The first section of the book surveys the recent history of hate crimes legislation and describes the most frequently victimized racial, religious, and other groups, including the nature and type of incidents they suffer. Although the author believes that hate crime legislation is needed, he presents legal, philosophical, sociological, and political objections to these laws. The second section provides a chronology of hate crimes since the beginning of the modern civil rights movement; and the third section contains brief biographies of notable individuals who are involved in the study and/or control and prevention of hate crimes. This is followed by a section that contains many significant primary sources for dealing with hate crimes; these include texts of pertinent legislation, relevant judicial decisions, and national and State hate crime reports. In addition, it includes excerpts from manuals and testimony of nongovernmental agencies that help organize community responses designed to counter hate crimes. The fifth section is a detailed directory of national and local organizations dedicated to promoting tolerance and monitoring extremist groups. The last two chapters provide bibliographic information, both print and nonprint, on many aspects of hate crimes.