Interview: Margaret Huang on Confronting the History of Anti-Asian Hate and White Supremacy in the United States and Abroad

Abstract

Interview:Margaret Huang on Confronting the History of Anti-Asian Hate and White Supremacy in the United States and Abroad Margaret Huang (bio) This article was contributed to Forum-the edition's portfolio of thematic content-by GJIA's Dialogues section. The Southern Poverty Law Center's (SPLC) annual report on hate groups published early this year, "The Year in Hate and Extremism," recorded a total of 838 hate groups across the United States in 2020.1 Although this number was a slight decline from 2019, hate certainly did not, as evident through over 4,000 racist flyer incidents (hanging flyers to intimidate minorities or attract recruits) and the high visibility of rightwing and white supremacist organizations such as the Proud Boys in recent years. Although hate incidents against a number of identity groups (based on race, sex, ethnicity, religion) are prevalent in the United States, the Atlanta spa shootings on March 16, 2021, was an example of when hate violently deploys itself against an intersection of those identities.2 Six of the eight victims of the shooting were Asian American women. Members of Asian American communities deplored the racism and misogyny that targeted the victims. Many of the stereotypes in the United States associated with Asian Americans-—and Asian American women in particular—have had roots in the country for over a century.3 SPLC President and CEO Margaret Huang spoke with GJIA on March 23, 2021, to discuss the most recent dynamics of hate in the United States with a particular focus on anti-Asian hate, as well as the international breadth of hate groups. She additionally shares how the state could respond to these hate movements without further curtailing civil liberties and how activist groups could collaborate as shared movements against hate groups. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs: For decades, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has documented far-right groups and individuals that spout hateful rhetoric and commit discriminatory acts against racial minorities, religious groups, and other marginalized demographics. Since the advent of this documentation, have you seen any fundamental changes in the prominence or behavior of these right-wing hate groups? Margaret Huang: We actually see cycles happen over the decades; typically, there is an increase in the number of hate groups and their activities during Democratic administrations and then a reduction in activity during Republican administrations. What is interesting is that under the Trump administration, there was an opposite and dramatic increase in the number of these groups and the amount of activity taking place. During the four years of the Trump administration, there were record numbers of hate groups on our list. That was unusual, but I think it speaks to both the administration's willingness to engage with those groups directly as well as their hiring of people out of those groups to work in the administration. In that sense, there were numerous direct ties between this past administration and many of the groups we have been tracking. [End Page 162] GJIA: Some believe those ties are reflected in the Capitol riots.4 National Public Radio (NPR) reported that out of the first 140 rioters charged, around 20 percent were former or active-duty service members.5 Do you think that these individuals are indicative of a larger problem in the military or just a few bad apples? If they reflect a larger systemic problem, how do you think the government should address this issue? MH: My colleague Lecia Brooks gave testimony on March 24 to the House Arms Services Committee on this topic.6 We believe that there have always been elements of white supremacy and extremism in our military. The first time we wrote to the Department of Defense was in 1986 when we sent a letter to then [Defense] Secretary [Caspar] Weinberger, asking him to look at the activities of a group of enlisted men who were also participating in Ku Klux Klan activities. This is not a new problem, but at the same time it is not a pervasive problem. We do not believe there is pervasive extremism across the military. What we are concerned about and what we have recommended is that [the military] look at their...