City’s Human Rights Commission releases annual hate incident report, reveals 19 cases from previous year

Last week, the city of Bloomington’s Human Rights Commission released its
annual statistics on reported hate incidents from July 2010 to June 2011.

The city reported 19 separate hate incidents during this period, based on cases forwarded to the commission by the Bloomington  Police Department and reports from members of the public and the press.

More than 19 people were targeted in these incidents because several cases involved more than one person.

Individuals who identified themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, or who were perceived by others to identify as a member of one of these groups, were the biggest target of the hate incidents included in the report.

At least nine people were targeted in hate incidents directed toward LGBT people, according to the report. Incidents targeting LGBT individuals also involved more violence than incidents targeting other groups. 

Blacks were the second largest group targeted in hate incidents. Alcohol was involved more often in incidents targeting blacks than in incidents targeting other groups.

While all of the incidents listed in the report were serious in nature, severity varied as members of the public perceive a range of incidents to be inspired by hate. The incidents ranged from a knocked over bench to beatings and intimidation involving a weapon.

The report also included the anti-semitic attacks on IU’s campus as well as an incident targeting four Asian students near Forest Quad last year.

— Zach Ammerman