FTCC faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend an informational forum at the College on Thursday, Sept. 19, that will be focused on hate crime laws and reporting as well as approaches to combating and responding to bias incidents and hate crimes.
The North Carolina Hate Crimes Forum will provide community members and law enforcement with information related to the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, as well as state and local hate crimes laws. The program engages local and federal law enforcement, district attorneys, civil rights organizations, and community organizations in discussions and information-sharing on methods to combat and respond to bias incidents and hate crimes.
This forum includes the following components:
- A panel of law enforcement experts to provide an overview of federal, state and local hate crimes laws.
- A panel of community resources to discuss resources in the aftermath of bias incidents or hate crimes.
- A panel of survivors to discuss their personal experiences of being targeted by hate and how these incidents affected the panelists’ sense of wellbeing, safety and inclusion. (This session will not be available virtually.)
Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions after the conclusion of each of the three panels.
According to Justice Department data, reported hate crimes in North Carolina increased from 186 in 2020 to 330 in 2022 – an increase of 77% in just two years.
The forum will be from 9 am to 2 pm in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Tony Rand Student Center, with check-in beginning at 8:30 am. Attendance is free but advance registration is required because breakfast and lunch will be provided. The deadline to register is 11:59 pm on Friday, Sept. 13. Registration may be done at this link: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/biasincidentsandhatecrimesforum. There is a virtual option for those who cannot attend in person; information for that option is also available at the registration link.
Sponsors and presenters for the forum include: the Fayetteville-Cumberland Human Relations Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the N.C. Department of Justice, the N.C. Human Relations Commission, the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, the Fayetteville Police Department, the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina, and Fayetteville Technical Community College.
