NOTE: Faculty, if you are interviewed and quoted by news media, or if your work has been cited, and you have an online link to the article or video, please let us know. Contact us at news@csusb.edu.
CSUSB hate crime expert comments on increase of hate incidents in MarylandThe Baltimore SunOct. 18, 2018 Brian Levin, CSUSB professor of criminal justice and director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, was interviewed for an article about the increase in hate incidents in Maryland. Hate crimes reported to police in the 10 largest U.S. cities rose 13 percent last year, according to researchers at California State University, San Bernardino. Levin has studied hate crimes for three decades. He cites the increasing diversity of the U.S. population, the spread of white nationalism, and decreasing trust in institutions as some of the factors contributing to the increase in reported incidents. And, he says, social media provide a ready platform to spread hateful views. “We are a more splintered society entrenched in our polarization,” Levin said. He also credited Maryland for having one of the more detailed reporting of hate incidents. The state was one of the first to require local police to send reports of hate or bias to a central authority. The 1981 law is broad: It requires police to report not only alleged crimes, but also any incidents seemingly directed against an individual or group because of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, gender, gender identity, or homelessness. As a result, the State Police count many more incidents than the FBI, which counts only alleged crimes. “If every state did as well as Maryland, we’d be in a much better place,” Levin said. Read the complete article at “Hate in Maryland: From racist taunts to swastikas to a campus stabbing, bias reports up sharply in state.”
CSUSB professor comments on TV news segment on white nationalist groupThe Washington PostOct. 18, 2018 The newspaper interviewed Brian Levin, CSUSB professor of criminal justice and director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, for its report on widespread criticism of NBC’s “Today” show’s segment on the white nationalist group Identity Evropa. “But instead, the network became part of the story after its coverage was widely criticized: Many credible voices took to social media to say they felt the show’s short segment had given the group a wide platform on which to advertise itself, while allowing it to cover up the true nature of its views,” wrote Eli Rosenberg in his news analysis. Levin said media organizations have to be very careful not to assist hate groups in their efforts to take 'bigotry out of the gutter and into mainstream institutions.” He described Identity Evropa’s mission as “Swastikas in gift wrap.” “They want to promote white nationalism, and what they understand is [that] a message of biological determinism about blacks and Latinos might not be the best sell,” he said. “But if you say 'we’re trying to defend Western culture and civilization, then that can then tie into banter on some cable news. ... The more shrouded the message is, the more they can ensnare people who are not hardened bigots but are susceptible.' Read the complete article at “‘Swastikas in gift wrap’: NBC accused of helping white-nationalist group sanitize its racism.”
These news clips and others may be found at “In the Headlines” at inside.csusb.edu.