Threats and violence against Black Americans
Anti-Black bias has been the single largest hate crime category in every year the FBI has collected data. In 2025 agencies reported 2,811 anti-Black incidents, nearly half of all race-based hate crime, and the deadliest racist attacks of the past decade targeted Black shoppers and churchgoers.
What you need to know
- 2,811 anti-Black hate crime incidents were reported to the FBI in 2025, more than any other bias type.
- From 2015 to 2024, anti-Black victimizations were 32 percent of all hate crime victimizations in FBI data, per the Congressional Research Service.
- The Charleston, Buffalo and Jacksonville killers each wrote or posted about their hatred before attacking.
- Watch for racist content that names a store, church or neighborhood, references past mass shooters as heroes, or shows planning.
The official count
| Bias type | Category | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-Black or African American | Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry | 2,811 | 3,246 | -435 |
Counts are incidents reported by agencies that file with the FBI. A lower number can mean fewer agencies reported, not less hate. See every bias type.
Attacks that define the threat
- June 17, 2015 · Charleston, S.C.
A white supremacist killed nine worshippers at Bible study in Emanuel AME Church. He had published a racist manifesto online.
- Mar. to Apr. 2019 · St. Landry Parish, La.
An arsonist burned three historically Black churches in ten days. He was convicted of federal hate crimes.
- May 14, 2022 · Buffalo, N.Y.
A gunman killed 10 Black people at a Tops supermarket he had chosen for its Black customers. He livestreamed the attack and posted a manifesto.
- Aug. 26, 2023 · Jacksonville, Fla.
A gunman killed three Black people at a Dollar General after being seen near a historically Black university. He left racist writings.
Terms and signals
Analysts and officers see these in posts, comments and channels. Knowing them lets you read a threat for what it is.
- 13/50 (or 13/52)
- A false crime statistic used to cast Black Americans as inherently violent. A common entry point to harder material.
- RaHoWa
- "Racial holy war," a call for race war from the Church of the Creator movement.
- 1488
- Combines the white supremacist "14 words" slogan with 88, code for "Heil Hitler."
- Great Replacement
- The claim that white people are being deliberately replaced. Cited by the Buffalo and El Paso shooters.
- "Saints" and kill counts
- Treating mass shooters as heroes and ranking them by deaths. A strong signal of attack interest.
- Coded slurs and animal imagery
- Slurs swapped for innocent words or emoji to avoid filters, used to dehumanize.
A term alone is not a threat. Hateful speech is often legal. NCTIC scores escalation: a specific target, a means, a time, and signs of planning or goodbye messages.
From talk to attack
Target scouting. The Buffalo attacker chose his store by researching the share of Black residents nearby. Posts that compare neighborhoods, stores or churches by race are planning, not opinion.
Manifestos and livestream talk. Drafting a manifesto, praising one, or asking how to stream an attack are among the clearest signs of intent.
Copycat cycles. Each attack inspires imitators who quote it. Anniversaries of Charleston and Buffalo are worth watching.
Report a threat
- Call 911 for anything imminent. Report threats to local police and to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 1-800-CALL-FBI.
- Churches can request a free security assessment from their state homeland security office or CISA protective security advisors.
- Save the post, the link and the account name. Do not reply.
- Send threats you find to NCTIC at pesach@lattin.us or 505-932-9060. We route each one to the agency with jurisdiction.
Frequently asked
How many anti-Black hate crimes were there in 2025?
Agencies reported 2,811 anti-Black hate crime incidents to the FBI for 2025, the most of any bias type, down from 3,246 in 2024.
Why is anti-Black hate crime always the largest category?
It has led FBI data every year since collection began in 1991. Researchers point to the size of the population targeted and long-running white supremacist ideology that centers Black Americans.
What are warning signs of a racially motivated attack?
Content that names a specific place, praises past shooters, discusses weapons or timing, drafts a manifesto, or says goodbye. Hateful views alone are not a crime. Planning is.
Who studies this
NCTIC's analysis draws on official data and the work of these organizations. Listing them does not mean they endorse NCTIC.
Hate crime response and data analysis.
Tracks hate groups and extremist activity.
Civil rights advocacy and community response.
How we put this together. Hate crime counts are incidents reported by law enforcement agencies to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program for 2025, released Aug. 14, 2026, as tabulated by the Arab American Institute; 2024 comparisons use the FBI's updated Crime Data Explorer figures. These counts cover only agencies that report and only incidents that reach police, so they understate the problem, and year-to-year changes partly reflect which agencies filed. Attack summaries draw on court records and news reporting cited below. Watch terms come from NCTIC analysis and public research such as the ADL Hate Symbols database. NCTIC products are analysis and can be wrong.
NCTIC is an independent nonprofit, non-governmental organization. It is not a government agency, does not act under government authority, and does not make or enforce laws.
We take no position on immigration or other policy questions and do not blame threats on any group. Our anchor is simple: the law says no violence against people, whoever they are.