Justice
Why Black Churches Are at Risk (and Not Just From Arson)
The ATF says recent blazes at black churches are likely not hate crimes. But black churches still face serious existential problems.
In the South, white racists terrorized black believers for decades by bombing and burning their churches. In the wake of the massacre at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, fires at a number of black churches over the last week have revived fears of arsonists targeting and destroying historically black sacred spaces as an assault on their congregations.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is still working with local investigators to help determine the cause of the fires. But it appears unlikely that all of these blazes were inspired by the Charleston shootings. On Tuesday, the ATF stated that there is no reason to believe the fires are linked or that they are hate crimes.