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June 11th, 2009
05:50 PM ET

Map: Active hate groups in the U.S.

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/10/map.hate.groups.jpg caption="Active Hate Groups in the United States"]

Program Note: The map shows different hate groups that are active across the country. It is part of the Intelligence Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Tune in to AC360° at 10 P.M. ET for more details on hate groups.

Southern Poverty Law Center

The Intelligence Project monitors hate groups and extremist activities throughout the U.S. and publishes the Center's award-winning Intelligence Report.

It also offers training to help law enforcement officials and human rights groups combat organized racism, including an online hate crime training course for law enforcement professionals.

Click here for more details...

soundoff (60 Responses)
  1. Susan

    II read an article and saw the map earlier today. I was able to click on the state I live in & the groups popped up. Below was a list of their names and a second name, which I guess is the meaning of the first. Anyway, I was very disappointed my city was listed.

    June 12, 2009 at 12:50 pm |
  2. Mari

    @ Mike in NYC...... Your statement is an example of what I am talking about. I have been a Hispanic all of my 57 years, and I have never heard any Hispanic "call for the expulsion of Whites from America" never!

    And yes, Mike, there are nut-jobs in every race and creed known to man. Why are you so upset about the map? It IS the TRUTH. Sadly.

    June 12, 2009 at 12:45 pm |
  3. Samuel T.

    So shocked to learn the hate thing in the "Deam country" . America has been and is still home of immigrants beginning the exodus of European-Whites then African-Americans, Latinos,Asians...etc. Who hates Who? Why? Since when? I am a little bit confused. In this land of the Red Indians everyone is equal. America is a birth place of equality;expressed to every human from every corner of the world. People are still coming to America escaping hate of every kind in
    their oun land. I didn`t know about this hate thing and i consider the election of Obama as a win win against racism. Racism has to be abjured to live peacefully in this land of equality. Good job Anderson.

    June 12, 2009 at 12:39 pm |
  4. Ruby Coria LA., CA.

    Religion?, humm the root to all evil? They kill the Dr. in the name of God, & they harass my mom so she does not abort me, in the name of God she does not, & I'm born & guess what? I'm Gay & now in the name of God they want to kill me too!, Oh No, I'm Mexican, Female, & a Lesbian, that's for sure the Gas chamber line. All in the name of who? Humm.

    June 12, 2009 at 12:37 pm |
  5. david

    The entire map should be covered for everyone has hate in them. As far as groups, should we not list the political parties for there hate for the other parties. Hate is an emotion that everyone suffers from so how can we arbitrarily point to certain people or groups and label them as hate groups when we ourselves hate the groups that we are labeling. Its the old pot calling the kettle black. Don't you hate yourself for thinking about that?

    June 12, 2009 at 12:35 pm |
  6. Anthony

    Active Hate Groups”….I thought it was Muslim Islamic Terrorists cells…who were the most dangerous hate group

    June 12, 2009 at 12:19 pm |
  7. Tammy, Berwick, LA

    Couldn't you come up with anything better than this to push the show tonight? This map is about as lame as it gets.

    June 12, 2009 at 12:07 pm |
  8. hungry in the south

    @ Adam.. Im a white man born and raised in mississippi, and your comment was right on the mark.

    June 12, 2009 at 12:04 pm |
  9. Nobody Important

    Though, yes, hate groups are lame and need to go away, the constitution protects their right of free speech and their right to their opinion, even if their opinion is hating something or someone. I hate disco music and find ABBA especially nauseating. Though I don't go out bashing disco fans with physical violence, I am still entitled to my opinion and will openly and publicly ridicule disco if someone asks my opinion.

    Ultimately, this map is pointless and just as lame as the hate groups that it targets. First of all, what is "general hate"? IF you want to include general hate, then go ahead and paint the whole country with little green thumb tacks. Secondly, why does the media continue to sensationalize racism and the existance of hate groups? This is not news. This type of "news" is the continuation of fear tactics to control popular opinion, which seems to create more problems than it resolves. Third and final position, this map is incomplete and inaccurate. It only targets the "black and white" of the real situation, which [the real situation] is far worse than your map admits.

    How about a map indicating every location of every store that sells merchandise that was created through SLAVERY? Every city and every mall in this country. You just need one giant green thumb tack that is the shape of America.

    If you want to do something about the worlds problems, you aren't going to do it with fear, green thumbtacks, and little black and red boot icons. Instead of wasting your ad revenue on this garbage, why not spend it on actually educating people and providing real news?

    June 12, 2009 at 12:01 pm |
  10. Jordan Fox Illinois

    It's a little frightening. I had no idea that there were so many active hate groups in my area. I live right across the river from St. Louis, MO and I see many different symbols there. I do think it's sad that there is so much hate. We can't just "get rid of all hate groups" though. That's just as bad.

    And to Dustin, no whites are not the only people involved in hate groups.

    June 12, 2009 at 11:52 am |
  11. Sean Conlon

    I can't believe this sensationalist garbage. People are allowed to hate whatever and whomever they wish to. There is nothing in the Constitution that says that everyone except racists have the right to assemble and express their opinions. Only when these groups, or members thereof, decide to break the law, do we need to be concerned.

    Most people, even those who belong to "hate groups" do not behave like the wingnut that killed the security officer at the Holocaust museum. He and people like him are the exception to the rule. Why? Because most of them are cowards...which is why they flock together. I find this to be a benefit to these groups. It is much easier to spot morons when they travel in packs.

    Also, hate-crime legislation is unConstitutional. A person who kills or assaults another person should be treated the same way as anyone else who commits the same crime, regardless of motive. Am I really supposed to believe that it is worse to kill someone because he is black than it is to kill someone because you just don't like him? No life is more valuable than any other life.

    Oh...and someone suggested that the U.S. is falling apart and that putting Bush back in office would help. You obviously haven't been paying much attention to the world over the past few years.

    June 12, 2009 at 11:52 am |
  12. none hater

    Karen, you hating vegtebales is not killing people. This map shows groups, that are planning to do excactly that, so therefore important, and not stupid. People who ingnore this are stupid.

    June 12, 2009 at 11:37 am |
  13. BettyAnn,Nacogdoches,TX

    Lots of hate in the south. What is that about? How embarrassing.

    June 12, 2009 at 11:30 am |
  14. Dustin

    Oh never mind! I found some non white hate groups too. Feels good to know it's not just my race that has issues. Though, scary that someone could hate me for no reason and potentially do me harm. Get a hobby you racist bastards.

    sincerely yours
    Dusty

    June 12, 2009 at 10:58 am |
  15. Dustin

    Wow!
    Another shinning moment in American history. It's hard to have any pride left in my country. Are whites the only one to hate? Or are those the only ones who are tracked?

    Rock on OBAMA

    June 12, 2009 at 10:52 am |
  16. Teresa, OH

    Fascinating map.

    June 12, 2009 at 10:38 am |
  17. Melissa

    This hate mongering has got to stop. We aren't children any more and we need to stop acting like this.

    June 12, 2009 at 10:10 am |
  18. Anthony

    y is it that if you dont like how the US is falling apart and try to speak out on it you become an Hate group ?Remmeber that the people that started the US were all anit goverment...This is the CHANGE we need ..we need BUSH back! before more people die....................we dont need bigger gov.......we need to be able to feed are kids not feed the fed..

    June 12, 2009 at 10:03 am |
  19. Amahd

    The whole election was based on hate. The vote was for skin color, not policy.

    June 12, 2009 at 9:43 am |
  20. DEE

    Looks like the media is icthing to create more Columbine copycats. I agree with the experts that state that most hate groups just blow hot air. If the they really wanted to start something, i'm sure they know where to go. But it's no fun when the rabbit got the gun right?

    June 12, 2009 at 9:40 am |
  21. Terry, TX

    "Active Hate Groups"….I thought it was Muslim Islamic Terrorists cells…who were the most dangerous hate group. This story is from the Southern Poverty Law Center….the Black equivalent to the ACLU…except I do believe they are wealthier….you have got to be kidding.
    I can’t believe you print anything from them…you might as well be quoting from KKK articles….they may be polar opposites….but they are the same radicals.

    June 12, 2009 at 8:30 am |
  22. Chris

    Wow. How sad. What happened to tolerance ? It is strange that you do not even realize these groups exsist near to where you live. I want no part of them.

    June 12, 2009 at 6:57 am |
  23. Craig

    No hate in Hawaii, that's why we call it the Aloha State.

    June 12, 2009 at 2:21 am |
  24. Cole

    It's about time that this issue is uncovered. No one should be above the law, no one. I think we should call it what it is, "Good Ole' Boy Networking." Don't hate us, hate Bush and Cheyney. Thank them for uncovering the issue. Watch what you do, because everyone's watching.

    June 12, 2009 at 2:05 am |
  25. Bert

    Map is worthless; you should quit promoting it on TV.

    Some of the comments are not much better than the map. "Hate is everywhere"; give me a break. That sounds a lot like tackle football where everyone just "piles on" the ball carrier.

    Most people I know are good, honest and decent people who just want to enjoy their life and family and are very accepting of racial, religious and political differences.

    I don't know where all you "hate group obsrevers" live. I don't see it where I live.

    June 12, 2009 at 2:02 am |
  26. Mark

    Exactly what constitutes a "Hate Group"? There's no definition there. I went to the Southern Poverty Law center's website, but could not find a definition there either. Seems like it could be just about anything. And that map is an absolute joke.

    A word about "Hate Speech": If you let the government take away others' right to freedom of speech just because their rantings are vile, you can rest assured that the government will take away your freedom of speech also. The way to overcome the vile rantings of people is not by taking away their freedom, it is by exposing their lies with the love of Christ.

    What people need to be prosecuted for is their unlawful ACTIONS. Murder, rape, or physically abuse someone, etc. – go to prison. But freedom of speech is too valuable to be given away in order to lock up a few miserable miscreants.

    June 12, 2009 at 1:48 am |
  27. rose

    What kind of stupid link to a map is that? Why can't I zoom into it?

    June 11, 2009 at 10:49 pm |
  28. Gail Edwards-Bryant

    The only thing I have ever been able to do when confronted with hate is to voice my displeasure, express my love for my neighbors and walk away. But now I am re-thinking the walk away part. If you look behind the hateful comments and paranoia on blogs and postings, there are some things they have in common and maybe following those threads to the cause could save them and the children they are training. The one thing I see is terrible grammer, sarcasm and a demand on the reader to acknowledge their fear. We would be safer to treat hate as a mental health issue than to make them social outcasts or lock them up

    June 11, 2009 at 10:30 pm |
  29. LIZ

    I think racism usually manifest to those who doesnt expose themselves to different cultures of different races. Those who were "not well travelled" and those who just see folks of their same color or cuture are the ones who are usually racist. They just need to widen their horizons and understand that they not the only existing race, theyre not the better race and learn to humbly welcome others, thus america is the land of immigrants. And whites we're not the origianal residents of this land..its the american indians.

    June 11, 2009 at 10:28 pm |
  30. Evan

    The US is full of hate these days. A lot of it comes from organized religion which is such a disgrace. For real, what would Jesus thing? Just awful. The well known cult group known as the Jehovah Witnesses have left some very disturbing hate riddled propaganda on my door. I can’t believe that it is legal for hate groups like the JW to leave such swill at my house.

    June 11, 2009 at 10:28 pm |
  31. J. J.

    I say if they are so racist then get they can get hell out of America.

    June 11, 2009 at 10:25 pm |
  32. Nick Hall

    isnt there gangs out there that hate whites why aint they on the map

    June 11, 2009 at 10:24 pm |
  33. Nick Hall

    General hate cover the country my god this is a joke! It shows KKK in my town ive lived there all my life there is none!!!!! Crazy PPL

    June 11, 2009 at 10:22 pm |
  34. Rhonda in Iowa

    It is very sad that even in 2009!.It reminds me of that song from the sixities..........................When will they ever learn...when we'll they ever learn?

    June 11, 2009 at 10:19 pm |
  35. Adam

    Its funny that you would use a map by the SPLC.Of course it would show the majority of racists in the south, WHEN National Geographic did a documentary stating most were in the Northeast. Ever since Decatur in the 70's,the SPLC has been trying to "uncover" hate groups in the south, but to no avail. We go to school with each other beginning in kindegarten, the whites and blacks get along down here. Its the people in the northern states with the private schools that have the most racists..get a new map.

    June 11, 2009 at 10:19 pm |
  36. Donna Rhodes

    I saw dots in the general area where I live, but would like to have been able to zoom in. This map is only of use as a generalization. I already knew the areas where hate groups were abundant ...I would like a more detailed map.

    June 11, 2009 at 10:17 pm |
  37. Sunny G - Toronto

    Hate crimes need to be taken more seriously by authorities and the government, after wwII and dealing with the nazi's, I recall a quote from history class stating "The world will never stand by and let such discrimination take place again." From what I see, hate crimes are no different from genocide, they need to be stopped before they get bad!

    June 11, 2009 at 10:16 pm |
  38. Goolsby Scroggins

    This map is total B.S. It doesn't even list my hate group. I'm a single man organization that hates hate groups!

    How could they leave me out. This is discrimination in it's most blatant form.

    June 11, 2009 at 10:15 pm |
  39. Paul

    It's very disappointing to see the map of my own country filled with hundreds of hate-groups whose goals are to end our own brothers and sisters life and their race. The government should act seriously and end these hate groups.

    June 11, 2009 at 10:15 pm |
  40. Ed

    Hate crimes should never be accepted or tolerated for any reason in the world we live. The problem I see is that these people are deeply disturbed and feel the world does not listen or ackowledge them. For sure, different views are part of our liberty as indeviduals. But, at some point the line has to be drawn. There is difference between ideas and actions. However, we have to open our minds and hearts and try desperately to understand why anyone could act in such a dispicable way.

    June 11, 2009 at 10:14 pm |
  41. Jean

    Mr Cooper,. can you please explain the differences between each of these groups and what each believes or hates?
    Thank you

    June 11, 2009 at 9:31 pm |
  42. Sara in MN

    I know I have students who actively participate in hate crimes. What is sad is that some of them are truly very nice kids deep down, but their upbringing has jaded them. We live what we grow up with, and the environments they experience as children are hate filled. One of the "skin heads" I had a couple of years ago had some real potential to go out and do great things – but every once in a while the hate boiled over (when things were tough at home)... I am getting his "baby brother" next year as a senior. Hopefully we can instill some hope in his life and turn things around.

    June 11, 2009 at 9:19 pm |
  43. Morgan--Pensacola, Florida

    There should be a "cute" little symbol centered on Washington. Until our country's government recognizes all American citizens as equal, it will continue to serve as a paradigm for hate groups everywhere.

    June 11, 2009 at 9:14 pm |
  44. Karen

    This map is stupid.

    Good job mike. CNN should take it down.

    By the way, Whats an active hate group?

    I hate vegetables. I am a group of many who hate vegetables. Is this group on the map?

    STUPID STUPID STUPID.

    June 11, 2009 at 8:53 pm |
  45. Mike in NYC

    These "hate" threads seem to be filling up with people just itching to be government informants.

    Should I phone the feds next time I hear an Hispanic irredentist call for the expulsion of Whites from America? Just wondering.

    That map is a joke. "General hate"? You've got to be kidding me.

    June 11, 2009 at 8:41 pm |
  46. Flex, San Francisco CA.

    "If you're not on board with the social change, then you're increasingly alienated," Blazak said. "A lot of the hate movement is about slowing history down or turning it back."

    This is the same reasoning that Catholic bishops use for opposing gay marriage, yet catholicism, and anti-gay focused religions, were not mentioned once in this cnn contribution.

    Are people afraid to shine a light on hate based religion?

    June 11, 2009 at 8:34 pm |
  47. Philoan Tran - Houston

    It is both very sad and scary to hear about the rise of hate groups and extremists activities; how can these people nurture such hatred towards people whom they don't even know? The problem is that hate crime statutes are too broad or not stringent enough for law enforcements to prosecute these criminal activities as hate crimes offenses.

    June 11, 2009 at 7:58 pm |
  48. Whiteshadoe

    Those of us who are on the receiving end of racism in this country understand that it doesn't matter what color your president is, racism still exists only now, it simply hides itself in the grassy knoll of society planning its next attack.

    June 11, 2009 at 7:50 pm |
  49. Sandra Robertson, GA

    It is so disheartening to see the map of the US littered with hate groups. We, as a nation, must work together to end the racism and anti-semitism. Communities must move forward and report known hate groups to the proper authorities. But the hate is everywhere, even in churches we attend; why can't we just love one another and treat each and everyone with respect?

    June 11, 2009 at 7:46 pm |
  50. Noel Anthony Haughey

    Unfortunately there are hate groups in America that have to be STOPED! They have to be watched 24 hours a day and prosecuted to the full extent of the LAW.

    June 11, 2009 at 7:42 pm |
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