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 professor discusses significance of Iran taking more control of its oil 70 years ago
MEHR News Agency (Iran)
March 19, 2021
David Yaghoubian, CSUSB professor of history, was interviewed for a question-and-answer article about a moment 70 years ago on March 17 when the Iranian Parliament ratified oil legislation that caused extreme worry for neocolonial powers. March 17 is now a national holiday in Iran, Oil Nationalization Day.
The move to nationalize Iran’s oil “sought to cut the hands of Britain that was exploiting Iran’s oil and giving a tiny portion back to the country,” the news agency reported. “London could not tolerate such a movement for many reasons and hence set the stage for a coup against (then Iranian Prime Minister) Mosaddegh two years later with the cooperation of Americans.”
Yaghoubian said, in part, “Iran’s oil nationalization movement clearly demonstrated the potential for countries to resist neo-colonial control and foreign exploitation of their national resources.”
Read the complete article at “When colonial powers horrified by Iran movement.”
CSUSB professor interviewed for fact-check article about governor’s statements about backers of recall effort
Capitol Radio Sacramento
March 18, 2021
One of the claims Gov. Gavin Newsom made about some of the backers of the recall effort against him have ties to far-right militias, naming one, The Three Percenters.
Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, has described the Three Percenters as “an anti-government paramilitary group that promotes the idea that violence is legitimate to combat gun control laws.”
He said Newsom’s statements could be viewed as “an overstatement, although there are certainly extremists, among the larger group of supporters of the recall.”
Read the complete article at “Are California recall leaders tied to far-right militias and QAnon? We fact-checked Gov. Gavin Newsom’s claims.”
CSUSB professor discusses how prosecutors may add hate-crime charges in Georgia mass shooting
The Washington Post
March 18, 2021
Authorities have said that the suspect in the mass shooting in Georgia may have visited the spas that he targeted before and that he said he set out to eliminate a “temptation.” But experts, including CSUSB professor Brian Levin, said Thursday that even if that was a motive in the mass shooting on March 16, it does not exclude the possibility of racism, xenophobia, misogyny or other prejudices as major contributing factors. And it should not, they said, prevent prosecutors from pursing hate-crime charges if that’s where the evidence leads.
“You can have mixed motives” and still be prosecuted for a hate crime, said Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino. “The prosecution has to establish not that there weren’t any other motives, but that at least one of the motives was prejudicial.”
Read the complete article at “Georgia shootings could test state’s new hate-crimes law as debate rages over suspect’s motive
Proving hate crime can be difficult in court, CSUSB professor says
VOA News
March 19, 2021
While authorities try to uncover the motive behind the mass shooting in Georgia that killed eight people – six of them women of Asian descent – Brian Levin, CSUSB professor of criminal justice, and others discussed whether it was a hate crime subject to the harshest penalties the state or federal government could bring.
While not ruling out racial bias as a motive at a time when Asian Americans are under attack across the country, law enforcement officials in Georgia said Wednesday that Long told them he had been motivated not by race but by a desire to fight his “sex addiction” by eliminating “temptation.”
Proving a hate crime can be challenging, which is one reason most hate crimes are not prosecuted. To win a hate crime conviction, prosecutors must establish not only that a crime occurred but that it was committed for a “discriminatory reason,” explained Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
“That discriminatory reason does not have to be the sole motivating factor, but courts have generally held that it must be a significant motivating factor,” Levin said in an interview.
Read the complete article at “Killings of 6 Asian Americans in Atlanta spurs debate over hate crimes.”
CSUSB professor discusses difficulties of adding hate crime charges to a case
The Huffington Post
March 18, 2021
A CSUSB criminal justice professor was interviewed for an article that reported police are often reluctant or outright refuse to link crimes to racial animus, which only further traumatizes those in the targeted community. The article was written in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Georgia on March 16 that left eight dead, including six Asian American women.
Brian Levin, director at the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism and a professor of criminal justice at the California State University, San Bernardino, said, “Law enforcement has to be able to look at ... not only tensions in their local community and outreach to those communities, but when there’s some catalytic, more broad event, whether it’s the pandemic, or perceived terror attack, or something else, to be able to reach out to those communities really in real time.”
While police officers can investigate whether hate was a motivator in a crime, prosecutors may not want to bring hate crime charges because of the high level of proof required.
“Prosecutors have to establish beyond a reasonable doubt, that every element of a crime ... must be established unanimously [regarding] the intentional selection, or the discriminatory selection of victims, and that’s very difficult to achieve,” said Levin.
Even if a police department is not investigating whether a crime was hate-motivated, or the available facts do not satisfy the legal requirements of a hate crime, that does not automatically mean that bias played no role, which is a crucial element for a targeted community to heal.
“Impacted communities want some kind of not only validation of their fears, but also a concrete understanding that the authorities are looking at possible hate crime angles,” said Levin.
Read the complete article at “When law enforcement fails hate crime victims.”
Adding hate crime charges require ‘high requirements of proof’ for prosecution, CSUSB professor says
Denver7 News
March 18, 2021
Public calls for hate crime charges are growing in the wake of the Georgia mass shooting, but experts , including CSUSB criminal justice professor Brian Levin, say convictions for hate crimes are rare. Seven of the eight victims were women — six of Asian descent. But local authorities have so far shied away from characterizing this incident as a hate crime or pursuing it under Georgia's new hate crime law.
"The words of a suspect, particularly ones that suit their own interest, should be taken with a huge grain of salt," said Brian Levin, the director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University in San Bernardino.
“But by the same token, remember, this is something that, if charged, has to be proven to a jury,” Levin said. “The particular high requirements of proof make it such that establishing motive, as opposed to the intentional act itself, is much more difficult.”
He says it's not surprising that, at least for now, Georgia is pursuing what could be considered the legally easier route in this case.
“With respect to hate crimes, unfortunately, the law routinely fails,” Levin said. “The community has an interest in having their concerns and their harms validated as well. And that's often a big gap that we see with regard to hate crime prosecutions.”
Watch the segment at “Hate crime cases and convictions are rare In U.S. courtrooms.”
CSUSB professor discusses importance of police recording, reporting hate crimes
Long Beach Post
March 18, 2021
An article about the lack of anti-Asian hate crimes reported in Long Beach included an interview with Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism and criminal justice professor at Cal State San Bernardino.
He said that Long Beach actually has better methods of tracking hate crimes compared some to other large cities. In 2016, 88% of law enforcement agencies either did not report or reported zero hate crimes to the FBI, Levin said.
“Long Beach is in no way the worst,” he said.
But he says underreporting hate crimes still happens. He’s particularly concerned about immigrant communities that may have language barriers or cultural stigma or misunderstanding about what constitutes a hate crime.
Overall, he thinks that all hate crime reporting across the nation could see improvements.
Read the complete article at “Anti-Asian hate crime reports non-existent in Long Beach; underreporting might be a reason.”
The center's latest report on anti-Asian American hate crimes was also cited in the following:
Attacks against Asian Americans are up. It’s time to pay attention.
The Washington Post
March 18, 2021
A column by Petula Dvorak on the rise of anti-Asian American hate incidents included mention of the CSUSB Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism’s report that recorded a nearly 150% increase in hate crimes in 2020 that targeted Asian Americans.
Concerning trend in anti-Asian hate crimes across the US, report finds 50% increase in Phoenix
KPNX Phoenix, Ariz.
March 18, 2021
The shooting spree in Atlanta earlier this week that left eight people dead, including six women of Asian decent, is the latest violence in a concerning rise of attacks on Asian-Americans. A recent study released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, examined 16 of America's largest cities. Phoenix saw a 50% increase in Anti-Asian hate crimes.
‘To me it’s racially motivated’: National rise in anti-Asian hate crimes felt in West Michigan
Fox 17 Grand Rapids, Mich.
March 18, 2021
A segment about the March 16 mass shooting in Georgia, and how the Asian American community reacted in Grand Rapids, Mich., included mention of a CSUSB center’s latest hate crime report.
According to a study conducted by California State University San Bernardino, hate crimes in total dropped 7 percent last year. However, hate crimes against Asians skyrocketed to 150 percent in 16 U.S. cities last year.
Dave & Dujanovic: DA says Utah law protects victims of hate crime
KSL Radio Salt Lake City, Utah
March 18, 2021
An article about how the Asian American community in Utah is reacting in the wake of the March 16 mass shooting in Georgia, which killed eight people, including six Asian American women, included mention of the CSUSB Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism’s latest report. Since the start of the pandemic, anti-Asian hate crimes are up 150% according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University San Bernardino.
After Atlanta shootings, local leaders raise concerns about rise in attacks on Asian Americans
Fox 4 Kansas City, Mo.
March 17, 2021
A segment on the reaction of the Asian American community in Kansas City included mention of the recent study from Cal State University at San Bernardino, which found racially motivated crimes decreased overall in 2020, but those crimes targeting Asian people increased close to 150%.
These news clips and others may be viewed at “In the Headlines.”