April 21, 2021 The verdict has come down. The jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of second-degree and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd.  On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a forty-six-year-old Black man living in Minnesota, was killed while being arrested by the police. Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pinned Floyd to the ground while he was…

November 10, 2020 How people are portrayed on television – matters. Increasingly diverse storylines, characters and content creators are widely seen as positive, but how is this trend affecting the prevalence of stereotypes in our culture? Is it increasing our ability to empathize and act? In a recent study, Define American and USC’s Norman Lear Center examined depictions of immigrants on television and the impact of those portrayals. The study examined depictions of 129 unique…

September 26, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 The nation continues to mourn the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first Jewish woman to serve on the Supreme Court and a pioneering advocate for women’s rights. The late Justice will be the first woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol on Friday. A grand jury in Jefferson County, Ky., has indicted a former Louisville police detective on three charges of wanton endangerment in the March shooting that resulted in the death of 26-year…

Anyone who has ever read to or with a child—parent, family member, teacher or friend—knows books leave lasting impressions. Beyond the educational benefits, books have the power to instill empathy, affirm, teach, transport and inspire action. Books matter. EmpathyIn exposing children to other people’s stories and the motivations and feelings behind those narratives, children begin to connect with others on an emotional level, which is the foundation for bridging differences…

August 28, 2020 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 Federal investigators announced that they have launched a civil rights probe into the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A sign with the phrase “The Jews Want A Race War” was hung from the heavily trafficked Los Angeles interstate 405 highway overpass on Saturday. The NAACP will replace all leadership of its Philadelphia chapter — including its president, Minister Rodney Muhammad —…

May 19, 2020 By: Janet Murguía of Unidos US; Marc Morial of the National Urban League; Jonathan Greenblatt of ADL. As leaders of organizations committed to securing civil and human rights, we have been in constant conversation about the impact of coronavirus on communities of color. The global pandemic has highlighted just how much work is left to be done to build a just and inclusive society and serves as a tragic reminder that we are far from reaching that ideal. With…

April 29, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has us all scared. This has fueled the spread of misinformation, racism, and antisemitism. The resulting vitriol and scapegoating has targeted immigrants as well. We must not allow the spread of the virus and necessary physical separation to sow philosophical division among us and lead to policies that harm those most vulnerable, including immigrants. It is going to take all of us banding together to come out the other side of this. That’s why…

August 08, 2019 Patrick Crusius, the white supremacist allegedly behind the August 3 massacre in El Paso, Texas, was very clear about his rationale for committing this act of violence. In an online screed titled, “The Inconvenient Truth,” he wrote, “This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas… I am simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion.”  These words echo what we’ve heard in recent…

June 28, 2019 Edition: June 27, 2019 THE WEEK’S BIG 3 White supremacists increased college campus recruiting efforts with more propaganda distributions for the third straight year. ADL and partners are teaming up in an initiative to help redirect those seeking extremist content on the internet to material that exposes the falsehoods of these hateful movements. In a victory for immigration advocates, the Supreme Court ruled the Trump Administration cannot, for now, include the…

May 29, 2019 President John F. Kennedy was born 102 years ago today. His dedication to upholding the American ideal of a “nation of immigrants” catalyzed the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which eliminated the national origin quota system. ADL and Harper Perennial released the 60th Anniversary edition of President Kennedy’s book, A Nation of Immigrants, last year. His words are evergreen and remind us how a diversity of faiths, nationalities and…

April 25, 2019 On April 20, FBI agents arrested a New Mexico border vigilante leader, Larry Mitchell Hopkins (aka “Johnny Horton, Jr.”) on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The arrest occurred just days after members of Hopkins’ group, the United Constitutional Patriots (UCP), attracted considerable attention and condemnation for detaining at gunpoint several hundred asylum-seeking migrants and families crossing the border near El Paso, Texas. The two…

April 18, 2019 As Cinco de Mayo festivities commence, it is important to stop and consider whether classroom observances and celebrations in general are inclusive and respectful and whether they do or do not promote stereotypical portrayals of groups of people—in this case, people who are Mexican and Mexican-American. Cinco De Mayo is a fun and festive holiday in the U.S. that it is often wrought with problematic choices made by people wanting to have a good time and celebrate…

March 26, 2019 In January, the Trump Administration announced a new and unprecedented attack on asylum seekers and migrants. On the heels of its effort to institute an asylum ban -- denying asylum protections for those seeking entry to the U.S. outside regular processing at ports of entry, the administration implemented “Migrant Protection Protocols.” Also known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, this new approach sends migrants seeking asylum back to Mexico to…

February 25, 2019 Mya and Deanna Cook, 15, were both excellent students, but they had been kicked off school sports teams, banished from prom, and sentenced to hours of detention for refusing to change their hair. When these twin sisters were punished by their Boston-area high school for wearing braided hair extensions, ADL helped them change their school’s controversial hair and makeup policies, which unfairly targeted students of color. ADL’s New England office received a…

February 15, 2019 Blackface has taken center stage in our public discourse. Again. Virginia is embroiled in a controversy based on admissions by Governor Ralph Northam and Attorney General Mark Herring to wearing blackface in the past. The list of celebrities and other public figures who publicly condone blackface is growing and there are others entering the spotlight. Just a few months ago, NBC host Megyn Kelly set off her own controversy when she defended blackface as a Halloween costume…

by: Jinnie Spiegler October 29, 2018 Last week, we saw several hate-inspired incidents that have shaken our nation. Many are worried about the toxic nature of our discourse, the direction our country is headed and how we explain all of this to young people.  The week started with a string of thirteen separate pipe bombs sent to a group of mostly prominent Democrats: former Presidents Obama and Clinton, progressive philanthropist George Soros, several members of Congress, former…

October 11, 2018 The neo-Confederate South Carolina Conservative Action Council (SCCAC) will hold a “Build the Wall” rally on Saturday, October 13 at the Federal Building in Greenville, South Carolina. They will be joined by members of the Nationalist Liberty Union, a small, relatively new, white supremacist group based in Georgia.   SCCAC is a neo-Confederate organization led by William G. Carter III, who also acts as the editor of the group’s newspaper, The…

July 03, 2018 La comunidad latina en Estados Unidos está lidiando con una ola anti-inmigrante. Este odio se manifiesta de diversas maneras incluyendo el acoso que sufren alumnos cuando les gritan “construye el muro” durante juegos deportivos, cuando estudiantes juegan un juego que llaman “La Migra”  donde pretenden ser agentes de ICE y deportar a otros que actúan a ser migrantes, en fiestas universitarias de disfraces donde estudiantes se visten como…

June 21, 2018 The Latino community in the United States has increasingly been on the receiving end of anti-immigrant and xenophobic rhetoric fueled by hate. Hate rears its ugly head in many ways, including bullying in schools where students chant “build the wall” at sporting events, play a game called “La Migra,” where students pretend to be ICE agents and deport students acting as immigrants, and in college costume parties where students dress like maids and gardeners,…

January 30, 2018 At a time when women have become increasingly vocal in addressing critical issues like sexual harassment and sexual violence, reproductive rights, workplace opportunity and equal pay, a group of far right trolls have deliberately appropriated slogans from the women’s movement in service of their own xenophobic cause. The far right campaign appropriates “No Means No” and recasts “My Body My Choice” as “My Borders My Choice.” …