R&B Singer Tyrese Stirs Up Debate About Whether Federal Hate Crimes Laws Protect Blacks. A Better Question: Why Are Hate Crimes So Underreported By Law Enforcement?

Actor and singer Tyrese Gibson caused a fast and furious uproar on social media this week when, during an interview with civil rights attorney Ben Crump posted on X, he complained that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris “signed an Asian hate crime bill” during the Covid-19 pandemic that “protects Asians at all costs” while claiming they’ve done little to protect Black and brown people from hate crimes. “What you’re doing is, President Biden and Kamala Harris, you’re saying that Black and brown people will continue to be disposable,” Gibson said, while Crump seemed to nod approvingly. Millions of people have responded online to the outspoken entertainer’s assertions, some to echo his concerns and anger and others to call him out for getting his facts wrong. Left: Tyrese Gibson; Right: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland “It’s important that we respect Tyrese and his right to speak, but it’s also important that we hold Tyrese accountable for the rant he just went on, which makes no sense and simply is filled with factual inaccuracies,” said Marc Lamont Hill, professor of urban education at City University of New York Graduate Center. “He says that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris signed...