Black community leaders call attention to hate crimes

SAN FRANCISCO – Black community leaders and law enforcement officials gathered in San Francisco on Thursday to condemn a recent string of hate crimes.

The common thread across the incidents is that the victims were targeted because they were black.

In one disturbing number of racist incidents, the word “Negro” was spray-painted on San Francisco City Hall in June, and in another, a nonprofit center was covered in racist graffiti.

Community leaders and law enforcement agree they must be stopped.

Most recently, Wendy Drew was beaten in an attack that began with a man calling her the ‘N-word’.

“In my mind I’m thinking, ‘This is just going to be a verbal argument,'” Drew said. “This is wrong, you can’t do this, it’s wrong. But instead, he comes up and starts hitting me.”

Black community leaders say these incidents are part of a disturbing pattern of racial hatred targeting black people.

The Rev. Amos Brown called on victims to tell their stories and for city leaders and law enforcement to listen.

“It is time for us to expose the bigotry, hatred and inhumanity committed against Black people,” Brown said.

Law enforcement leaders at the local and federal levels are on hand to address these concerns.

“My office will stop at nothing to investigate hate crimes and bring people to justice,” said Bob Tripp, Special Agent in Charge of the San Francisco Field Office.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins says she is committed to prosecuting those responsible and has firsthand experience, including nearly two years as a hate crimes prosecutor.

“I’ve seen cases go from four under our previous president to over 30,” Jenkins said.

Police Chief Bill Scott says his officers are invested in these incidents, but he said there is no definitive evidence so far that hate crimes are increasing.

“The numbers haven’t gone up to that degree. But I think the dynamic of how people feel, especially when you have a lot of coverage of a particular event, it goes up and people become much more concerned,” Scott said.

Law enforcement officials say victims should come forward to tell their stories. Even if the victims’ experience of racial hatred doesn’t rise to the level of a crime, they say it can help prove a pattern of behavior and, if that racist person escalates, use previous reports to help stop them.