Vivienne Mann fled Cape Town, South Africa, in the late ’70s to escape the racial discrimination and oppression institutionalized by apartheid laws, making stops in several other countries before landing in Los Angeles. However, over 30 years later, the same forces that drove her away from her hometown resurfaced at her doorstep in the U.S.
On Dec. 21, 2022, Mann and her roommate were awoken by someone shouting racial slurs and banging on their apartment door. The suspect also taped a letter to their door, which read, “Hurry up and die … illegal immigrant. Go back to your … country … ”
“I’ve never had to double lock my doors and double lock my windows in my life,” said Mann after the incident, which Los Angeles Police Department officers filed as a hate crime. “My windows have been open 24/7 for almost 30 years.”
With a diverse population of close to 10 million people, Los Angeles County saw its highest number of reported hate crimes in 19 years, according to a report published by the Commission on Human Relations at the end of last year. Of the 786 hate crimes reported in 2021—a 23% increase from 2020—more than half were racially motivated. Crimes targeting Black, Latinx, Asian, and Middle-Eastern populations all grew, with anti-Black hate crime comprising the largest percentage of reported incidents. Despite making up only 9% of LA’s population, Black residents made up 46% of all racial hate crime victims.
“Our most vulnerable neighbors are facing enough challenges, and now have to worry about a greater risk of being attacked or harassed because of who they are,” said LA County Board of Supervisors Chair Janice Hahn in a statement. “That is unacceptable.”
LA vs. Hate, a community program led by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, has worked to prevent and respond to hate crimes since its launch in September 2019. The program has three major goals: fighting back against the…
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