The re-election of Donald Trump brings us to another disheartening moment in our nation's history. The dangers of Trump and his allies returning to power are significant. They’ve made clear their intent to rewrite the rules, target our communities and replace democracy with authoritarianism. In many ways, the last decade laid bare again the dangers of white nationalism, xenophobia, bigotry, and political violence. Like Trump's first presidential victory, Western States Center is not surprised — we’re ready. 

Western States Center’s Culture Lab program has released Smoke & Mirrors, a collaborative album focused on the importance of pro-democracy efforts as the nation approaches the 2024 Presidential Election. Co-facilitated by Alabama civil rights activist and hip-hop artist Evan Milligan and former Detroit Mello Music Group rapper Chris Orrick, the album features a range of hip-hop artists, including PremRock (Brooklyn), SKECH185 (Brooklyn), Steel Tipped Dove (Brooklyn), miles cooke (Brooklyn), James Gardin (Lansing, Michigan), Rich Jones (Chicago), Juiccy Da Master (Prichard, Alabama), and Brezzy Monroe (Birmingham, Alabama)

There is a crocodile in the water. Its eyes seem to float just above the surface, watching me. I can see its thick, armored back and sharp spines cresting every so often, reminding me that its powerful defense system can easily become a ferocious attack.  

As advocates for the civil and human rights of marginalized communities, we were thankful that the Senate Judiciary Committee held its most recent hearing on hate crimes, but we are very concerned that it devolved into one of the uglier displays of bigotry in recent memory. 

Statement from Amy Herzfeld-Copple, executive director of Western States Center, on rising political violence and the second assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

Today, eight leading civil, human, and immigrant rights organizations are releasing a comprehensive new report dubbed, "The Bigoted Conspiracy Caucus." In it, the groups document a disturbing trend among a faction of the 118th Congress: the normalization and amplification of xenophobic "great replacement" and "invasion" conspiracy theories. This robust report documents the historical roots of these dangerous ideologies and their pervasive promotion by members of Congress, highlighting the urgent need for action.

In response to the disturbing news of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, it is crucial to express a firm and unwavering condemnation of all acts of violence.

The House of Representatives voted 221-198 to pass the SAVE Act, which is driven by the conspiracy that noncitizens are voting en masse in federal elections. The bill has been a vehicle for some elected officials to espouse rhetoric that invokes antisemitic and xenophobic conspiracy theories like the Great Replacement Theory, which falsely claims that Democrats and Jews, among others, are orchestrating demographic change to replace white people with people of color and diminish white political power. 

On the two-year anniversary of the horrifying racially-motivated Buffalo shooting that killed ten Black people, more than 60 civil and human rights organizations have signed on to a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to unequivocally denounce white supremacist conspiracy theories and their use by members of Congress, and encourage members of their caucuses to refrain from peddling dangerous rhetoric.

We continue to warn against the rising use of “invasion” rhetoric and bigoted conspiracy theories that have become normalized in conversations around immigration. Rep. Green’s panel for the bigoted group Center for Immigration Studies threatens to be another opportunity for an elected leader to spread baseless conspiracy theories about immigration policy, laced with the Great Replacement Theory that so often leads to real-world violence.

The rallies in Texas, Arizona and California yesterday marked the end of a week where anti-immigrant bigotry in the United States reached a fever pitch