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“Race” as an idea barely existed before the Enlightenment and the onset of modernity in the West. Today, many dismiss the race-concept as an illusion, arguing that “there is no such thing as race;” or in more universalist terms, “there is only one race: the human race.” Yet race continues to demarcate and stratify all the world’s peoples in striking ways.

After the demoralizing passage of Proposition 8 overturned same sex marriage in California in 2008 , those with a national platform laid this defeat for LGBTQ rights at the feet of racial minority communities. Much of this chatter went uncontested, as major news outlets asked mainstream LGBTQ groups (typically featuring White male spokespersons) as well as right-wing voices(often conservative religious voices of color) to analyze African-American and Latino communities’ perspectives on LGBTQ rights, cementing ideas of intolerance.

The outrageous killings of James Byrd, Jr. and Matthew Shepard shine a light on the power of hatred fueled by racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of intolerance that are used to separate and divide us as human beings. Proponents of hate crime legislation and enhanced penalties for hate crimes want to make sure that killings and acts of violence like these provide an opportunity not only to hold accountable those responsible, but to expose and eradicate all violence based on bias, bigotry and prejudice.

At the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, our mission is to eliminate race and national-origin discrimination through litigation, and community and legislative advocacy. Despite our narrowly focused mission we are always working collaboratively with community partners to advance an agenda that supports and affirms expansive hate crimes legislation.

On a visit to Zambia in February 2012, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on African countries to stop treating LGBT people as less than human or as second class citizens. He explicitly asked Zambian lawmakers to stop discriminating against people on the basis of sexual orientation.

One Million Moms, an organizational arm of the American Family Association, has been involved in an epic battle against gay superheroes since May. In light of DC Comics’ recent announcement that the widely-beloved superhero Green Lantern is gay, which followed Marvel Comics’ announcement that openly gay superhero Northstar would wed his boyfriend in a coming comic book issue, One Million Moms is setting itself up as an archenemy to gay superheroes everywhere.

Almost three years to the day since Kansas abortion provider and women’s rights advocate Dr. George Tiller was assassinated by an anti-choice activist, three reproductive health organizations have fallen victim to arson attacks. Two women’s health clinics in the Atlanta, Georgia, area were targeted in late May 2012, followed by a third arson committed against Women With A Vision, a women’s reproductive health organization in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Time magazine’s June 11 article “Does God Want You to Be Thin?” celebrates Rick Warren’s faith-based weight loss initiative, with barely a mention of the conservative evangelical pastor’s homophobic teachings. While the “Daniel Plan” and Rick Warren’s incredible shrinking waistline receive five pages of gushing praise, Time glosses over the fact that this “inclusive” plan–open to Christians, Jews, and Muslims, too–mixes getting-in-shape advice with condemnations of sexuality that deviates from Warren’s expectations of normative heterosexuality and sexual identity.

Have you noticed how common it is for right-wingers to describe things they oppose in terms of religion? Back in April, for example, Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab (the social media platform of choice…