A San Jose dental clinic that serves mainly Native Americans may have been the target of racist messages, according to the staff.
The staff at the dental and health clinic, had taken a knee and held signs in support of the Black Lives Movement, said Loera, just before the first instance of vandalism. He believes that’s why they’ve been targeted.
“We are living in an era where hate crimes have been normalized and encouraged from as far up as the White House,” said Council on American-Islamic Relations Executive Director Zahra Billoo.
CAIR, a non-profit organization that works with other advocacy groups on hate crimes in the Bay Area, has documented an increase in racist attacks this year. Billoo said reporting incidents is more important than ever.
“We need it to be able to advocate on their behalfs, but it also helps understand the depth of the problem,” Billoo said. “Freedom of speech is expansive it does not, however, include vandalism or hate crimes period, end of sentence.”