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.     

Buffalo shooting highlights rise of hate crimes against Black Americans
The New York Times
May 16, 2022

“The year 2020 changed the trajectory of prejudice in some ways to refocus on American Blacks, in part because of the social justice protests following the murder of George Floyd,” said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, in an article that attempts to put the May 14 racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., into context.

The racist slaughter at a Buffalo grocery store on Saturday is the latest episode in a troubling rise of violence against African Americans, built upon historic racial fault lines and a polarized social climate. Experts who track data caution that federal numbers are incomplete, and that some of that spike might be the result of increased awareness and more willingness to report such crimes. Yet they say the attention to social justice might itself have spurred more violence targeting Black Americans.

Read the complete article at “Buffalo shooting highlights rise of hate crimes against Black Americans.”

CSUSB professor among experts explaining ‘great replacement’ conspiracy theory
PoltiFact (The Poynter Institute)
May 16, 2022

Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, and other experts explained the concept of the “great replacement” conspiracy theory on which the suspect who killed 10 people in Buffalo, N.Y., allegedly based his reasoning to shoot up a supermarket.

"Replacement doctrine has been circulating for years, but most recently it got a makeover and amplification in mainstream politics," said Levin.

The concept of a "great replacement" traces back to 20th century French nationalism. But the term was introduced to many contemporary audiences by a French writer who warned in 2011 about the supposed extinction of the white race due to immigrating Muslim populations, according to the ADL. It was quickly taken up by white supremacists, including many who blame Jews for non-white immigration.

Read the complete article at “What is the ‘great replacement theory’ linked to the Buffalo shooter?”

CSUSB professor discusses racist ideology fueling hate crimes
KPCC
May 16, 2022

The public radio station’s show, “AirTalk,” had a segment with Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism and professor of Criminal Justice at California State University, San Bernardino , to break down racist ideology fueling hate crimes such as the May 14 mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., that left 10 people dead. Authorities are investigating the incident as a racially motivated hate crime; prior to it, the shooter released a 180-page document that detailed his motives, with reference to the Great Replacement Theory.

Listen to the segment at “Following shooting in Buffalo– how is racist ideology fueling hate crimes?”

CSUSB professor discusses possible motivations fueling Buffalo, N.Y., mass shooting
KCBS Radio San Francisco
May 16, 2022

Police are saying the horrific mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York was a hate crime targeting the Black community. For a closer look, KCBS Radio news anchors Jeff Bell and Patti Reising spoke with Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino. He said the incident is the latest in which the shooters wrote a manifesto outlining their reasoning, often racist, before committing the crime.

Listen to the segment at “Deadly shooting in Buffalo, NY motivated by anti-Black racism, police say.”

CSUSB professor calls for better enforcement of existing gun laws and regulation of social media
KGO TV San Francisco
May 16, 2022

Two mass shootings over the weekend left several people dead. In Buffalo, a gunman fired into a crowd at a supermarket before another incident on Sunday in Southern California involving a shooting at a church. Authorities are labeling both incidents as hate driven.

“What we have seen is that crime has gone up and that hate crime has gone up," said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino. "We have to work on hate and anger, but we also have to work on limiting access to these weapons from unstable people."

"We have to work on hate and anger, but we also have to work on limiting access to these weapons from unstable people."

He, along with Don Heider, ethics professor at Santa Clara University, called for lawmakers and social media companies do a better job of regulating violent and hate-based content.

“You have freedom of speech, but you don't have freedom of distribution,” Levin said. “People should not be able to use public or semi-public domain to promote hate when we know there are downstream effects in violence.”

Watch the video segment and read the related article at “Experts call for better tech regulation after America's violent weekend fueled by extremism."

CSUSB discusses how suspect in Buffalo, N.Y., mass shooting became radicalized by extremism
KNSD TV San Diego
May 16, 2022

Brian Levin, who is a professor at Cal State San Bernardino and is also the director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, spoke to NBC 7 two days after a white 18-year-old man opened fire in the grocery store, killing 10 people, most of whom were black.

“This guy got radicalized when folks were isolated more,” said Levin, who added that the suspected shooter had documented mental health issues. “We’re seeing these vulnerable people who have fears, then get those fears exploited.”

Further in the interview, “Putting a clamp on this vile cesspool of bigotry online involves cooperation from social media companies," Levin said. "Some of them are doing a better job, but they’re all kind of failing the class. You have a right to say anything you like that’s not criminal or a threat, but what you don’t have a right to do is distribute it to millions and millions of people across an information superhighway that my tax dollars pay for and that a company has a gatekeeper responsibility to do.”

Levin said research shows more time spent online, especially during the pandemic, meant more young people with time on their hands to becoming radicalized.

Free speech has limits, Levin argued.

“What we have to do right now is to make sure the terrorist content is off the internet," Levin said. "Yes, you have the right to viewpoints, but you don’t have the right to incite imminent violence.”

Watch the segment and read the related news article at “Extremism and violence on the rise in U.S.”

CSUSB professor: Bigotry is ‘influenced by a compliant social media and a hardened and irresponsible political type of retransmission’
The San Diego Union-Tribune
May 17, 2022

Columnist Charles T. Clark, writing about the mass shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., reflected on a February discussion he had with Brian Levin, executive director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino. “He noted how our collective shortcomings in responding to the hateful rhetoric of some elected officials and the failures of social media companies to moderate their platforms have bolstered hateful ideologies.

“‘That (bigotry) is influenced by a compliant social media and a hardened and irresponsible political type of retransmission,’ Levin said. ‘I think people will look back and say, “Why didn’t we require more of our politicians and the social media companies?”’

“That latter aspect is what I find myself returning to.”

Read the complete article at “Column: We often fail to require more from politicians and social media companies in combating hate; why?”

These news clips and others may be viewed at “In the Headlines.”