More Borrowed Thoughts

On June 17, 2015 Dylann Roof murdered nine innocent parishioners at Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston, SC. Since that time, there have been six fires at predominately African-American churches in the south. Of those six cases, four appear to be arson. Let me give you the details on those four and then we can talk briefly about the history of arson against African-American places of worship.

    College Hill Seventh Day Adventist sits in a predominantly African-American section of Knoxville. In the early morning hours of June 22, someone set fire to bales of hay in front of the church as well as setting a church van on fire in the parking lot. Investigators claim that this was a case of simple vandalism and not a hate crime. However, the culprits are still out there. And this also comes just five days after the massacre at Mother Emanuel AME.

  God’s Power Church of Christ is another predominantly African-American church in Macon, GA. On the early morning of June 23, firefighters were called to a blaze at the church. When firefighters arrived, they found the front doors wired shut but were able to enter through a side door. Investigators determined the case was arson but said it was not a hate crime? I am not sure how these investigators can determine if a hate crime occurred without having the suspects in custody. This investigation is ongoing and no leads have produced any viable suspects.

  Briar Creek Road Baptist Church is located in East Charlotte, NC. The demographics of East Charlotte are primarily minorities. The church also shares a campus with three immigrant churches. The church held a congregation of nearly 100, predominantly African-American. The church began as a predominately white church in the 1950s. As demographics changed in the area, so did the congregation. Eventually a little over a decade ago, the church decided to hire an African-American pastor to keep up with the changing demographics. Early on the morning of June 24th, someone reported the building was on fire. The damage would completely wipe out the education wing of the church. The pastor says it may be a total loss. Investigators have determined this was an arson. They are still investigating and looking for the culprits.

    Glover Baptist Church is located in Warrenville, SC. The town is small and most would notice the trailer homes and junk cars. However, this church was the heart of the predominately African-American community for nearly 33 years. Early Friday, June 26, a fire broke out at the church. The structure was a complete loss. The investigators failed to determine the exact cause of the fire and the investigation may never yield enough clues. However, it does seem quite strange that this church caught fire after the massacre at Mother Emanuel AME

      According to Historian C. Eric Lincoln, the first recorded incident of racially motivated arson against an African-American church was in 1822. Since that time, there were spats of arsons in the late 1820s. We could pinpoint other burnings between the 1800s and the day of September 15, 1963 when white supremacists bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. Four young souls were taken that day simply because some racist wanted to prove a point. He didn’t care about their lives. We then saw another spat of fires in the 1990s in states across the south like Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, North and South Carolina.