Title
Staff Report for a City of San Leandro City Council Resolution Condemning White Supremacy and White Supremacist Hate Groups, Declaring Support for Classifying the Ku Klux Klan as a Domestic Terrorist Organization, and Reaffirming the City's Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
Staffreport
SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a Resolution generally condemning white nationalist and white supremacist hate groups, declaring support for classifying the Ku Klux Klan ("KKK") as a domestic terrorist organization, and reaffirming the City's commitment to diversity and inclusion.
BACKGROUND
Nationally, there has been a rise in white nationalist, white supremacist, and other race-based hate groups, such as the KKK. These hate groups place the interests of white people over those of other racial groups for the stated purpose of maintaining dominion over the demographics in the United States, as well as control over the economy and national politics to espouse white supremacist ideals. These white supremacist groups often exhibit animus against other groups, such as Jewish people, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and non-white racial groups.
Following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota by police officers in May 2020, communities all over the world, including San Leandro, saw mass demonstrations acknowledging the systemic inequalities Black people experience in the United States. Additionally, there was an increase in racially motivated hate crimes and threats, especially against persons of Asian ethnicity, attributed to white supremacist groups when the COVID-19 pandemic started affecting the United States.
This prompted some members of the community to ask the City Council to take action condemning white supremacy and white supremacist hate groups, such as the KKK, as harmful to San Leandro, and in opposition to the City's values.
At the July 6, 2020 regular C...
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