As the Executive Director of AID Atlanta, Nicole Roebuck, pointed out, “The new law will provide increased penalties for criminal defendants whose victim was selected based on his or her race, religion, color, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability. It will give prosecutors and law enforcement officials in our state important tools to make Georgia safer for everyone”.

In Georgia, the majority of people AID Atlanta and AHF cater to are African American men that are stigmatized based on their HIV status. Roebuck further explained that some of these men fail to receive medication just so they can conceal their status.

The National Director, Communications & Community Engagement for AHF, and Chair, Black Leadership AIDS Crisis Coalition, Imara Canady highlighted the incident of Admad Arbery, who was murdered while jogging just because he was black. However, with the Hate Crimes Act, prosecutors now have the tools to bring justice to these perpetrators of evil.

Canady further noted that targeted violence like this has a deep psychological and emotional impact on victims and their community. Thankfully, this new law will effectively help to address acts of violence against the Black community, as well as other marginalized groups like the LGBTQ community.

In Georgia, AIDS Atlanta and AHF provide HIV-related services to 5,962 clients of which 72.8% percent are African Americans. This highlights the high level of discrimination considering African Americans make up 13.4% percent of the entire U.S. population.

Micheal Weinstein, the president of AHF, offered his appreciation to Georgia’s elected officials for the bipartisan effort to address the prevalence of hate crimes. Currently, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Wyoming have yet to follow suit to enact Hate Crimes Act into law to make the United States safer for marginalized groups. But, perhaps Georgia’s lead will help spur action in those states.

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