1 / 5

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Jarvis McKenzie talks about how he was the victim of what police called a hate crime at a news conference on Thursday Aug. 21, 2025 in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

COLUMBIA, S.C. – When Jarvis McKenzie locked eyes with the man in the car, he couldn't understand the hate he saw. When the man picked up a rifle , fired over his head and yelled “you better get running, boy!” as he scrambled behind a brick wall, McKenzie knew it was because he is Black.

McKenzie told his story a month after the shooting because South Carolina is one of two states along with Wyoming that don't have their own hate crime laws .

About two dozen local governments in South Carolina have passed their own hate crime ordinances as the

See Full Page