City of Dallas names Oct. 3 'FBI Dallas Hate Crimes Awareness Day'
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The number of hate crimes around the country is at its highest level in 14 years, according to the FBI. So, the City of Dallas deemed Monday "FBI Dallas Hate Crimes Awareness Day," an effort for education and action.
The Colleyville synagogue hostage crisis. Three shootings at Asian-run businesses. All in North Texas, all this year, all considered hate crimes.
"There is absolutely no place in the City of Dallas for hate," said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. "Period. None. Zero. Yet we do know that hate exists, unfortunately."
It's something Daniel Yanez knows personally from growing up in a small town in Alabama.
"We were the only colored people in the whole town, and there was experiences in school where they would beat me and my brother up just because we looked different," Yanez said.
He said he learned to channel that trauma into expression, and he was honored to create a mural called "Unity" for the FBI and Dallas' new hate crimes awareness campaign.
"I thought it was a good opportunity to kind of put those feelings onto the wall through art," he said. "And when you look at them, you can kind of see our similarities and our struggles and our stories."
His Oak Cliff mural is one way the campaign is aiming to raise awareness about hate crimes. They've also bolstered training and expanded advertising efforts around the city. They say with an increase in crimes targeting Blacks, Asians, and members of the Jewish community, it's imperative.
"Hate crimes are the highest priority of the FBI Civil Rights Program because of the devastating impact they have on families and communities," said Matthew DeSarno, FBI Dallas special agent in charge.
And they want people to know that they will investigate all acts of hate, regardless of a victim's national origin or immigration status.
"We are here today to clearly demonstrate that we want to keep our community safe. We have to know about crimes in order to stop them and to investigate them," DeSarno said.
If you believe you are a victim or a witness of a hate crime, you're encouraged to report it to the FBI. You can call or submit an online tip, and you can remain anonymous.
