Human Relations Commission Finds Hate Crimes Rose in 1995

In South Gate, the white neighbors of an African American woman burned a cross on her lawn, kicked her children, killed her puppies and put up “white power” signs on her property. In Los Angeles, a Korean man was struck with the butt of a gun by a Latino muttering slurs. In Long Beach, a man whacked a lesbian in the head as she sat in her car at an intersection.

These are but a few of the 793 hate crimes documented in Los Angeles County last year. All told, the number of hate crimes reported to the county Commission on Human Relations rose 2.2% compared to 1994.

Anti-Asian acts increased significantly, from 29 to 53, while anti-gay incidents declined, from 319 to 236. In a continuation of previous trends, African Americans, gay men and Jews were the leading targets. More than 44% of the overall incidents involved violence, including six attempted murders. Anti-immigrant sentiment was in greater evidence than in prior years.