The recently enacted COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act was notable for its emphasis on the protection of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. That was particularly important considering the rash of hate crimes related to the pandemic. Something in the act that passed under the radar might be even more important in the long run. The law provides funding for better and more comprehensive data collection on hate crimes. That may not sound like a big deal but think of it like the census. That's not very sexy either. The data generated by the census is used to determine everything from how we are represented in Congress and elect our President to how we allocate funds. Hate crimes have been historically undercounted. I know that in Milwaukee we used to have a DA that rarely prosecuted crimes as hate crimes and, as far as I know, never prosecuted an LGBTQetc. attack as a hate crime despite them being common. The better data that we have on hate crimes the more difficult it will be to ignore the crimes. And that benefits everyone but the haters. [ProPublica]
Via Our Children Magazine
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