The aim of this paper is to discuss the findings of a recent study of 'ethnic youth gangs' in Melbourne, and to indicate the relevance of these findings to discussion of hate crime. The paper begins by briefly describing the social context within which the 'race debate' in Australia has emerged, and the nature of hate crime directed at minority groups. It then provides an extended examination of street conflicts involving young people from a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds. It is argued that racism permeates the lives of ethnic minority youth in ways which foster violence as a practical solution to problems of status and identity. However, inter-group violence of this sort also reinforces the stereotypes and social divisions upon which racial vilification and hate crime feed.