Activists and media hesitant to call attack a hate crime

Disturbing images broadcast from Chicago earlier this month via FaceBook Live when 4 Black teenagers taped their torture of  a mentally challenged White teen.
The boy was kidnapped, gagged, burned and cut repeatedly. Through out the attack the perpetrators uttered anti-White epithets and insults.

Most politicians condemned it as the hate crime that it was, including prominent Black leaders like President Obama. At the same time it's sad that some otherwise well-meaning social justice advocates and media commentators shy away from calling this crime what it was: an act of hate against both the disabled and a White person. It's as if they are possessive over who can be the recipient of hate, and who can only be the perpetrator.

Hate crime legislation was originally enacted to protect society's most vulnerable citizens. However that does not preclude a minority from committing an act of hate, not does it disqualify a targeted attack against a white person as a hate crime.

Make no mistake, condemning an attack on a mentally disabled young man is not a conservative rallying call, but rather human compassion.

Pilsen, Chicago

The artwork of Chicago's Pilsen Mexican-American neighborhood.

 Donald Trump is not too popular.

Tribute to the SS Eastland tragedy in 1915.

 Saint Procopius Church display for Day of the Dead.

Saint Procopius Church display for Day of the Dead.

Saint Procopius Church display for Day of the Dead

Galeria Del Barrio, by Aurelio Diaz

Mural by Aurelio Diaz.

Reconciliation Mural

Uptown is a diverse Chicago neighborhood plagued with many urban ills. In 1995 director at the Uptown Baptist Church thought to replace graffiti that covered a storefront with a mural that would communicate God's love for the neighborhood. The fruit of his work is the Reconciliation Mural.

Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Church

Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Church is one of the newer parishes in Chicago's Ukrainian Village. It was founded by Patriarch Josyf Slipyj, and construction of the building was completed in 1973.

The gold some of the church as seen from West Chicago Avenue. The architecture follows a Ukrainian-Byzantine style of the 11- 13th centuries.

The exterior of the church features a mosaic above the entrance depicting the Christianization of Ukraine.

Statue of the church's founder, Patriarch Josyf Slipyj

Statue of the church's founder, Patriarch Josyf Slipyj

Chicago's Ukrainian Village

Between 1880 and 1910 Ukrainians migrated in large numbers to the west Chicago neighborhood now known as Ukrainian Village. As with other ethnic enclaves, the neighborhood's Ukrainian population declined with the rise of suburbanization after World War II. While the Ukrainian-American population is just a fraction of what it once was, the Ukrainian influence remains, as seen in the district's many Ukrainian institutions and ornate churches.

Memorial statue outside Ukrainian Cultural Center of Saint Volodymyr and Princess Olha.

Doors of the Saint Nicholas Cathedral School

Ukraina Deli, West Chicago Avenue

Ukrainian flags on display, North Oakley Boulevard

Ukrainian Village Street Sign

Van with Ukrainian flag

Old Lviv Restaurant, West Chicago Avenue

Andersonville, Chicago

Andersonville is a residential neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. For most of the 20th century is was a destination for Swedish immigrants arriving to the metropolitan area. Like most ethnic enclaves, Andersonville saw much of it's Swedish-American population gravitate towards the suburbs after World War II. Yet many of the neighborhood's Swedish institutions and businesses remain, like the Swedish American Museum and restaurants like Svea. The quintessential landmark is the blue and yellow painted Anderson Water Tower.Today Andersonville is a destination for many new ethnic groups. It is also known as a welcoming neighborhood for the city's gay community.

 

Pilsen, Chicago

Scenes from Pilsen, a heavily Mexican-American enclave in Chicago, as it prepares for Día de los Muertos, otherwise known as Day of the Dead.

Coyotes Restaurant, West 18th Street

Bombon, West 18th Street

Mural painted on house on South Allport Street

Street vendor on West 18th Street

House decorated on South Allport Street

Poder Learning Center, South Allport Street

 

"Si se puede" poster, Perez Family Restaurant, West 18th Street

Street mural, West 18th Street

Artesanias D'Mexico, West 18th Street

Illinois' Largest Ethnic Groups

Chicago's status as an industrial powerhouse and a transportation hub in the 1800's made it a magnet for immigrants. This shows in the diversity of ethnic backgrounds in Illinois. German-Americans are the state's largest ethnic group, the background of almost 1 in 5 residents.

Rank	Ethnicity	2010 Illinois Population	As a Percent of Total Illinois Population
	Total Population	12,843,166	100.00%
1	German	2,509,602	19.54%
2	African-American*	1,746,922	13.60%
3	Mexican	1,620,432	12.62%
4	Irish	1,598,702	12.45%
5	Polish	970,053	7.55%
6	Italian	794,985	6.19%
7	English	786,693	6.13%
8	American	613,029	4.77%
9	Swedish	281,076	2.19%
10	French, except Basque	244,045	1.90%
11	Puerto Rican	194,096	1.51%
12	Dutch	190,070	1.48%
13	Asian Indian	186,955	1.46%
14	Norwegian	165,590	1.29%
15	Scottish	142,872	1.11%
16	Czech	133,127	1.04%
17	European	130,534	1.02%
18	Russian	126,227	0.98%
19	Filipino	114,593	0.89%
20	Chinese, except Taiwanese	106,341	0.83%
21	Greek	94,513	0.74%
22	Lithuanian	89,014	0.69%
23	Scotch-Irish	79,490	0.62%
24	Korean	58,160	0.45%
25	Hungarian	50,230	0.39%
26	Ukrainian	49,755	0.39%
27	Danish	46,584	0.36%
28	Welsh	45,902	0.36%
29	Croatian	43,323	0.34%
30	Austrian	39,060	0.30%
31	Slovak	38,999	0.30%
32	African	38,755	0.30%
33	Guatemalan	36,524	0.28%
34	Swiss	35,939	0.28%
35	Belgian	35,483	0.28%
36	French Canadian	35,286	0.27%
37	British	33,086	0.26%
38	Vietnamese	29,763	0.23%
39	Pakistani	29,030	0.23%
40	Romanian	28,373	0.22%
41	Arab	26,199	0.20%
42	Cuban	25,321	0.20%
43	Ecuadorian	24,693	0.19%
44	Colombian	24,060	0.19%
45	Eastern European	21,341	0.17%
46	Serbian	20,878	0.16%
47	Yugoslavian	20,237	0.16%
48	Japanese	18,271	0.14%
49	Bulgarian	16,955	0.13%
50	Czechoslovakian	16,890	0.13%

Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey

1 year estimates, tables: B02001, C02005, B02006, C02007, B03001, B03002, B04006

* African-American is derived as respondents selecting Black as racial group after removing African, West Indian, and Hispanic ethnicities.