tension in the New York City area during the late
1980’s, including the murder of Yusef Hawkins in
the New York City neighborhood of Bensonhurst in
1989 and the alleged racially motivated attack of
teenager Tawana Brawley in 1987. Critics of Ameri-
can race relations and racial policy in the United
States cited the incident as an example of the coun-
try’s growing racism, which many blamed upon the
resurgence of political conservatism under the lead-
ership of President Ronald Reagan. The incident
contributed to calls for legislation creating special
penalties for hate crimes, or violent acts motivated
by racism and other social biases.
Further Reading
Jacobs, James B., and Kimberly Potter.Hate Crimes:
Criminal Law and Identity Politics. New York: Ox-
ford University Press, 2000.
Pinkney, Alphonso.Lest We Forget: White Hate Crimes—
Howard Beach and Other Atrocities. Chicago: Third
World Press, 1994.
Michael H. Burchett
See also African Americans; Brawley, Tawana; Cen-
tral Park jogger case; Conservatism in U.S. politics;
Crime; Gangs; Goetz, Bernhard; Hawkins, Yusef;
Horton, William; Racial discrimination.
Hubbard, L. Ron
Identification American pulp fiction writer and
religious leader
Born March 13, 1911; Tilden, Nebraska
Died January 24, 1986; San Luis Obispo County,
California
Hubbard was the charismatic founder of a philosophy
called Dianetics and of the Church of Scientology, a popular
twentieth centur y American religion.
Controversial public figure L. Ron Hubbard, the
founder of the Church of Scientology, had not been
seen in public for five years when he died from a
stroke at his California ranch in 1986. The Church of
Scientology, which asserts that Scientology is the only
major religion to have been founded in the twentieth
century, claimed that Hubbard had merely discarded
his mortal body to be free to travel to a higher plane
where he could conduct advanced spiritual research.
Scientology’s philosophy, written and developed by
Hubbard, holds that humans are immortal spiritual
beings that live through many lifetimes. A method of
spiritual transformation whose roots lie in all the
great religions, Scientology, which means “knowing
how to know,” seeks to help people access their unlim-
ited potential abilities. According to the church, Hub-
bard strove to set people free spiritually and to design
a civilization free of war and crime where all could
prosper and be free to evolve to higher states of being.
During the 1980’s, Hubbard achieved a high level
of success, as his church’s membership continued to
grow. However, during this time, he also met with an
enormous amount of controversy that centered on
his less than stellar education, dubious military rec-
ords, and cult activities, as well as bigamy charges
and the continuing negative reaction of the Ameri-
can Psychological Association toDianetics(1950).
This best-selling book by Hubbard formed the ba-
sis of his religious philosophy. In 1984, a Califor-
nia judge condemned Hubbard as “a pathological
liar when it comes to his history, background, and
achievement.” That same year, a London high-court
judge decreed that Scientology was “dangerous, im-
moral, sinister, and corrupt.”
During the 1980’s, Hubbard wroteBattlefield Earth
(1982) and the ten-volumeMission Earth(1985-
1987), as well as an unpublished screenplay titledRe-
volt in the Stars. The screenplay was intended as a
dramatization of Scientology’s teachings. Hubbard
earned a fortune from his fiction, as well as from
other Scientology enterprises.Forbesmagazine esti-
mated that Hubbard’s Scientology-related income
exceeded $40 million in 1982 alone.Impact The Church of Scientology, an enterprise
grossing an estimated $100 million a year, became
an extremely visible religion and arguably a success-
ful one under Hubbard’s leadership. In later years, it
would continue to be controversial, both because of
its intimate connection between faith and funds and
because adherents were quick to attempt to silence
would-be critics. As the founder of the Church of Sci-
entology, Hubbard influenced millions of people.
In all, his work included more than five thousand
writings, including dozens of books and three thou-
sand tape-recorded lectures about Dianetics and Sci-
entology that have been translated into numerous
languages. Indeed, the Guinness Book of World
Records says that Hubbard is the world’s most-
translated author.492 Hubbard, L. Ron The Eighties in America