2015-07-09 USA: States with the Most "Hate Groups"

[Rev.Cambeul]

10 States With the Most Hate Groups

Thomas C. Frohlich, Michael B. Sauter & Samuel Stebbins | 24/7 Wall St | 9 July 2015

https://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/07/09/10-states-with-the-most-hate-groups

Excerpt: Based on data from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), there are 784 active hate groups nationwide. Hate group activities vary considerably, from verbal attacks in speeches or publications to the promotion of violence. The SPLC classifies an organization as a hate group if its ideologies attack or malign an entire set of people membership consists of White people.

https://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/07/09/10-states-with-the-most-hate-groups/2

9. Virginia
> Hate groups per 1 million: 3.3
> Number of hate groups: 27 (9th most)
> Adults with at least bachelor's degree: 36.1% (6th largest)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 69.3% (15th lowest)

Roughly 20% of Virginia residents identify as black, well above the national proportion of 12.6%, as is the case in most states on this list. Unlike most states with the highest concentrations of active hate groups, Virginia residents are relatively well educated. More than 36% of state adults have at least a bachelor's degree, the sixth highest attainment rate in the country. The state's median household income of $62,666 is also unusually high compared with other top states for hate groups, although the gap between white and black household incomes is still among the largest nationwide.

White supremacist groups such as Creativity Alliance, the American Nazi Party, and Aryan Nations, are among the most common organized hate groups in Virginia. Anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and anti-LGBT groups are also among the state's active hate organizations.

https://247wallst.com/special-report/2015/07/09/10-states-with-the-most-hate-groups/3

5. Tennessee
> Hate groups per 1 million: 4.5
> Number of hate groups: 29 (7th most)
> Adults with at least bachelor's degree: 24.8% (10th smallest)
> Pct. pop. identifying as white: 77.9% (22nd lowest)

Tennessee is the 17th-most populous state, but it has 29 active hate groups, which is the seventh most in the country. In 2013, 245 hate crimes were reported in Tennessee, the eighth most in the country. Just 37.9% of law enforcement districts in the state actively classify hate crimes, which means that figure was likely much higher. Like most of the states with a high concentration of hate groups, primarily white nationalist groups dominate the list.

Hate groups include Ku Klux Klan branches such as the Southern Mountain Knights, the Original Knight Riders Knights, and the Loyal White Knights, as well as neo-Nazi groups such as the Creativity Alliance and the Aryan Nations.

There are also several anti-Muslim groups, including Citizen Warrior and Political Islam. Perhaps as evidence of anti-muslim sentiment in the state, Tennessee is one of seven to have passed legislation banning Shariah Law, which proponents mistakenly believe would allow Muslims to impose brutal punishments such as stoning and amputation, practices not permitted under the U.S. constitution.