By Dianne Anderson

A new infusion of funding is helping in the fight for justice against targeted hate crime attacks, which typically runs double or more for Blacks over all other groups in Orange County.

The quest to address racist violence is starting to shape up for local activists. The state of California has issued its Stop the Hate funding at $91 million.

Deirdre Harris, president of the Orange County Branch NAACP, said their local branch also received a similar, but separate stream of Stop the Hate transformative grant from OCAPICA (Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance).

Harris had attended a Stop the Hate roundtable of panelists and leaders in Irvine three months ago, the 13 city event led by Attorney General Rob Bonta. At that meeting, local NAACP criminal justice chair talked about how Blacks were bearing the brunt of hate crime, that no one seems upset until it strikes their community.

There, she met with the executive director from OCAPICA, who discussed an opportunity for transformative funding. That event struck up conversations about anti-Blackness being foundational of all hate.

Through Groundswell, the Hate Prevention Network (HPN) and other organizations began coming together. But, she said historically, HPN had very few Black serving organizations participating, despite the obvious data that shows hate is on the rise.

“That’s why we’re leaning in,” she said, adding that the NAACP is multi-generational, and doing a lot of work behind the scenes.

“Anti-Black trickles down to anti-Asian, anti-Muslim, anti-Latino, that’s how hate works,” she said. “Effectively overcoming hate requires a collective effort, when all groups unite not only to address issues within their communities but also to collaboratively confront hate on a broader scale.”

Last month, Tammy Tumbling of the Orange County Community Foundation also announced the $450,000 Stop The Hate Initiative called the Black Solidarity Network. The initiative, although not spearheaded by OC-CF, involves several participants from the African American Alliance Fund (AAAF).

When officially launched, the OC Black Solidarity Network will be led by Community Action Partnership of OC and Charitable Ventures. Additionally, the African American Alliance Fund will be actively participating with annual grant awards, sharing the vision of AAAF and the Network’s goal of raising awareness of racism, and getting more resources to the community.

According to the 2022-23 California Commission on the State of Hate Annual Report Civil Rights Department, only 6% of California’s population was Black in 2021, yet anti-Black hate crimes comprised 29 percent of all hate crimes reported to law enforcement agencies.

At the Irvine roundtable in October, local leaders and elected officials came together to strategize best practices to address hate crime, led by Attorney General Rob Bonta. Mayor Farrah Khan thanked Bonta for coming to Irvine and hearing first-hand from attending ethnic and faith-based community organizations.

“There is no place for hate in Irvine,” said Mayor Khan in a statement. “We know the impact hate has in our communities but together, we will counter hate and continue to strive towards inclusivity and understanding.”

Since Orange County’s 2021 Hate Crime Report, the numbers spiked to 424% compared to 10 years ago, representing a 165% increase compared to five years ago. The county’s latest hate crime report showed Orange County saw a 75% increase in hate crimes and hate incidents up 142% in the last 5 years. The report said the Black community represents 2% of the county, but was the most targeted for race-related hate crimes at 52% and hate incidents at 43%.

Don Han said that Groundswell convenes its Hate Prevention Network partners throughout the year to discuss and plan ways to prevent hate in and around Orange County.

Han, director of Community Partnerships with the Orange County Human Relations Council, recently rebranded as Groundswell, hopes to effectively reach the perpetrators of hate. He feels that change is possible.

“While there is no one solution or magic pill to effectively reach all perpetrators of hate and change their hearts and minds, it is evident that positive change can be achieved through collaboration with a restorative justice lens and mindset. The solution is not giving up, but rather grounding ourselves in restorative justice, and understanding that the only way forward is together,” he said in an email.

Efforts are to foster a community of collaboration and co-creation within the larger network. He said that working groups have specific focuses, including events, communication, Black-Focused Hate Reduction, and more. They also meet separately throughout the year.

Groundswell will continue to address hate by bringing awareness to its impact in Orange County via the Hate Crimes Report released each September.

He said Groundswell is also partnering with the OC Black Solidarity Network to take a closer look at the data and trends found in the 2022 Hate Crimes report, which shows the Black community has in the past and continues to be the most targeted community for race-related hate crimes and incidences.

“The intent of this training is to collaborate with the network’s leaders to make connections between hate activity data and where support is needed. Additionally, at this training we will delve deeper into why the data looks the way it does so that healing and prevention can be targeted and strategic—getting support where it is needed most and prevention where it will make the biggest impact,” he said.