Did Race Play A Role In The Failure Of The South Carolina Hate Crime Bill?

by Larry D. Smith, Publisher
Pat Gibson Hye-Moore
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In the last week of the South Carolina legislative session, five members of the Senate blocked the vote for a hate crime bill in The Palmetto State. One of those senators was South Carolina’s newest Senator from District 31, Mike Reichenbach, of Florence. He joined with four other Senators to vote against the bill, leaving some to wonder if their votes were based on race. South Carolina currently stands as one of only two states that do not have a hate crime bill. Two days after that vote, a hate crime in Buffalo, New York saw 10 people killed after being targeted by a racist shooter who chose the location because it was a store where Blacks shop. What is the reason for five South Carolina Senators to vote against a hate crime bill when South Carolina is still trying to recover from the 2015 Mother Emanuel church shooting that took the lives of nine members?

“Sin is the real issue here, and the solution is not found in a new law. What will help is more engaged parenting, teaching our youth Biblical principles, addressing mental health issues, addiction and holding people accountable with the existing laws. The sad reality is that a criminal is not deterred by new laws. For example, is a murderer going to refrain from committing murder due to a potential 35 year prison term (30 year original sentence plus 5 years added for hate crimes enhancement), instead of just the 30 year prison term” Senator Mike Reihenbach Stated?
“This is unbelievable! The shootings in New York and California are enough. This past weekend there were 326 shootings in this country with 125 people killed. Hate crimes, too many guns, and the leaders I look at are silent,” stated Rev. Leo Woodberry of Florence.

Many in the Black community believe this is a race issue after the bill in the South Carolina House and Senate was named after Charleston Church Massacre victim Clementa C. Pinkney, pastor of Emanual African Methodist Episcopal Church. However, Asian and Jewish Americans have also been targeted with more than 200 shootings in the first half of 2022 in the United States, so the question is: Do Black, Asian American, and Jewish Americans people deserve a hate crime bill in South Carolina?

“I know and the world knows. He made sure the world knew it was about race in paying homage to Dylan Ruff, Murderer of the Emanuel 9. The political climate is the catalyst to this type of hateful behavior. Here in our State, five Senators blocked a hate crime bill. Were they motivated by this same divisive political and racially charged environment? I would bet the house on it,” said Kwadjo Campbell, Chairman of the Greenville Democratic Black Caucus. You can also bet the house that all five upstate Senators and Mike Reichenbach live in districts that are predominantly White.

There are those in our community who believe that some communities in South Carolina are working to end racism. These groups meet once a month to talk about what they believe are racial concerns, but they do not take action to address the lack of White church support or the lack of support from elected officials that could improve race relations in South Carolina. Instead, they eat, talk, and go home to their safe communities where they can keep their racist friends and not lose their jobs or their positions in their communities. It is interesting to note that the one thing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas agreed on is that White liberal leaders are the biggest challenge to race relations because they want to make the world in their own image and decide what is best for poor and underserved communities, most of the time without ever visiting those communities. In short, they “know” what is best for poor people but always stop short of investing their political or social capital in the causes they so privately support. “I've yet to understand why South Carolina is just one of the two states without a hate crime bill. The Clementa C. Pinckney Hate Crimes Act has once again stalled in the Senate. The open carry gun law for South Carolina passed in 2021, which in my opinion makes it much easier and almost gives individuals a license to shoot and kill. Why won't South Carolina do what's right and pass the hate crime bill? Would it already be passed if a Black man opened fire and killed parishioners of a White church?” questioned Florence City Councilwoman Pat Gibson Hye-Moore.

When asked about the issue, Elder James Johnson, a pastor in Charleston, SC and President of The National Racial Justice Network, had the following to say. “I think the hate crime bill is about race because the five Senators holding out are all White and one Black senator in a State that’s control by a ‘Good Old Boy’ system. To most Black people there is not a clear answer on why they would not sign that bill. The extremist view is rising all over South Carolina and other states. It is just a matter of time before we will have a copycat of Dylann Roof or actions by the KKK. I asked the question to the five Senators: ‘Are you part of the skinheads or the KKK?’ and didn't get an answer back yet.”

The sponsor of the Clementa C. Pinkney Hate Crime Bill Rep. Wendell Gilliard released the following statement: “Today we mourn yet again the slaughter of innocent people, who were only going about the everyday business of their personal lives, that were gunned down by a stranger with a heart full of hatred who targeted them because of their race. This time it was because of the color of their skin, but other times it has been because of the way they worship, because of what clothes they wear, or because of whom they love or how they identify. Despite the growing threat to the most vulnerable in our communities, South Carolina still does not have an anti-hate crime law because five South Carolina Senators, cowering behind a false claim of righteousness, blocked a floor vote in the past legislative session.”

The first question should not be whether we need a hate crime law in South Carolina, but what it will take for us to adopt one. When a hate crime ravages any community in our State, which side will the South Carolina legislature be on? The hate crime bill has had a broad range of support from across the political spectrum, including notable members of the South Carolina House such as Representative Beth Bernstein, Black Caucus Chairman Patricia Hennigan, Representative Weston Newton, and Speaker of the House JD Lucas. In addition, this bill has enjoyed the support of the South Carolina business community, from the SC Chamber of Commerce to the CEO of the Intertech Group, Anita Zucker. Community advocacy groups such as Brandon Fish of the Jewish Federation of Charleston have also voiced support for the bill.

The second question is not if our state will suffer from another hate crime, but when. Hate groups are on the rise in South Carolina, and to combat this threat, we need a hate crime law. A hate crime law would allow us to keep records of hate crimes in South Carolina and expedite our cases. Furthermore, it has been shown that people are more motivated to come forward and report hate crimes when they happen in states with a hate crime law.

“I am not giving up on getting the hate crime bill passed in South Carolina. Therefore, I will pre-file my bill again on the very first day the legislative session opens.”