The following statement has been submitted for inclusion in the record of the Senate Judiciary Hearing on Hate Crimes and Domestic Extremism being held on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
Testimony for Hate Crime Hearing
My name is the Rev. Chloe Breyer. I am a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of New York and the Executive Director of The Interfaith Center of New York. Founded fifteen years ago, the Interfaith Center of New York is a non-profit organization that works with hundreds of grass roots religious leaders from fifteen different faith traditions to address shared social concerns from domestic violence to child health. By including civic officials like judges, teachers, social workers in our programs, the Interfaith Center offers civics education to grassroots religious leaders, on the one hand, and religious diversity education to judges, court officials, teachers and social workers on the other. ICNY’s institutional partners include the New York Unified Court System, The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, Catholic Charities, and UJA Federation. Our practical approach to interfaith work is recognized regularly by the State Department’s International Visiting Leaders program and nationally as a model for faith-based peace-building.
We commend the Senate for scheduling hearings on the topic of hate crimes in the United States, to be presided over by Senator Dick Durbin, Chairperson of the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights. Acts of hatred based on the “otherness” of persons is a growing cancer that haunts the people of the United States, and, indeed, the global human family. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of hate groups in our country (currently numbering over a thousand) has grown by almost 60% since 2000. Too often we see violence directed at people because of their appearance, how they worship, where they are from, and what they believe. In 2010, more than 47% of hate crimes were racially motivated; 20% were motivated by the religion of the victim; 19% were based on sexual orientation and almost 13% of all hate crimes were based on ethnicity or national origin.
On August 8th, a few days after the shooting of six worshippers at the Gurdwara in Oakridge, WI The Interfaith Center of New York joined United Sikhs, the Sikh Coalition and other diverse faith partners to organize the “We are All Sikhs” vigil in Union Square, NYC to stand in solidarity and grief with the Sikh community around the world. At that time we joined others around the country seeking to tamp down the fires of discrimination, religious and otherwise, and noted Sikh faith’s understanding of the oneness of humanity, belief in the equality of all people, embrace of non-violence, and commitments to service. We took the moment to educate our social media network on a common Sikh greeting, Sat Sri Akal which means “God is the Ultimate Truth.”
Unfortunately, the Sikh community is not the only target of prejudice in the United States. Here in New York City, just days before the 11th anniversary of 9/11, ads on Metro North train platforms where commuters wait to travel into New York City, stated that there have been “19,250 deadly Islamic attacks since 9/11/01” and then, “It is not Islamophobia, it is Islamorealism.” We anticipate that other ads sponsored by the group, The American Defense Freedom Initiative, will appear soon on New York City subway platforms. Ads by this group have also appeared in San Francisco, California and elsewhere. With other faith leaders and in consultation with the New York City Human Rights Commission, we have appealed to the MTA Commissioner, the Governor of New York, and the Mayor to run disclaimers next to these hate ads and offer space for the Human Rights Commission to run its own ad campaign.
As an election season approaches, the Interfaith Center of New York joins our Prepare New York partners[1] and diverse religious leaders around New York in calling for political candidates and elected officials to resist stoking hatred and fear as a cynical means of attracting votes. Instead, we call on public officials both locally and nationally to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards acts of religiously or ethnically motivated hatred. The integrity and responsibility required for holding public office in our diverse democracy demands nothing less. It is past time for the robust implementation of legislation aimed at preventing crimes of hate and prosecuting those who commit them. We look forward to the Subcommittee’s next steps following this week’s hearings.
[1] Supported by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and the One Nation One New York Initiative, Prepare New York www.prepareny.com was a successful year-long partnership between the Interfaith Center of New York, The Tanenbaum Center For Interreligious Understanding, Intersections International, Auburn Seminary, Odyssey Networks, September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, and 9/11 Communities for Common Ground to help New York City become a more welcoming and respectful place for the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 than it had been the previous year.
