Fact check: What are the current hate crime statistics for African Americans in the US?

1. Summary of the results

Based on the FBI's 2023 hate crime statistics, African Americans remain the primary target of hate crimes in the United States. The data reveals several key findings:

• Anti-Black or African American incidents accounted for 3,004 reported cases in 2023, representing the highest number of single-bias hate incidents based on race, ethnicity, or ancestry ^{[1] [2]}
• These incidents comprised 51.3% of all race/ethnicity/ancestry-based hate crimes, making them more than three times higher than the next highest racial or ethnic category ^[3]
• Race-based crimes constitute the most common type of hate crime overall, with 5,900 reported incidents rooted in race, ethnicity, or ancestry in 2023 ^[3]
• The total number of hate crime incidents increased by 228 cases in 2023, reaching 11,862 reported cases compared to 11,634 in 2022 ^[1]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The analyses reveal important contextual information not immediately apparent from the basic statistics:

• There was actually a 9% decrease in anti-Black hate crimes from the previous year, suggesting some improvement despite the high absolute numbers ^[1]
• Data collection limitations significantly impact these statistics - participation in FBI hate crime data collection is voluntary for state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, though mandatory for federal agencies ^[4]. This means the actual numbers could be substantially higher due to underreporting.
• Geographic variations exist in reporting patterns - according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, while there was a 6% decrease in hate crimes targeting Black people in 2022, many cities and states reported their worst numbers ever ^[5]
• African Americans were targets of more than one-fifth of all hate crimes in major U.S. cities, not just race-based crimes, indicating the scope extends beyond the race/ethnicity category ^[5]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself does not contain misinformation or bias - it's a straightforward request for current statistics. However, there are important caveats about interpreting hate crime data:

• The voluntary nature of reporting creates systematic underrepresentation in official statistics, as noted in the FBI's data collection methodology ^[4]
• Recent trends show conflicting patterns - while 2023 saw a decrease in anti-Black incidents, the overall hate crime numbers increased, and some localities experienced record highs ^{[1] [5]}
• The data represents only reported and officially classified incidents, not the full scope of hate-motivated incidents that may occur but go unreported or unclassified

The statistics consistently demonstrate that African Americans face disproportionate targeting in hate crimes, but the complete picture requires understanding both the limitations of data collection and the complex trends across different time periods and jurisdictions.