If you could give out an award for under-reported stories these past few weeks, this is it. Granted, it has been a very busy series of news cycles, with gay marriage and confederate flags and mass murder and a million GOP candidates, but this is more important than, say, shark attacks. And to be sure, if ISIS so much as set a trash can on fire, the news would be all over it. But so far, there’s been very little on what is clearly a pattern of racist arson.
Fortunately, the media is starting to take notice, like the New York Times today:
GREELEYVILLE, S.C. — Another predominantly African-American church has burned in the South, the latest in a string of fires that has put congregations on edge.
Investigators on Wednesday morning were in Greeleyville, S.C., north of Charleston, where an African-American church caught fire overnight 20 years after the Ku Klux Klan burned it down.
It took over two hours to extinguish the fire that burned through the roof and gutted the predominantly black Mount Zion A.M.E. Church. Lightning storms were reported in the area overnight, and Mark Keel, the chief of the South Carolina Enforcement Division, said that it was too early to determine the cause of the fire.
Tuesday night’s fire came as the authorities in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee investigated blazes at other churches, most of them predominantly black. Although the authorities have concluded that some of those fires were arson, officials have not yet described any of the episodes as hate crimes. Investigators also said there was no evidence that the fires at the churches were linked.
But here in Greeleyville, a town of about 400 people, speculation was already circulating, particularly along the two-lane road where Mount Zion sits and where federal and state investigators were working early Wednesday. The latest blaze drew investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
“Do I think God is now burning down only black churches, and only wiring in black churches is going awry? I take issue with that,” said Dimas Salaberrios, a pastor from New York who was in South Carolina in the wake of the June 17 shooting at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, a drive of less than 90 minutes from Greeleyville.
James Montgomery, an occasional attendee at Mount Zion whose grandparents are buried in the cemetery behind the charred church building, urged caution. “It’s just a shame,” he said as he gazed at the building, where access was restricted by yellow crime scene tape. “I hope it’s an accident. I hope it’s nothing else.”
[UPDATE: CNN reports that “federal investigators suspect lightning may have caused the fire at Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church in Greeleyville, South Carolina, senior officials in the FBI said Wednesday morning. The FBI has been working with the National Weather Service to determine whether the heavy storms in the area contributed to the fire. A forensics report of lightning strikes by CNN meteorologists shows four strikes occurred in the immediate vicinity of the church, all at 7:18 p.m. ET Tuesday night. Okay, maybe. It’s still suspicious though.]
Unfortunately, this is what the New York Times wrote only two days ago, before the Wednesday fire:
After a deadly racist attack in South Carolina and heated debates about Confederate symbols, a string of fires at black churches in the South has put congregations on edge. But officials say they have found no evidence that the blazes were hate crimes.
Fires struck five predominantly black churches last week, and investigators say that at least two were arson. So far, investigators say, there are no indications that any of the fires were connected, or that racism was behind them.
“The idea that this could be about hate, by someone who had no hope, no outlet but to do something so tragic — we were devastated, I mean heartbroken, terrified,” the Rev. Rhonda Kinsey, a pastor of Briar Creek Road Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., said Monday.
Investigators have concluded that while the fire in Charlotte, and one two days earlier in Knoxville, Tenn., were certainly arson, they were probably acts of vandalism. Of the four structures at Briar Creek Baptist, only a youth activities building in the back of the complex burned, while the sanctuary was untouched.
I’m not sure how vandalism which ends up with a burnt church is different from arson. And even if it is technically (or legally) different, I think that misses the point. Clearly, black churches are being targeted.
Below the fold is a complete chronology of what we know about the burnings, all of which occurred after the shootings in Charleston.
Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, Greeleyville, SC, June 30
On Tuesday, fire crews from two counties needed four hours to put out a fire at the historic black church, according to the Washington Post. It’s unclear how the blaze was started. Mount Zion is located just north of Charleston, SC. This isn’t the first time Mount Zion has burned. In June 1995, the church building was set on fire and two white men with ties to the Ku Klux Klan were arrested, according to the Post.
College Seventh Day Adventist Church, Knoxville, Tenn., June 21
Knoxville officials are currently investigating the arson case at this predominantly black church.According to WATE 6, bales of hay just outside the church were intentionally set on fire, which also resulted in the burning of the church van. No explanation for why the church was targeted has been reported. Investigators are suggesting that the incident was an act of vandalism rather than a hate crime, despite the concerns of Knoxville community members.
God’s Power Church of Christ, Macon, Ga., June 23
A fire investigator ruled the church burning arson, but an open file from the FBI has not classified the act as a hate crime, an FBI spokesman told WMAZ 13. J. Britt Johnson, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta Division, released an FBI statement saying, “With regard to speculation that this fire could be looked at as a hate crime, again, no such ruling has been made.”
Briar Creek Road Baptist Church, Charlotte, N.C., June 24
The Charlotte Observer reported that the FBI has opened a preliminary inquiry to find out whether there were any federal crimes committed in the intentionally set fire that severely damaged Briar Creek last Wednesday morning. A 911 call was made from a nearby residence at 12:52 a.m. “Opening a preliminary inquiry doesn’t suggest that a hate crime has occurred,” FBI Charlotte field-office spokeswoman Shelley Lynch said in a statement, according to the Observer, “but, rather, ensures that it is getting additional scrutiny for hate crime potential.” According to the Observer, the left wing of the church, used for education, was severely damaged. Total estimated damages have reportedly reached $250,000.
Glover Grove Baptist Church, Warrenville, S.C., June 26
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agents are still trying to determine the cause of the fire at this Baptist church Friday morning, according to news station WRDW. Firefighters responded to the blaze around 3:30 a.m. Based on evidence so far, officials say they haven’t found any indication of criminal intent.
The Greater Miracle Temple Apostolic Holiness Church, Tallahassee, Fla., June 26
Officials say that the fire was caused by electrical wires that were exposed when a tree fell, but a state investigation is ongoing, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Jacob Henderson Jr., the son of pastor Jacob Henderson Sr., received a number of calls at 5:15 a.m. Friday saying that the church was burning. Ironically, a marquee in front of the church from a revival more than two months ago still read, “Call 911! This church is on fire.” Henderson told the Tallahassee Democrat, “We got such a large positive feedback from the sign that we kept it up for a while.” Tallahassee Fire Department spokesman Capt. Mike Bellamy said that the fire caused $700,000 in damages.
