CBS News
New FBI report finds 10% of reported hate crimes occurred at schools or college campuses in 2022
Washington — Ten percent of all reported hate crimes that occurred in 2022 happened at a school or on a college campus, according to a newly released report by the FBI, making centers of learning the third most common location where hate-motivated acts took place.
Over 30% of juvenile victims of hate crimes targeted at school
The FBI examined reports of bias-motivated hate crimes at academic institutions throughout the U.S. between 2018 and 2022 — based on data collected from local, state and federal law enforcement — and found more than 30% of all juvenile victims were targeted at school. Hate crimes that occurred at schools most frequently occurred at elementary and secondary schools, the report found, and were most commonly motivated by anti-Black hate.
In 2018, 8.2% of all reported hate crimes occurred at academic institutions, a number that dropped to just 3.9% in 2020 — likely an outcome of widespread remote learning during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2022, 10% of all reported hate crimes happened at schools or on campuses.
Over 5,000 juveniles were classified as victims of reported hate crimes in the five-year period studied by the FBI and more than 1,700 of those students experienced the reported bias-motivated offense at a school location.
Most common bias type of reported hate crime offenses reported in 2018-2022 were Anti-Black
“The most common bias type of reported hate crime offenses at schools was Anti-Black or African American, with 1,690 reported hate crime offenses involving this bias type during the observed five years, followed by Anti-Jewish (745 offenses), and AntiLesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (Mixed Group) (342 offenses),” the report found.
Victims of hate crimes at school most commonly reported intimidation and destruction or vandalism offenses — amounting to 1,623 and 1,543 incidents respectively — followed by simple assault crimes, of which over 800 were reported between 2018 and 2022.
“Analyzing commonalities of reported hate crime offenses in schools can facilitate strategies to mitigate or prevent these offenses in the future,” according to the FBI’s report.
According to a senior FBI official, the goal of the new report was intended to draw the attention of school officials and local law enforcement to hate crime data and the number of incidents that occur in schools. The FBI is making the report available to local communities and encouraging officials to take action, the senior FBI official said.
FBI report doesn’t include 2023 data
The FBI’s publication did not include 2023 data, a year that saw increased tensions on college campuses after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent strikes against the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Senior FBI officials said Monday a separate analysis of data would be needed to address 2023 data.
A recent report by the Anti-Defamation League found that 73% of surveyed Jewish college students have experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism since the start of the 2023-2024 school year, and the number of Jewish students who feel “very” or “extremely” physically safe has dropped by double digits since the Hamas attacks.
Federal officials continue to warn of increased hate-motivated attacks throughout the U.S. Last year, Attorney General Merrick Garland and other officials convened meetings with leaders of Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Sikh, South Asian and Hindu communities, along with law enforcement officials, to discuss the increased threat landscape across the U.S.
The Justice Department opened a federal hate crimes investigation into the October stabbing attack in a Chicago suburb that resulted in the death of which killed Wadea Al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old Palestinian boy, and wounded his mother. Authorities arrested and charged the victims’ landlord, allegingsaying the attack was motivated by anti-Muslim hate. Federal investigators in Vermont are also investigating the shooting of three Palestinian college students in November.
In all, hate crime statistics released by the FBI last year showed that reported incidents in 2022 rose to 11,634 incidents, the highest number recorded since the FBI started tracking data in 1991, marking a 0.5% increase compared with 2021.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Long before comic book characters dominated movie screens, actor Christopher Reeve made the world believes in superheroes with the 1978 classic “Superman.”
Reeve died in 2004, nearly a decade after an accident re-shaped his life. “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” is using interviews with family and friends and never-before-seen home videos to explore his real-life heroism.
Reeve started his career on the stage, studying at the prestigious Juilliard School and living with comedian Robin Williams. The pair had a friendship that was “more like a brotherhood,” said Reeve’s son Matthew. Reeve was in awe of Williams’ energy and versatility, Matthew Reeve said, but audiences quickly clued into Reeve’s own star power when he took on the role of the Man of Steel.
Warner Bros. Pictures / Getty Images
To his children, though, he “was just dad,” Matthew Reeve said. The documentary explores how Matthew Reeve and his sister Alexandra Reeve Givens grew up watching their dad take the stage as Superman. “Super/Man” also reveals their heartbreak over their parents’ breakup and the joy they found when Reeve re-married. He tied the knot with Dana Reeve in 1992, and the pair welcomed another child, William Reeve, later that year.
“Dana was sunshine,” Alexandra Reeve Givens recalled. “She just brought joy with her wherever she was and could find it even in the darkest moments.”
Those dark moments came suddenly, when in 1995, a near-fatal horseback riding accident left Reeve paralyzed from the neck down. The documentary allows viewers to see, for the first time, what went on out of the public’s view. Reeve can be heard talking about how he “ruined (his) life and everybody else’s,” but in a touching moment, old friend Robin Williams is seen visiting him in the hospital.
“Robin showed him ‘Hey, you’re still you,'” Alexandra Reeve Givens said. “‘You still have this foundation of friendship and people around you, who adore you. And you’re going to find those fun moments in life again.'”
That support from friends and family re-ignited Reeve’s legacy of activism. He made appearances at the Democratic National Convention and the 68th Academy Awards in 1996, about a year after the accident. Matthew Reeve said watching his father address his industry peers at the Oscars was “one of (his) most proud moments.”
“It was just a production for him to get out of bed every morning, let alone get across the country and go out in public for the first time,” Matthew Reeve said. “It was a big deal. It was a big deal to him, but it was also a big deal to the entire disability community. We stayed up in London till like three in the morning to watch that live. It’s a fond memory.”
Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images
Reeve also went on to launch what would become the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing research into spiral cord injury and help individuals and families impacted by paralysis. It was his dad’s mission to find a cure, Matthew Reeve said, while his stepmother wanted to focus on improving the lives of paralyzed people and their families. The foundation and Reeve’s platform helped bring unprecedented attention and funding to spinal cord injury research.
Reeve even kept acting and realized his lifelong dream of directing with the 1997 HBO movie “In the Gloaming.” Reeve died in 2004 from heart failure at 52.
“There is a huge amount of great actors and actresses out there, where their filmography might be amazing and what they achieve on a cultural level might be amazing, but have they actually achieved anything really as a human that moves the needle for our society?” said filmmaker Ian Bonhote, who made the documentary with Peter Ettedgui. “And Chris has done both things.”
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” will open in theaters on Friday, Oct. 11.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
