An annual report says the number of hate groups in Michigan and the U.S. declined slightly last year — but the group behind the report says that doesn't reflect a disturbing trend.
Margaret Huang is president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which issued the report. She said far-right politicians are increasingly adopting the ideology of hate groups to target vulnerable groups in society, including women and immigrants, as well as Black people and LGBTQ people.
"The decline does not serve as evidence of the diminishing appeal of these groups," Huang said, "but should be viewed as the successful mainstreaming of these ideologies as their priorities are now reflected in the agenda of those with power there is less incentive to recruit or organize."
Rachel Carroll Rivas is interim director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project.
She said far-right members of library, school and county boards, and state legislatures across the country were involved in numerous moves to change policies and laws, "to ban books on the accurate teaching of history, to protest drag story time, to roll back diversity equity and inclusion initiatives, and to restrict immigrants and marginalized communities from accessing any resources at all."
The report lists 34 active hate groups in Michigan in 2024, down from 36 the year before.
