Despite being both socially progressive and politically liberal, the City of Seattle and Washington State, are not exempt from injustice and discrimination. In fact, a 2016 study shows that hate crimes have been increasing in Washington State over the past three years, and more recent articles indicate a spat in hatred following the U.S. elections.

An article published in June 2016 by The Seattle Times detailed a study that found people of color (POC) and members of the LGBT community are twice as likely to be targets of hate crimes in the Seattle area, stating “both black and LGBT people were more than twice as likely to be victims of a hate crime or incident in Seattle as any other group — and at least 50 times more likely to be targeted than whites.”

In the last year alone, 72 hate crimes and incidents against LGBT people were reported to the Seattle Police Department (SPD) – more than twice the number as the year before. Keeping in mind that many crimes go unreported, the problem is staggering.

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However, issues of discrimination also disproportionately impact foreign nationals and ethnic minorities. In particular, an article published by The Stranger in June 2017 found that incidents of hate – particularly for people who practice Islam – has risen, and many are pointing to the rhetoric around the U.S. election as adding fuel to a problem. For example, a University of Washington student was assaulted with a glass bottle in late November 2016 and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) stated: “the crime fits into a recent spate of reports of harassment against Muslims nationwide.” With more than 250 complaints of anti-Muslim incidents reported in 2016 to the CAIR Seattle office, the article notes that “even in liberal Seattle and Washington State Islamophobia is on the rise.”