Wonder

Log in

Research Outline

Prepared for Daniel S. | Delivered February 8, 2020

Hate Crime in Tennessee - Statistics and Key Incidents

Goals

To find hate crime statistics in Tennessee from 2000 to 2020, hate groups in the state, and major/key historical incidents of racism and hate crime in the state (e.g., Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. ). The research will be used in planning a crisis simulation.

Early Findings

Hate Crime in Tennessee - Statistics

  • The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) maintains a directory of hate crime incident reports in the US by state.
  • The number of hate crime incidents as well as racist hate crime incidents from the total hate crime incidents reported in Tennessee from 2000 to 2005 is given below:

2000

  • Total hate crime incidents: 230 
  • Racist hate crimes: 162 

2001

  • Total hate crime incidents: 335 
  • Racist hate crime incidents: 243 

2002

  • Total hate crime incidents: 129 
  • Racist hate crime incidents: 79 

2003

  • Total hate crime incidents: 161 
  • Racist hate crime incidents: 101 

2004

  • Racist hate crime incidents: 136 
  • Racist hate crime incidents: 89 

2005

  • Total hate crime incidents: 128 
  • Racist hate crime incidents: 79 
A further breakdown of these incidents by cities, "crimes against persons" (e.g., murder, rape, assault, and intimidation), "crimes against property" (e.g., robbery, destruction/damage/vandalism, etc.), and bias motivation (e.g., race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and disability) is also available in the FBI reports.

Hate Groups in Tennessee

  • According to 24/7 Wall Street, as of 2019, Tennessee has the third-most active hate groups in the US. There are 36 hate groups active in the state.
  • More than 50% of these hate groups are largely racially motivated.
  • Some of these hate groups include:
    •  KKK chapters in McMinnville and Shelbyville including "American Confederate Knights of the Ku Klux Klan , Exalted Knights of the Ku Klux Klan , Ku Klos Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (Bristol) , Ku Klos Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (Knoxville) , Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (Tennessee) , and United Klans of America (McMinnville)."
    •  Black nationalist groups including "Great Millstone (Memphis), Israel United In Christ (Memphis), Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge (Nashville), Nation of Islam (Chattanooga), Nation of Islam (Memphis), and New Black Panther Party (Nashville)."
    •  Anti-Muslim groups including "ACT for America (Knoxville) , ACT for America (Memphis) , Lincoln County Citizen Action Network (Fayetteville) , Political Islam (Nashville) , Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (Franklin) , Soldiers of Odin , and Tennessee Eagle Forum (Nashville)."
    • Christian Identity ("Sacred Truth Publishing & Ministries in Mountain City").
    •  Neo-Confederate hate groups including "Identity Dixie, League of the South (Johnson City) , League of the South (Knoxville) , League of the South (Memphis) , League of the South (Nashville) , and Mary Noel Kershaw Foundation (Lobelville)."
    •  White Nationalist groups including Identity Evropa and The Political Cesspool (Bartlett).
    •  Neo-Volkisch groups (The Gallowglasses Fight Club, The Varangians Fight Club, and Wolves of Vinland).
    •  Racist skinhead groups including Confederate 28 , Confederate Hammerskins, and Crew 38.

Proprietary Database Search Results

In addition to this public search, we scanned our proprietary research database of over 1 million sources and were unable to find any specific research reports that address the stated goals.

Summary of Findings

  • In our initial hour of research, we provided the total number of hate crime incidents and the number of racist hate crime incidents from the total number of hate crime incidents reported in Tennessee from 2000 to 2005.
  • It is likely that hate crime statistics for 2019 may not be released yet.
  • We also provided the number and names of active hate groups in Tennessee.
  • Due to shortage of time, we did not focus on major hate crime incidents in the state.