US President Joe Biden will be hosting a summit next month to address a dramatic rise in hate-related violence in the country, the White House announced on Friday.
On September 15, Pres. Biden will serve as the summit's host, emphasizing the "corrosive effects" of violence on democracy and public safety. After 10 Black people were killed at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket in May, activists pushed Biden to host the event. They also wanted to handle a string of hate crimes in El Paso, Texas, Pittsburgh, and Oak Creek, Wisconsin, as per an AP News report.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement: "As President Biden said in Buffalo after the horrific mass shooting earlier this year, in the battle for the soul of our nation 'we must all enlist in this great cause of America. The United We Stand Summit will present an important opportunity for Americans of all races, religions, regions, political affiliations, and walks of life to take up that cause together."
Pres. Biden will deliver the keynote address at the event, which will feature civil rights organizations, religious leaders, business executives, law enforcement, advocates for the prevention of gun violence, former members of violent hate groups, victims of extreme violence, and cultural figures.
The White House underscored its intention to bring together political leaders from the federal, state, and local levels, as well as Democrats and Republicans, to work together in stopping hate-motivated violence.
Groups Push Biden Administration To End Violence
After the Buffalo shooting, the League of United Latin American Citizens' CEO, Sindy Benavides, along with the Anti-Defamation League, the National Action Network, and other organizations aimed to pressure the Biden administration to take more decisive action against threats from extremism.
"As civil rights organizations, social justice organizations, we fight every day against this, and we wanted to make sure to acknowledge that government needs to have a leading role in addressing right-wing extremism," she said.
The White House said further information on the speakers and attendees would be released closer to the event. Additionally, no specific policy pronouncements by Mr. Biden would be hinted at.
The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and the country's first National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism were both signed by Mr. Biden last year, according to officials.
Benavides said organizing the conference would help the nation become more determined to combat the threat of hate-inspired violence, but she also expressed her hope that "long-term solutions" would be formulated from the summit, CBS News reported.
Healing America's Soul
The automobile attack at a 2017 white nationalist demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, has frequently been referenced by Biden as his inspiration to run for president again in 2020.
On the campaign trail, he promised to seek to unite Americans and "heal the soul of the nation," but given the extreme political polarization in the nation, achieving these goals has proven to be incredibly challenging, per The Hill.
Leaders on the right have endorsed the "great replacement" notion put forward by the Buffalo shooter earlier this year.The conference in September, according to Jean-Pierre, will provide a crucial chance for Americans of all races, religions, regions, political affiliations, and walks of life" to cooperate in preventing hate-motivated violence.
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