Coalition Letter Asks That the U.S. Office of Management and Budget provide funding to implement the President’s Anti-Hate Crimes Commitments

New York, NY

Dated: November 15, 2022

Today, UNITED SIKHS signed-on to a letter drafted by the Southern Poverty Law Center to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director, Shalanda D. Young, asking that the OMB provide funding to implement the President’s “United We Stand Summit” commitments. 

The OMB oversees the implementation of President Biden’s vision across the Executive Branch.  The letter expresses support for the funding of the following programs:

• $70 million in funding to help States carry out grant opportunities authorized by the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. 
• Funding for localities and tribal law enforcement agencies to conduct educational outreach and training on how to identify, report, and effectively respond to hate crimes.
• $30 million in funding for grants to community-based organizations that will further the development of community-based strategies for conflict resolution, victim assistance and to build community empowerment.
• $25 million in funding for the Justice Department’s Community Relations Service, which recently issued a statement that they will hire.
• $15.5 million to carry out programs authorized by the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016 to investigate and prosecute previously unresolved civil rights era ‘‘cold case’’ murders suspected of having been racially motivated and to bring healing, truth, and peace to the affected families, friends, communities, and our entire Nation.
• $15 million to implement grants authorized under the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE provisions of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act.
• $2.5 million in Youth-Focused Hate Crime Prevention and Intervention Initiatives to fund the development of long-term prevention initiatives.

Some community-based  organizations have expressed concern over how these funds will be used by law enforcement and there is some concern that rather than help, these funds could be used to harm minority communities and the victims of hate crimes.  “But, with our involvement in this process, we want to make sure that lessons are learned from DHS failures on extremism prevention initiatives in the past,” stated Michael Lieberman, Senior Policy Counsel on Hate Crimes and Extremism, of the Southern Poverty Law Center.   “The Department of Education and HHS have not done this work extensively before.  We hope they will be open to involving community-based stakeholders as they build skill sets and capacity,” he stated. 

UNITED SIKHS has been a longtime proponent of greater efforts to abate hate crime at higher levels of government.  In the past, it has recommended that the Biden Administration fund Hate abatement programs. Included in these recommendations was the request that the Administration fund non-profit organizations who assist the government institutions in their efforts to inform about and abate hate crimes.  

“We have repeatedly recommended that nonprofits who have a direct grassroots connection with the communities affected by hate crimes receive funding to carry out the work we have been doing all along,” states Gurpreet Singh, UNITED SIKHS Executive Director. “We engage government institutions and the communities they serve to partner in this effort.  We provide the means by which individuals and families access these programs through direct advocacy and language access programs.  We have the expertise and provide the training about how to engage with local communities and we inform on the extent to which services are lacking.”   

Funding to assist community organizations like UNITED SIKHS, the SPLC and the Leadership Conference organizations are key to the successful implementation of anti-hate efforts.  The success of these programs depends on their viability, expertise and on their help to implement the programs this letter supports.”

Manvinder Singh
Director of Advocacy
​International Civil & Human Rights Advocacy – ICHRA

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