*The proliferation of hate groups across the U.S. is examined closely in the new documentary series “Hate In America,” a collaboration between the Southern Poverty Law Center, journalist Tony Harris, NBC News’ Peacock Productions and the cable channel Investigation Discovery (ID), where it will begin airing on Feb. 29.
The series delves into some of the more riveting case files of the SPLC, a civil rights advocacy group that wages legal battles against intolerance and discrimination perpetuated by these domestic hate groups.
According to SPLC’s 2015 Intelligence Report released in January, the number of extremist groups operating domestically increased by 14% from 2014, and the SPLC catalogued a whopping 892 hate groups in the US, including neo-Nazis, white nationalists and Klansmen.
SPLC’s national intelligence director Heidi Beirich believes the increase has to do with a backlash to the changing racial demographics in the United States.
“There’s a feeling of entitlement, a terror really, especially among young white males in the South, over the changes that we’re seeing,” Beirich said during a panel for the series at the recent TCA Winter Press Tour. “We’re seeing it enacted in violence, right? We’ve had a series of deadly attacks. Charleston is only one of many this year. The Planned Parenthood attack in November, attacks on Black Lives Matter protesters by white supremacists. So it’s been several of these. And what we’re seeing is that fear also play out in terms of violence.”
Below, Harris says the fear is increasing as we move closer and closer to the year 2050, when minorities are supposed to outnumber the white population in the U.S.
In the first “Hate in America” episode, “The Klan on Trial” (Feb. 29 at 8/7c), Harris reexamines the 1981 lynching of Michael Donald, a case that prompted SPLC founder Morris Dees to sue the United Klans of America (UKA) on behalf of the victim’s mother. In the landmark court decision, UKA’s leadership was held responsible for the acts of its members, helping to turn the tide against organized hate in the U.S.
“Hate in America” premieres Feb. 29 at 8 p.m. on ID (Investigation Discovery).
Watch a clip from the first episode below:
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