United Against Hate Initiative: Identifying, Reporting and Preventing Hate Crimes

United Against Hate (UAH) is a nationwide Department of Justice initiative created to combat unlawful acts of hate by connecting federal prosecutors and federal, state, and local law enforcement with communities, to encourage the reporting of hate crimes and incidents of hate. 

On May 27, 2021, U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland issued a memorandum on improving the Justice Department’s efforts to combat unlawful acts of hate, and emphasized the need to actively engage in outreach and educational efforts centered around hate crimes.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina (USAO-WDNC), through its UAH initiative, seeks to empower individuals and communities to stand against racism, discrimination, and intolerance, and build resilient and thriving communities through inclusion and equity. 

In Western North Carolina, the UAH initiative comprises a series of outreach events focusing on community groups at risk of being targeted in hate crimes and incidents of hate. UAH events give participants an opportunity to directly connect with federal prosecutors and law enforcement to increase community understanding of hate crimes and hate incidents; provide a mechanism for reporting potential hate crimes and civil rights violations; build trust between law enforcement and communities; and create and strengthen alliances with government partners and community groups to combat unlawful acts of hate.

Goals of the United Against Hate Community Outreach Program:

• Increase community understanding and reporting of hate crimes and incidents of hate.
• Build trust between federal prosecutors, law enforcement, and the communities we serve.
• Create and strengthen alliances between the law enforcement community, other government partners, and community organizations to work collaboratively to combat hate.

Reporting information:

To learn more about the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Program and obtain information about how to report possible civil rights violations please visit our website.  

UAH Events:

 A Visit With The Sikh Community

On February 26, 2023, members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal and local law enforcement partners, met with representatives of the Sikh community in Charlotte. 

The event, which was held at the Gurdwara Khalsa Darbar, the Sikh faith center in Charlotte, featured a presentation by Assistant U.S. Attorneys with experience in prosecuting hate crimes and civil rights violations, and law enforcement representatives with the FBI and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. In addition to law enforcement, representatives from the Justice Department’s Community Relations Service were also in attendance.

The presenters facilitated a discussion with representatives of the Sikh community centered on hate crimes, including defining hate crimes versus hate incidents; the importance of reporting acts of hate to law enforcement; providing options for responding to hate incidents when situations do not constitute federal or state crimes; and distinguishing unlawful conduct from protected First Amendment activity, with a focus on identifying protected speech versus speech that advocates violence or encourages people to commit hate crimes.

The United Against Hate High School Summit

On May 23, 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office partnered with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) to host a youth engagement summit for high school students.

Approximately 150 students selected from Charlotte-Mecklenburg high schools attended the summit, which was held at the Queens University Sports Complex and Conference Center. The goal of the summit was to provide instruction and information to students on identifying, reporting, and preventing hate crimes and other civil rights violations; encourage students to share their experiences and exchange ideas on how to promote a positive environment within their schools; and help students develop solutions for building inclusive and equitable schools for everyone. 

During the program’s interactive group sessions, students discussed their concerns about their schools’ current culture and brainstormed on ways to help support each other and their classmates in creating a better school experience. Students were also challenged to think about how they can best utilize the information they acquired to develop action plans to address the needs of their schools. 

You can view a video on our YouTube Channel here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNqg_nR4G_4