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Testimony at Last Night’s Hate Crime Task Force Meeting

Posted October 22, 2009 by Patrick Young, Esq.

Last night provided the first opportunity for Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center to respond in person to critics of his report on Suffolk’s “Climate of Fear” for immigrants. Potok was one of four witnesses to testify at a special session of the Suffolk Hate Crimes Task Force.
Until last night, hearings by the task force had been town hall-style meetings at which fifteen to twenty five community people would offer brief statements on the causes of hate crimes. Yesterday’s meeting allowed for in-depth testimony by experts on the hate crimes issue.
Potok traced the history of growing division in Suffolk County. He said that “this was a situation that was ten years in the making.” Problems that often attend changes in racial balances in communities were changed dramatically by the formation of Suffolk’s Sachem Quality of Life (SQL) organization. SQL tied Suffolk’s anti-immigrant movement to national groups and brought extreme racists to the county to speak. They referred to immigrants as “low level terrorists”, and did not moderate their rhetoric even after a group of young people burned down the home of a Mexican family in Farmingville in 2003.
But, SQL was not alone. “There were enablers”, says Potok, and these were some of the county’s leading politicians. “The most important was Steve Levy”, he said.
Potok next turned to the impact of the anti-immigrant rhetoric on those who committed the acts of violence against immigrants. “Hate criminals are not necessarily the lowest of the low”, said Potok. Most do not fit the stereotype of the alienated skinhead or neo-Nazi. “They very often are young men who feel that they are standing up for their community. The hate criminal feels that he is called to defend his community”, and that the community will approve of his actions.
After his main presentation, Potok responded to criticism from the Levy administration that he had never contacted them or the police about the report. “That is not true”, he said. He told the task force that on seven different occasions the Southern Poverty Law Center contacted the Suffolk Police Department. The county executive’s office was contacted on two occasions for interviews, but the calls were not returned.
The next speaker was Sandra Dunn from the Hagedorn Foundation. She spoke about the research on Suffolk’s immigrants that the Foundation has supported, as well as the Foundation’s funding of efforts to integrate immigrants into the civic life of Suffolk. She noted that research from Adelphi University had documented the economic vitality of the Latino and immigrant communities in Suffolk, including a 51% growth in the number of Latino owned businesses, but that elected officials seemed unaware of the economic contributions immigrants make.
The final presentation was made by Steve Freeman and Ron Meier of the the Anti-Defamation League. Freeman said that while no one can draw a direct line between hateful anti-immigrant rhetoric and a particular hate crime, “Tone matters”. “The bully pulpit matters”, he said, “The tone that is set by the political leadership carries over” effecting the dinner table conversations that young people hear. Meier added that “The role that elected officials have played has been extremely negative in Suffolk County.”
Last night also marked the seating of a new member of the task force. Isabel Sepulvida, a prominent member of the Latin community in the Hamptons, was added to the task force. She is the first person appointed representing the Latino community and the first person appointed who has been openly critical of County Executive Steve Levy’s policies towards Latinos.