Washington D.C. Hate Crimes Increasingly Against Latinos, Whites

News from our nation’s capital: hate crimes are being redirected away from gays and lesbians and towards Latinos and whites. Interesting, right? Turns out the gentrification of Washington, D.C. has released some pushback in the form of anti-Latino and anti-white violence. The Washington Examiner reported:

The percentage of hate crimes being committed against whites and Hispanics in the District is rapidly on the rise, Police Chief Cathy Lanier said Wednesday.

Historically, the vast majority of hate crimes in D.C. have been based on sexual orientation, but in the past 18 months those instances have fallen to less than 50 percent of all hate crimes as racially biased crimes have accelerated. In the first half of 2011, 15 crimes (or 39 percent of all hate crimes) were racially motivated, and 14 crimes (or 36 percent of the total) were based on sexual orientation. Just two years ago, 73 percent of all hate crimes — 30 of 41 — were based on sexual orientation.

The new targets, Lanier said, “are largely Hispanic and white residents.”

In some ways, this is nothing new. Remember when we reported that 62% of hate crimes nationally were against Latinos? This hate crime data basically backs this up, illustrating that, as an emerging part of the American cultural fabric, there’s pushback from all sides. Hate crime in any form is sad, counterproductive and tragic, but it’s interesting to note that in our nation’s capitol where all these changes become legislative reality, the bare facts for Latinos remain the same.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD