Florida leads the nation in hate groups according to a Southern Poverty Law Center report released Thursday.
“The Year in Hate and Extremism” report tracked hate groups targeting minorities and the government across the U.S. in 2024 and found overall hate crimes are down.
But the Southern Poverty Law Center’s analysis found Florida still leads the nation in hate groups, with 100 in total. The group tracked 50 in Georgia and 25 in Alabama.
The SPLC’s Rachel Carroll Rivas said false claims of white genocide fueled by the “white replacement theory” has led to the rise in these groups across the state and country.
“We really saw this idea grow in popularity across the far right as they use this conspiracy to target immigrants, Black people and other people of color and LGBTQ folks,” said Carroll Rivas.
One way to combat these groups is by standing up against hate and bullying in our everyday lives, said Carroll Rivas. On a call with reporters Thursday, she also stressed the importance of making sure young people have access to history education and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion or DEI programs in school, among other approaches.
Watch a brief companion video to the report:
“We need to support Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and accessibility programs. We need to teach accurate history and critical thinking in schools to our young people, and we need to promote online safety and hold tech and social media companies accountable to respecting and protecting human rights,” said Carroll Rivas.
The SPLC report highlighted Florida as a state that is failing its students when it comes to these anti-hate initiatives.
In particular, the report highlighted:
- Florida’s adoption of PragerU curriculum in 2024
- Florida universities firing DEI faculty, and closing DEI offices in 2024
- Florida fully implementing new history standards teaching kids that some slaves benefited from slavery in 2024
- Florida cutting funding for DEI programs at the college level in 2024
Read the SPLC’s full report here.
