"Move-In" Violence : White Resistance to Neighborhood Integration in the 1980's. Special Report.

Racist violence has followed the migration of minority families to the suburbs as intransigent whites resort to arson and other violence to preserve racially segregated neighborhoods. A study of this phenomenon of "move-in violence" for the years 1985-86 found it to be a serious, under-reported social problem nationwide. In cases where arrests have been made it has been found that the perpetrators were not members of such groups as the Ku Klux Klan or the neo-Nazis, and evidence suggests that the problem is as acute in the North and West, areas not traditionally associated with violent racism, as in the South. The report describes specific cases in Louisville, Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, and other cities, and reports that white racist violence has targeted other minorities besides blacks. Nonetheless, the potential for white-on-black, southern violence remains strong, especially in certain southern rural counties. Because it appears that violent racism is being revived, the creation of a nationwide law enforcement reporting system to keep record of hate violence incidents is recommended. The participation of Federal law enforcement agencies in this system is critical, and more State and city police agencies must develop record-keeping procedures. Furthermore, it is recommended that laws against intimidations in which no bodily injuries result (cross-burning, etc.) be upgraded from misdemeanors to felonies. Appended is a list of serious move-in incidents, 1985-86, giving date, place, and nature of incident. (KH)

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