Hate Groups On The Rise Nationwide, Still Numerous In North Carolina

Organized hate is alive and well in North Carolina, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center's updated map showing where extremist groups operate.

For years, the SPLC has maintained a database of hate groups, prominent members, and their activities on its website. The list was updated last week.

The organization lists 31 entities operating in North Carolina on its “Hate Map,” which includes groups that attack or malign entire classes of people based on things like race, religion, and more. That number puts North Carolina's national ranking just outside the top ten.

The list includes a wide range of organiations like the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Confederates, Skinheads, and anti-Muslim groups. Some of these are local, some statewide, and some are branches of white supremacist websites.

On first glance, the largest single category on North Carolina's Hate Map is black separatist groups like the Nation of Islam. But there's a catch.

White supremacy has splintered into many sub-movements – Neo-Nazis, skinheads, and the KKK are all individual SPLC categories – and taken together, those groups significantly outnumber black separatist organizations.

Year-over-year, the new data show a national uptick in the number of groups operating: from 892 in 2015, to 917 last year. And the most dramatic growth came from an explosion in the number of anti-Muslim hate groups, which nearly tripled to 101 in 2016.

Meanwhile, groups operating under the antigovernment “Patriot” movement dropped significantly across the country. The SPLC describes people who subscribe to the movement as “militiamen and others who see the federal government as their enemy.”

The SPLC also notes that a survey of educators found tension in schools, with 90 percent of respondents saying the 2016 presidential campaign negatively impacted school climate. A majority of teachers also said there was heightened fear among students, particularly immigrants, Muslims, and African-Americans.

According to the new data, states with higher populations generally have more extremist groups, though there's plenty of variance. California and Florida topped the list, while North Dakota, Vermont and Rhode Island are at the bottom.