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 associate professor writes about selfishness vs. selflessness in America
Psychology Today
March 29, 2021
Anthony Silard, associate professor of public administration, asked in his Psychology Today blog, The Art of Living Free, “Does selfishness or selflessness reign supreme in America? – are we primarily motivated to look out for our own interests or help others?”
He wrote, “Perhaps a belief in our willingness to put the interests of others ahead of our own threatens the philosophical foundations of capitalism.” However, “Recent research — assiduously documented in UCLA social neuroscientist Matthew Lieberman’s book Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect —has found that the reward centers of our brains become just as activated when we help others as when we ourselves benefit.”
Read the whole article at "Does selfishness or selflessness reign supreme in America?"
CSUSB professor comments on the passing of self-taught defender of civil rights
DNYUZ
March 29, 2021
Alvin Sykes, who left high school in eighth grade, completed his education by reading legal textbooks at the public library and later used his vast knowledge of the law to pry open long-dormant murder cases from the civil rights era — including the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till — died on March 19 at a hospice facility in Shawnee, Kan. He was 64.
“Anyone who worked in civil rights during the last several decades knew Alvin Sykes,” said Brian Levin, the director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. “He changed the face of American law, and he learned it all in a Kansas City library.”
Read the whole article at "Alvin Sykes, 64, self-taught legal defender of civil rights dies."
CSUSB professor quoted about anti-Asian attacks in Chicago
Chicago Sun Times
March 26, 2021
A national coalition of advocates and academics called Stop AAPI Hate has begun collecting reports of hate incidents. There were 92 in Illinois reported to the group from March 19, 2020, to Feb. 28, according to the group. The incidents account for about 2.4% of the total 3,795 hate incidents it’s documented across the country.
Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, said the difference in the hate crime statistics and other reports could be a sign of underreporting.
Levin defines the difference between hate crimes and hate incidents this way: Incidents are instances of aggressive prejudice that don’t rise to the level of an “arrestable crime.”
Levin said some police departments have started documenting these reported incidents in addition to hate crimes, which could track tensions in communities.
“I think this is a time for cities like Atlanta, but Chicago as well, to review not only their policies but their structures,” he said.
Read the whole article at "Chicago has few reports of anti-Asian attacks, but there are efforts to boost reporting, awareness."
Politics and the statements of political leaders have an impact, says CSUSB professor
The Hill
March 29, 2021
Hate crimes against the AAPI community surged between 2019 and 2020, a spike researchers and advocates say was fueled by Trump’s scapegoating of China for the coronavirus pandemic.
“Politics and the statements of political leaders, particularly the president, do have an impact, as well as catalytic or ongoing events,” said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
Levin said remarks from the bully pulpit can either enflame or mitigate tensions related to a particular ethnic group, pointing to former President George W. Bush speaking tolerantly about Muslims in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks as contributing to a decrease in violence.
Read the whole article at "US tensions with China risk fueling anti-Asian harassment at home."
CSUSB professor interviewed about new bill that vows to combat extremists in law enforcement
KCAL 9 News Noon
March 29, 2021
In the wake of the attack on the Capitol and allegations of officers linked to violent extremist groups, a new bill vows to combat extremists in law enforcement by expanding background checks to screen for public expressions of hate or membership in a hate group.
Brian Levin, criminal justice professor and the director of CSUSB’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, said his institution doesn’t support the legislation as is. “This legislation is a step in the right direction if they just tighten some of the verbiage,” he said. Levin said he’d like to see a focus on violence and blatant discrimination, noting that views on constitutional rights may change.
Watch the whole segment at KCAL 9 News Noon (segment starts at 12:33).
The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism’s latest report on anti-Asian American hate crimes was also cited in the following:
Business Insider
March 30, 2021
YouTube refused to remove a song that talks about performing armed robbery in "Chinese neighborhoods" because they "don't believe in bank accounts," Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
Asian-American hate crimes in 16 US cities increased 149% in 2020, according to an analysis of police data by researchers at California State University in San Bernardino.
Pledges to Asian American groups soar nearly 4,000% in wake of Atlanta shooting
CBS News
March 30, 2021
Donations and contribution pledges to Asian American and Pacific Islander groups have spiked dramatically since the March 16 shooting in Atlanta that killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent, and brought renewed attention to violence against Asian Americans across the U.S.
In several major cities, including New York and Los Angeles, police reported an uptick in Asian-targeted hate crimes between 2019 and 2020, according to data collected by the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University in San Bernardino.
Clarence Page: What is a ‘hate crime’? The Atlanta-area spa killings ignite new fears, divisions
The News & Advance
March 30, 2021
While overall rates of hate crimes decreased by 7% after the nation went into the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, anti-Asian hate crimes surged by 149%, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino. Nearly 3,800 anti-Asian hate incidents were reported between March 19, 2020, and Feb. 28, 2021, the center found.
“Verbal harassment” accounted for 68.1% of the reported incidents, according to the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center that was launched in March 2020 to track attacks against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Physical assault amounted to 11.1%.
Vigil honoring lives lost to anti-Asian violence to be held in Snug Harbor
SI Live (Staten Island, New York)
March 29, 2021
In the wake of recent overt violence directed at Asian people in the United States, a vigil will be held Sunday at Snug Harbor’s South Meadow to offer a space to grieve and serve as a space to denounce hatred and violence.
The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino found a 150% increase in hate crimes against Asians in 2020 in California and New York.
King County Council considering specialized hate crimes unit for sheriff’s office
KCPQ-TV (Seattle, Washington)
March 29, 2021
As the nationwide conversation continues on how to handle an alarming spike in hate crimes against Asian-Americans, the King County Council will soon consider if it should invest in a specialized hate crimes unit within the sheriff’s office.
A new study released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University - San Bernardino took data from 16 major US cities and found that hate crimes as whole went down 7% nationwide in 2020, but hate crimes specifically targeting Asian Americans went up 149%.
Megan Thee Stallion resists Asian hatred and pays tribute to spa victims with donation
WhatsNew2Day
March 29, 2021
Megan Thee Stallion helps donate $50,000 to the Asian community to honor the victims of the Atlanta spa shootings.
According to research from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University in San Bernardino, the number of attacks on Asian Americans has increased by 150% in 2020.
In total, there were about 3,800 recorded attacks in the past year, including street libel, stabbings and vandalism at Asian American companies.
26 governors condemn anti-Asian violence
The Hill
March 26, 2021
While the governors’ letter doesn't name Trump directly, it says that the “use of anti-Asian rhetoric” during the pandemic has fueled hatred against the community, pointing to a study from California State University in San Bernardino finding that anti-Asian hate increased 145 percent in 2020.
“As governors, we take care in protecting the people of our states and territories,” the statement reads. “The tragic loss of loved ones in Atlanta that left eight people dead, including six Asian Americans, is part of a long and painful litany of acts of hate against Asian Americans across the community.”
Hundreds stand out against anti-Asian hate in Brookline
Massachusetts Patch.com
March 26, 2021
Around 300 people showed up Friday evening in front of Brookline High School to stand in solidarity with Asian Americans and to honor the eight people, including six Asian women, killed in a mass shooting in Atlanta.
The vigil was one of a number that have sprung up across the country in the wake of the mass shooting. It comes, too, on the heels of a report released by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism that reported while hate crime in major cities generally went down, hate reported against Asian-Americans went up. In Boston, for example: there were 170 reported hate crimes in 2019, in 2020 those actually went down to 146. However, the number of reports of hate crime incidents classified as anti-Asian jumped from just six to 14 reported incidents, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, CSUSB.
Merced rally opposing racism, hate crimes against Asian Americans set for April 3
Merced Sun-Star
March 29, 2021
Merced organizations and leaders are collaborating to hold a unity rally next week to stand against racism in response to the rising tide of hate crimes against Asian Americans nationwide.
According to a fact sheet done by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino, in San Francisco hate crime skyrocketed by 50 percent and in San Jose by 150 percent, with an overall staggering 145% rise in hate crimes across the nation’s largest cities.
CSUSB’s Center for the Study of Hate ad Extremism referenced in news clip about anti-Asian attacks (segment starts at 16:09)
KTLA-LA – Inside California Politics
March 28, 2021
According to Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, hate attacks against Asians were up 150% last year.
Kelly Marie Tran, H.E.R., Rep. Ted Lieu to join CAA Amplify Town Hall addressing anti-Asian Hate
Hollywood Reporter
March 29, 2021
CAA has assembled a packed lineup of Asian American influencers and leaders to discuss the wave of anti-Asian violence and hate that continues to sweep the country. Planning for the town hall actually began earlier this year, as graphic videos of attacks on Asian American elders began circulating throughout the community. According to CSU San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, anti-Asian hate crimes reported to police increased 149 percent in 2020 and, since March of that year, Stop AAPI Hate has logged more than 3,800 anti-Asian incidents across the country.
26 governors sign letter condemning anti-Asian hate and violence
DiversityInc
March 29, 2021
The governors of 25 states and one U.S. territory have come together in a bipartisan measure to sign a letter condemning the ongoing spike in anti-Asian hate and violence ravaging America.
In the letter, the officials write: “In the past year, the use of anti-Asian rhetoric during the pandemic has resulted in Asian Americans being harassed, assaulted, and scapegoated for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University in San Bernardino released findings in early March that showed hate crimes against Asian-Americans spiked 149% from 2019 to 2020, even while hate crimes fell overall.”
These news clips and others may be viewed at “In the Headlines.”