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Racial hoax
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Racial hoax
A racial hoax occurs when a person (usually the purported victim) falsely claims that a crime was committed by a member of a specific race. the crime may be fictitious, or may be an actual crime.
The term was popularised by Katheryn Russell-Brown in her book The Color of Crime: Racial Hoaxes, White Fear, Black Protectionism, Police Harassment and Other Macroaggressions (1998). A racial hoax can be performed by a person of any race, against a person of any race. According to Russell-Brown, racial hoaxes where whites falsely accuse African Americans are most likely to receive media attention and create a more acute social problem due to the criminal black man stereotype.
Patricia L. Brougham argued that the common stereotype of criminal black men has enabled the use of racial hoaxes against this group. Brougham writes that these stereotypes cause law enforcement agencies to believe that a black perpetrator exists when in reality the allegation is false.
Russell-Brown argues that racial hoaxes are devised, perpetrated, and successful because they take advantage of fears and stereotypes. According to her, white-on-black hoaxes are the most likely to receive media attention and to cause social and economic problems. She argues that anyone performing a racial hoax should face criminal charges, particularly if a black person is targeted, and that hoaxes targeting black people create more severe problems than those against other racial groups. Letha A. See in Violence as Seen Through a Prism of Color (2001) sees the hoax as a unique method used against specific racial groups, rather than against individuals. Sally S. Simpson and Robert Agnew suggest that the unusual nature of some racial hoaxes can cause them to be dismissed.
Between 1987 and 1996 in the United States, Russell-Brown documented 67 racial hoax cases and noted that 70% were white-on-black hoaxes, more than half were exposed within a week, hoaxes are most frequently used to allege assault, rape, or murder, and hoax perpetrators were charged with filing a false report in about 45% of cases. These cases represent only a fraction of the total number of cases because racial hoaxes are not reported as such and most crimes are not covered in the media. According to Russell-Brown, a high proportion of the white-on-black hoaxes were perpetrated by police and judicial officers; she documents seven such cases. Historically the most common type of hoax perpetrated against black males was rape. Because of fears over the 'black rapist', Russell-Brown suggests "it is not surprising that so many White women have created Black male rapists as their fictional criminals".
An alternative type of hoax occurs when a member of a disadvantaged group pretends to be a victim of a hate crime often in order to inflame societal racial tensions, gain social capital through legitimizing grievance and gaining victim status or to distract attention from their own misconduct in another activity.
In the United States there has been little legislative response to racial hoaxes. Russel-Brown wrote that (at the time of the book written) only New Jersey considered new laws to criminalize racial hoaxes.
Jewish peddler Abraham Surasky was killed in an anti-Semitic attack by two white Christian men in 1903. The perpetrators invented a story accusing Surasky of sexually assaulting a white woman in order to justify their crime.
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Racial hoax
A racial hoax occurs when a person (usually the purported victim) falsely claims that a crime was committed by a member of a specific race. the crime may be fictitious, or may be an actual crime.
The term was popularised by Katheryn Russell-Brown in her book The Color of Crime: Racial Hoaxes, White Fear, Black Protectionism, Police Harassment and Other Macroaggressions (1998). A racial hoax can be performed by a person of any race, against a person of any race. According to Russell-Brown, racial hoaxes where whites falsely accuse African Americans are most likely to receive media attention and create a more acute social problem due to the criminal black man stereotype.
Patricia L. Brougham argued that the common stereotype of criminal black men has enabled the use of racial hoaxes against this group. Brougham writes that these stereotypes cause law enforcement agencies to believe that a black perpetrator exists when in reality the allegation is false.
Russell-Brown argues that racial hoaxes are devised, perpetrated, and successful because they take advantage of fears and stereotypes. According to her, white-on-black hoaxes are the most likely to receive media attention and to cause social and economic problems. She argues that anyone performing a racial hoax should face criminal charges, particularly if a black person is targeted, and that hoaxes targeting black people create more severe problems than those against other racial groups. Letha A. See in Violence as Seen Through a Prism of Color (2001) sees the hoax as a unique method used against specific racial groups, rather than against individuals. Sally S. Simpson and Robert Agnew suggest that the unusual nature of some racial hoaxes can cause them to be dismissed.
Between 1987 and 1996 in the United States, Russell-Brown documented 67 racial hoax cases and noted that 70% were white-on-black hoaxes, more than half were exposed within a week, hoaxes are most frequently used to allege assault, rape, or murder, and hoax perpetrators were charged with filing a false report in about 45% of cases. These cases represent only a fraction of the total number of cases because racial hoaxes are not reported as such and most crimes are not covered in the media. According to Russell-Brown, a high proportion of the white-on-black hoaxes were perpetrated by police and judicial officers; she documents seven such cases. Historically the most common type of hoax perpetrated against black males was rape. Because of fears over the 'black rapist', Russell-Brown suggests "it is not surprising that so many White women have created Black male rapists as their fictional criminals".
An alternative type of hoax occurs when a member of a disadvantaged group pretends to be a victim of a hate crime often in order to inflame societal racial tensions, gain social capital through legitimizing grievance and gaining victim status or to distract attention from their own misconduct in another activity.
In the United States there has been little legislative response to racial hoaxes. Russel-Brown wrote that (at the time of the book written) only New Jersey considered new laws to criminalize racial hoaxes.
Jewish peddler Abraham Surasky was killed in an anti-Semitic attack by two white Christian men in 1903. The perpetrators invented a story accusing Surasky of sexually assaulting a white woman in order to justify their crime.