Who Are the Victims and Perpetrators of Hate Crimes? | Facing History & Ourselves

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Unit Teaching about Hate Crimes and Their Impacts
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Mini-Lesson
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Who Are the Victims and Perpetrators of Hate Crimes?

Students explore the data on survivors of hate crimes, as well as research on the motives and behavior of perpetrators.

Subject

  • Advisory
  • Social Studies

Grade

6–12

Language

English — US

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About This Mini-Lesson

This is the third mini-lesson in a five-part series on hate crimes and their impacts, created in partnership with the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes (OPHC), part of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit.

In this lesson, students learn what researchers know about the survivors of hate crimes, including where the gaps are in the data. Students also learn about the motives and behavior of perpetrators of hate crimes and what these types of behavior suggest about hate crime prevention.

Materials

View in Google Drive

Teaching Note

Before teaching this mini-lesson, please review the following information to help guide your preparation process.

In this unit, students will encounter descriptions of hate crimes and their impacts on people and communities. While we have chosen examples that we believe convey the seriousness of these crimes without being overly graphic, this topic is emotionally challenging and can elicit a range of emotional responses from students. We can’t emphasize enough the importance of previewing the resources in this curriculum to make sure they are appropriate for the intellectual and emotional needs of your students.

It is difficult to predict how students will respond to such challenging content. One student may respond with emotion to an account or source, while others may not find it powerful in the same way. In addition, different people demonstrate emotion in different ways. Some students will be silent. Some may laugh. Some may not want to talk. Some may take days to process difficult stories. For some, a particular firsthand account may be incomprehensible; for others, it may be familiar.

We urge teachers to create space for students to have a range of reactions and emotions, while also holding students accountable to your class norms. This might include allowing time for silent reflection or writing in journals, as well as facilitating structured discussions to help students process content together. Some students will not want to share their reactions to emotionally challenging content in class, and teachers should respect that in discussions. For their learning and emotional growth, it is crucial to allow for a variety of student responses to emotionally challenging content.

Mini-Lesson Plan

Activity 1: What Do We Know about Hate Crimes?

Ask students to individually read section 3 (“What Do We Know about Hate Crimes?”) of the explainer What Is a Hate Crime and How Do Hate Crimes Impact People?

Then ask them to reflect on the following prompt in their journals:

  • Choose one piece of information you find surprising.
    • Why did you find this information surprising?
    • What more would you like to know about this piece of information? 
  • Choose one piece of information you find troubling. 
    • Why did you find this information troubling?
    • What more would you like to know about this piece of information?

Once students have finished writing, have them share aspects of their entry in pairs. Then discuss the following questions as a class:

  • How could information about victims help with efforts to prevent hate crimes?
  • Why is it important to make sure statistics on hate crimes are accurate?

Activity 2: What Do We Know about Perpetrators of Hate Crimes?

Place your students in small groups of three or four. Ask them to read section 4 (“What Do We Know about Perpetrators of Hate Crimes?”) of the explainer What Is a Hate Crime and How Do Hate Crimes Impact People? Then ask them to discuss the following questions with their groups:

  • Why do you think a large proportion of hate crimes are committed by young people acting in groups?
  • How do you think efforts to prevent hate crimes might be different depending on what type of hate crime these efforts seek to prevent?
  • When do you think people are more likely to be “heroes” and stand up against a hate crime? When do you think they are less likely to stand up?

Ask for volunteers to share aspects of their discussion with the class.

Activity 3: Final Reflection

Ask students to write their response to the following questions on an exit ticket:

  • What is one action you think people can take to help prevent hate crimes?
  • Under what circumstances do you think this action is likely to work?
  • Under what circumstances do you think it wouldn’t work?

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Mini-Lesson

Who Are the Victims and Perpetrators of Hate Crimes?

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