By: Mariah Muhammad

In 2019, there were reportedly a total number of 31 hate groups strewn across Ohio, but today, at least three - Act for America, Mission:America and The Proud Boys - have made Columbus their home. 

To record these hate groups’ movements and community actions, the Southern Poverty Law Center has made its responsibility to combat this hatred through youth education and civil rights justice. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is a domestic non-profit organization that tracks hate groups and works to dismantle white supremacy in communities all over the U.S. 

Under the SPLC, a hate group is defined as an organization that - based on its official statements and principles - has beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics. 

The importance of knowing - and understanding - these organizations is essential because it not only allows students to understand what is happening around their community but also how to avoid them while keeping safe. 

Act for America, founded in 2007, has undoubtedly grown to become the largest anti-Muslim group in America. According to the SPLC, “ACT was launched as a response to the 9/11 attacks and “educates citizens and elected officials to impact policy involving national security and defeating terrorism.” 

Mission: America, which was started in 1995, centers on targeting homosexuality within society and urges pro-life over a woman’s reproductive right to choose. This organization believes there is a “gay agenda” within America that needs to be addressed and ultimately, corrected. 

A relatively new group, The Proud Boys, was founded in 2016, where amid the previous presidential election, they were known for “anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric.”  and an “anti-white guilt,”  agenda. 

 Although many heard about the organization during the first presidential debate when President Trump stated that they should “stand back and stand by,” the Proud Boys have also appeared alongside other hate groups at extremist gatherings like the 2017 ‘Unite the Right’ Charlottesville rally that killed one woman and injured 19 others. 

Overall, the Southern Poverty Law Center has tracked 940 hate groups across the U.S., and these numbers are continuing to grow. Ranging from neo-Nazis to Black Separatists, there are at least 28 other groups in Ohio spread out between Akron, Bath, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Dayton. 

 Since Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential nomination, there has been a total 55% increase in white nationalist hate groups, a 43% increase in anti-LGBTQ hate groups, and over 2,000 hate-motivated incidents across the nation. 

If nothing changes soon, the trajectory doesn’t look good.