As part of his efforts to fulfill his campaign commitment to “repair the spirit of the nation,” President Biden will convene a White House meeting next month to tackle a wave of hate-fueled violence in the United States.
The White House announced on Friday that Vice President Joe Biden will host the United We Stand Summit on September 15. The summit will focus on the “corrosive effects” of violence on public safety and democracy. Advocates urged the president to conduct the event after ten Black people were slain in a store in Buffalo, New York, in May, as well as to address a spate of hate-motivated killings in towns such as El Paso, Texas, Pittsburgh, and Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
“As President Biden remarked in Buffalo following the awful mass shooting earlier this year, ‘we must all participate in this great cause of America’ in the war for the soul of our nation,’” said press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement. “The United We Stand Summit will provide a crucial opportunity for Americans of all colors, faiths, regions, and political persuasions to unite behind our cause.”
Mr. Biden will deliver the keynote address at the event, which, according to the White House, will include civil rights organizations, religious leaders, business executives, law enforcement, gun violence prevention advocates, former members of violent hate groups, victims of extremist violence, and cultural figures. The White House highlighted that it seeks to join Democrats, Republicans, and political leaders at the federal, state, and local levels to combat hate-motivated violence.
Mr. Biden has repeatedly cited the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 as the catalyst for his decision to oppose then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. During his campaign, he pledged to seek to bridge political and social differences and foster national unity, but achieving these goals is still a work in progress.
Sindy Benavides, the chief executive officer of the League of United Latin American Citizens, stated that the summit was conceived after the Buffalo massacre, when her organization, along with the Anti-Defamation League, the National Action Network, and other groups, sought to exert pressure on the Biden administration to more directly combat extremist threats.
“As civil rights and social justice groups, we battle against this on a daily basis, and we wanted to emphasize that the government must take the lead in fighting right-wing extremism,” she added.
The White House stated that the list of speakers and attendees would be released closer to the event. In addition, no particular policy statements by Mr. Biden would be previewed. Officials emphasized that Mr. Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and issued the nation’s first National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism during his tenure as vice president.
Benavides stated that the president convening the summit would help rally the nation to face the problem of hate-motivated violence, and that she hoped the gathering will provide “long-term answers.”
She emphasized the importance of tackling mental health, gun control reform, and misinformation, deception, and propaganda. “We want policymakers to prioritize solutions based on common sense so that this sort of violence does not occur in our communities. And we want to see the adoption of anti-violence policies.”