The Hispanic / Latino Anti-Defamation Coalition SF, gratefully lauds the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for their Action on behalf of the actual and the potential victims of hate speech and hate crimes. On the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Regularly Scheduled Board Meeting of August 4, 2009, a Resolution was introduced to be placed on the August 11, 2009 Regularly Scheduled Board Meeting Agenda for discussion and a vote "urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct a comprehensive investigation on hate speech in the media, allowing public participation via public hearings, and to update the 1993 report on the Role of Telecommunications in Hate Crimes." It was introduced by Supervisor David Campos and co-sponsored by Supervisors: John Avalos, David Chiu, Chris daly, Bevan Duffy, Eric Mar, Sophie Maxwell and Ross Mirkarimi. For those of us concerned with the raise of hate speech in the media and the ever increase on hate crimes reported, it is very important to attend the August 11 meeting to offer support and commentary. In the event that you'd want to send them a note with your thoughts, the contact information is included below. | |||
 |  |  David Chiu - Board President District 3 (415) 554-7450 - Voice (415) 554-7454 - Fax David.Chiu@sfgov.org |  District 6 (415) 554-7970 - Voice (415) 554-7974 - Fax Chris.Daly@sfgov.org |
 District 8 (415) 554-6968 - Voice (415) 554-6909 - Fax Bevan.Dufty@sfgov.org |  District 1 (415) 554-7410 - Voice (415) 554-7415 - Fax Eric.L.Mar@sfgov.org |  District 10 (415) 554-7670 - Voice (415) 554-7674 - Fax Sophie.Maxwell@sfgov. org |  District 5 (415) 554-7630 - Voice (415) 554-7634 - Fax Ross.Mirkarimi@sfgov.org |
TEXT OF THE RESOLUTION INTRODUCED FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS' AUGUST 11, 2009 AGENDA [Urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct a comprehensive investigation on hate speech in the media and to update the 1993 report on the Role of Telecommunications in Hate Crimes] Resolution urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct a comprehensive investigation on hate speech in the media, allowing public participation via public hearings, and to update the 1993 report on the Role of Telecommunications in Hate Crimes WHEREAS, Hate speech has been defined as bigoted speech attacking or disparaging a social or ethnic group or a member of such a group (American Heritage Dictionary), and hate speech is intended to offend a person of a particular group or group of people based on a group identity; and WHEREAS, Hate speech takes various forms, from words advocating violence to those creating a climate of hate towards vulnerable groups; and WHEREAS, Hate speech creates an environment of hate and prejudice that legitimizes violence against those individuals and groups targeted by hate speech; and WHEREAS, Hate speech contributes to and may result in physical violence, and emotional and psychological distress to those targeted by hate speech;and WHEREAS, Many groups have suffered harm at the hands of hate speech, including without limitation: African Americas, Latinos, Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Women, Lesbians, Gays, Transgender people, and people with disabilities; and WHEREAS, Hate speech against vulnerable groups exists in our media and is not limited to a few isolated instances or any one media platform; and WHEREAS, Hate speech is often aired on large mainstream media corporations including national cable news networks, television broadcasts, radio broadcasts, and on the internet; and WHEREAS, The media has the power to influence people's behavior and perceptions and according to the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), a correlation exist between an increase in hate speech in the media and an increase of hate crimes committed against vulnerable groups; and WHEREAS, According to the National Latino Policy & Issues Brief (by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center), the October 2008 Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual hate crime statistics reported that of the 8999 single-bias hate crime offenses in 2007, two-thirds (66.5 percent) were motivated by race and ethnicity/national-origin biases, a number that has remained constant since 2003, with anti-African-America bias accounting for more than half of offenses motivated by race and ethnicity/national-origin, the largest share of total offenses (36.4 percent); and WHEREAS, According to several reports (the National Latino Policy & Issues Brief by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center and the National Hispanic Media Coalition, a change in offenses motivated by ethnicity/national-origin bias on anti-Hispanic bias has risen steadily, from 42.8 percent in 2003 to 61.7 percent in 2007 (FBI 2008), largely linked to the media negative coverage of Latinos and immigration debate; and WHEREAS, According to the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), and increase of hate speech in the media targeting Latinos has led to an increase of hate crimes against Latinos; and WHEREAS, An investigation on hate speech in the media has the potential of serving the highest interest of free speech and the First Amendment; and WHEREAS, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has a long history of examining how licensees use their public trust to serve the most vulnerable segments of society, and some of these lengthy studies have included looking at the impact on children of certain advertising practices, the impact of violent programming on children, and the link between advertising and childhood obesity; and WHEREAS, Past inquiries, studies and explorations have been done in a manner that is constant with our tradition of free speech and conducting an investigation on hate speech in the media actually has the potential of serving the highest interest of free speech and First Amendment protection; and WHEREAS, In 1992 Congress directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to examine The Role of Telecommunications in Hate Crimes; and WHEREAS, No updates to The Role of Telecommunications in Hate Crimes report in 1993 has been made; and WHEREAS, Given the evolution and growth of telecommunication since the 1990's, we are in dire need of an update to this 1993 report; and WHEREAS, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates airwaves in the United States, but in order to make necessary determination regarding allocation, the FCC turns to the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA), which has served as the President's principal advisor on telecommunication policies since 1978; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco urges the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct a comprehensive investigation on hate speech in the media, and to update the 1993 report on the The Role of Telecommunications in Hate Crimes ; and, be it FURTHER RESOLVED, That the investigation on hate speech should be conducted in a transparent manner, including public participation via public hearing; and, be it FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco urges the FCC's investigation to include the inquiry into the extent and nature of hate speech in the media, the examination of the effects and impact of hate speech, and the relationship between hate speech in the media and hate crimes; and, be it FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board of the City and County of San Francisco urges the FCC to also explore options for counteracting or reducing the negative effects of hate speech in the media. | |||
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