to address and prevent hate crimes. Our member organizations and staff were grateful to be able to provide suggestions, participant recommendations and to attend and support the United We Stand summit. On the heels of the horrific murders in Jacksonville and as we approach the anniversary of the United We Stand Summit, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and its Hate Crime Task Force, write to request a meeting with the White House Initiative on Hate Violence and request a public report on progress made on the ambitious government initiatives announced at last year’s Summit.

Last year, the United We Stand Summit thoughtfully brought together local, state, and federal policymakers, civil rights groups, faith and community leaders, law enforcement officials, and survivors of hate to counter the corrosive effects of hate crimes. As we approach the one-year anniversary of this Summit, the latest mass hate crime in which three Black people were murdered at a store in Jacksonville, Florida, serves as a stark reminder of the repeated devastation that hate has on communities across the country.

Our communities are facing an unprecedented threat from the hate-filled forces that seek to divide our nation. While we know that hate crimes are significantly underreported, we also know that the annual data published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation demonstrates trends. 2021 was the highest year on record for reported hate crimes and had the lowest amount of participation from law enforcement agencies since 2012.  Furthermore, as outlined in The Leadership Conference’s report “Cause for Concern 2024: The State of Hate,” hate crimes increase during election cycles.

Countering these trends requires action from all of us. We hope to strengthen our partnership with you to help address the trend of increased hate crimes.

We respectfully request:

1. A meeting with the White House Initiative on Hate-Motivated Violence. We were pleased to see the very first commitment made at the Summit was the establishment of the White House Initiative on Hate-Motivated Violence, yet we have requested meetings and have not been offered that opportunity. We are unaware of the Initiative meeting with our member groups – or, to our knowledge, with any outside stakeholders. This Initiative is an opportunity for the administration to demonstrate that the fight against all forms of hate and bias are part of an interconnected struggle for equality and justice. Below are recommended priorities for a meeting with The White House Initiative on Hate Violence:
2. Discuss concrete steps various federal agencies such as The Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Health and Human Services can take to increase awareness about hate crimes, better understand the needs of people targeted for hate, and understand the public health implications of hate violence, and
3. Highlight and identify efforts to advance community resiliency and scalable community-based and community-centered responses to hate and violent white supremacy.
4. A public report detailing progress made towards the Summit’s ambitious and impressive government initiatives. A number of ambitious and impressive government initiatives, along with several public-private partnerships designed to foster unity and build community trust and resilience, were announced at last year’s Summit. To continue to engage communities in the fight against hate, it is imperative that We very much hope to be partners in accomplishing the Summit’s ambitious, short- and long-term objectives.

If you have any questions about the issues raised in this letter, please contact Nadia Aziz, Leadership Conference Senior Program Director, Fighting Hate and Bias, at [email protected].

Sincerely,

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
ADL (Anti-Defamation League)
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
American Jewish Committee (AJC)
Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)
Arab American Institute
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Emgage
Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights First
Interfaith Alliance
Japanese American Citizens League
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Lambda Legal
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
NAACP
NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Inc.
National Black Justice Coalition
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Council of Jewish Women
National Disability Rights Network
Not In Our Town
Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Sikh Coalition
UnidosUS
Union for Reform Judaism
Western States Center