This is a not the greatest way to start a week. But, according to an exclusive story in the Huffington Post, the number of hate crimes increased during 2016, the first time in over a decade that the United States has experienced consecutive annual increases in crimes targeting people based on their race, religion, sexuality, disability or national origin.
Data collected by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, shows hate crimes rose about 5 percent from 2015 to 2016.
The study, authored by Professor Brian Levin, is seen as a reliable predictor of official FBI hate crime statistics, released each year in November. Levin’s 2016 findings amount to the most comprehensive hate crime data to date for the divisive election year, and back up alarming anecdotal evidence of emboldened bigotry in America.
Visit Huffington Post for the full report here.
