We are Greater than Hate HRC Launches a Coalition Effort to Defend Our Right to Exist

Spring 2023

Nearly a dozen state legislatures have proposed legislation that would ban books that tell the truth about America’s struggle with racism. Missouri has just voted to defund the state’s public libraries. Since January, 120 bills have been introduced in 30 states that seek to block trans people from receiving basic healthcare. As of 2022, anti-Asian hate had increased over 300% nationwide. More than 11,500 Americans have been killed by gun violence already this year. These facts show the dire state of the American conception of “freedom.” The fact that so many of us are living in fear and without freedom is the result of an intersection of hateful rhetoric and discriminatory politics.

If you feel as though there’s been an uptick in violent and discriminatory politics, you’re not alone — and you’re right. Extremist politicians, emboldened by increased polarization, gerrymander-ing and a lack of accountability, have seized every opportunity to turn their hateful rhetoric into equally hateful policy, robbing women of their bodily autonomy, libraries of an honest recounting of American history, children and parents from the peace of mind that a classroom once brought, and mil-lions of people of their agency through restrictive legislation.

The normalization of that rhetoric has put a target on communities like ours — communities that have historically been pushed to the margins of society — and make us fearful of using our voices, individually and collectively, to advocate for ourselves and one another. Extremists are counting on their hate overpowering our collective will.

That’s why we launched Greater Than Hate, a coalition of groups joined together to form a united front to defend our rights to exist, our bodily autonomy, our history, our safety and more. We’re proud to have the NAACP, Everytown for Gun Safety, the National Education Association, the National Women’s Law Center, Equality Federation, Asians Fighting Injustice, and the National Center for Transgender Equality as partners in this coalition.

With Greater Than Hate, we’re aiming to build a truly intersectional oppositional force that allows us to pool our resources, voices and platforms for our collective good.

It’s important that we establish the “why” of Greater Than Hate. The simple answer is that we’re furious. The more complicated answer is that, alone, our voices can only go so far. But together, we can stand in defense of our rights, but also the rights of groups that have been similarly targeted by extremists. And by doing so, we can demonstrate that our struggles are interconnected. Homophobia, racism, gun violence, abortion denialism, and other extremist ideologies are linked through their common goal of reinforcing an oppressive hierarchy into the very fabric of our society. By bringing together groups that represent millions of marginalized people, we can each pull at that thread, and advance our mission toward fulfilling America’s potential as a multiracial, multicultural, intersectional democracy that makes good on the promise of freedom for all.

We’re at a crossroads. We can either stand by and watch as our rights are stripped away or we can stand up, stand together, and work together to win together. Throughout American history, the foundation for progress has been paved with solidarity. The way forward has always been in understanding that, although our struggles may differ, our destinies are intertwined — and our work is more powerful when done with one another.

We’ve been in this fight for a long time. We know that having a mission isn’t enough. We know that the “what” is just as important. Greater Than Hate will be an all-hands-on-deck effort to carry out our ideals through action, providing a rapid response apparatus through which we can ensure that it’s clear that, wherever hate has found a voice, it will be met with fierce opposition. That opposition will come in many forms — from events, to press activations, to social media — anywhere that we can mobilize our resources to ensure that hateful rhetoric and the legislation it breeds won’t go unopposed.

That’s why this coalition is so powerful. The groups that we’ve tapped as partners have been in this struggle across decades, presiding over monumental wins that have changed countless lives. At HRC, we’re excited to see what the future holds for the coalition, and we’re energized to bring the full power of the coalition to bear. And with your support and your action, we can make it known that together, we are Greater Than Hate.