The 47th edition of the National Urban League’s “State of Black America” is a siren, warning that the white supremacy and political extremism Americans have witnessed over the past few years cannot be viewed in a vacuum. 

The Urban League’s President and CEO Marc Morial describes the kind of hatred illustrated by the racist manifesto penned by the Buffalo Tops shooter, as a “poisonous tree” that’s been growing for over a decade — its fruit, the hate crimes stemming from its branches, including the shooting of Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, Missouri for simply knocking on the wrong door.

“The most important takeaway is that this extremism, hate and white supremacy movement has infiltrated mainstream politics. As such, it’s impacting lawmaking. Nearly 1,000 bills, proposals and initiatives have been introduced since 2020 to simply strip away the right to vote,” Morial told Capital Tonight. 

Moral specifically mentioned two long-term strategies that are being deployed by extremists: voter suppression directed at non-whites and a “censorship and history suppression movement” masquerading as a parents’ rights movement. 

“But all it is an attack on the First Amendment,” Moral said, referring to moves by school districts to censor the teaching of Black history. 

The report’s theme this year is “Confronting the Threat Within," which refers to home-grown white supremacy finding its way into American institutions including government at every level, military and police agencies, and education.