How minorities in rural California are battling hate and finding help

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In some parts of predominantly white rural California, ethnic minorities experience racism as an everyday fact of life – from hate speech and school yard bullying to facing discrimination in the workplace, housing, and more. Many people share feeling too isolated from and distrustful of the local government to report it.

At the Ethnic Media Services briefing, California Civil Rights Department, activists, and community leaders shared perspectives on the state’s anti-hate initiatives that can offer direct support to vulnerable populations.

Launched in May 2023, the state’s anti-hate hotline and resource network — CA vs Hate — is a new initiative providing a direct response to these concerns and the rise in recent years of reported hate crimes in California, which state data shows have nearly doubled since 2019.

Kevin Kish, Director of the CA Civil Rights Department, discussed the California versus hate initiative, the data its hotline collects and its role as a model for addressing hate crimes in other states.

What is California V/S Hate? 

For the first time in California history, we have a statewide hotline.

In a direct response to the alarming increase in documented hate crimes across the country, CA vs Hate, the hotline has been established to help individuals and communities targeted for hate. Not only can a report be filed but options for next steps are identified. It is not a law enforcement hotline or resource.

“This is not just a hotline where people tell the government what happened to them. It's a tool to connect people who experience hate with culturally competent resources in the communities where they live.”

Services, including legal services, counseling and mental health resources, financial assistance, and connections to all kinds of community-based organizations that provide various different services to Californians are a call away. 

“We can help them talk to law enforcement if that's something they identify as being helpful.”

Between 2019 and 2023, the number of reported hate crimes nearly doubled. It's also a direct response to grassroots organizers and community groups who have been calling on California to create a resource like this one to respond to hate that is not a law enforcement hotline or resource.

Research from the Federal Department of Justice has shown that a majority of hate crimes that happen nationwide are not reported to police. And that was a study that was conducted between 2011 and 2015.

Why are a majority of hate crimes not reported? 

There are a range of factors. So some communities, as we know, are afraid of reporting to law enforcement for various reasons. Some people have had the experience of reporting and nothing happens, so they don't see the point in reporting.

Most people are not lawyers. They don't know if what happened to them is a crime that they should report to law enforcement.

For immigrant communities in particular, there may be language barriers and fear related to contacting the government for any reason.

People in indigenous communities. Might be grappling with jurisdictional issues between tribal and local, state, and federal authorities.

So for various reasons, many of our communities remain underrepresented in official data on hate.

“California versus hate, the hotline that I'm talking about today, was designed to overcome these barriers specifically,” said Kish.

The hotline is designed to help everyone who experiences hate no matter who they are, no matter where they are in California, and no matter whether what they experienced was in fact a crime. This is not law enforcement, but through the hotline, they can connect to law enforcement with that's something that they want.

“We have support available in over 200 languages. We will talk to you in the language that you speak. You can report anonymously if that's what you choose to do,” he said. 

The caller does not have to disclose immigration status. It doesn't matter where they are in California. It doesn't matter if they are on tribal lands or if they belong to a tribal community.

“What they get out of the hotline is driven by what they want, what they identify as needing,” he said. 

In the first year of the hotline's existence, more than a thousand reports of hate were made.

Roughly two out of three of the people who called agreed to follow up for care coordination. That means these are people who asked for help accessing resources and who were helped access resources.

In the first year, the hotline was used for contact by people from nearly 80 percent of California's counties.

Minorities in rural communities like Del Norte, Sutter, Mariposa did not report any or very few hate crimes. 

“When people are afraid, when they feel isolated it is unlikely for them to turn to the government. At least not without a trusted intermediary, a trusted person or organization who helps them do that. So that's why our local partnerships with community-based organizations are so crucial,” said Kish.

CA vs Hate is not limited to the cities or coastal areas. It's not limited by politics. It is a program for everyone.

CA vs Hate hotline is: 833 866-4283 or 833-8-NO-HATE. Open Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm (The caller can also leave a message).

Report online here: https://www.cavshate.org