Institute of Politics

With the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak and the polarized political climate surrounding the 2020 elections, the United States experienced a surge of violent extremism and hate groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center tracked 838 hate groups across the nation in 2020, many of which migrated to online networks to share hate rhetoric and violent ideologies. The increasing accessibility of extremism proves a growing challenge in protecting marginalized US communities from harm.

Please join the Institute of Politics as we welcome:

• Mary McCord - Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Dept. of Justice (2016-2017)
• Jonathan Greenblatt - Sixth National Director and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League

Together, they will discuss the rise of violent domestic extremism, the threats hate groups pose, and the tools available to monitor and mitigate the proliferation of hate speech. Following their conversation, the panel will answer student questions.

This conversation will be moderated by Prof. Kathleen Belew, Assistant Professor of US History at the University of Chicago and author of Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America.