Black Church Burnings in the South, July, 1996

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In 1996, a wave of church burnings in the South received a great deal of attention. The problem grew into a national concern. Black Church Burnings in the South provides information on this wave of Black Church Burnings. This site, posted in July, 1996, is sponsored by Creative Investment Research, a minority-owned, impact and socially responsible investment research firm.

Since the early 1990's, Black Churches in the south were the target of several arson attacks. According to the Center for Democratic Renewal , "the greatest number of church burnings are happening in nine Southern states: Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Virginia." Eighty (80) mostly rural, historically Black churches were firebombed, burned or vandalized since 1990. In 1996, the pace picked up, with (as of 6/10/96) 28 incidents since January, 1996.

Several Church-based and other groups The National Council of Churches , the United Church of Christ , the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the Center for Democratic Renewal have been actively working to investigate and record these incidents. These groups have "provided technical assistance, spiritual guidance, legal advice, and worked to develop an ongoing strategy to identify resources to begin the rebuilding and restoration of these historically Black and multiracial landmarks."

These attacks occurred at night, between 12 midnight and 7am. Most of the persons arrested have been white males between the ages of 14 and 45, many of them from middle class suburban families. Using accelerants and firebombs to start the fires, they traveled in groups of two to five persons.

Initially, law enforcement officials were slow to respond to the problem. Subsequently, they increased the pace of investigations, however, as additional resources were added. These resources included more officers, the creation of a Federal Task force to review these incidents, and the publication of a number to call to report information concerning these crimes (888-855-5000). For more information, contact The Department of Justice.

Site posted in July, 1996, the first and still the only American financial institution to provide this information on a website. (I guess the other guys were too busy stealing, uhhh, I mean, making money in the late '90's to pay much attention....;)

Thanks for stopping by!

List of incidents

# Date Church, County, State
1 January 5, 1990 Apostolic Faith Assembly Church, Louisville, KY
2 January 6, 1990 Asbury Chapel AME Church, Louisville, KY.
3 August 11, 1991 Thornwell Orphanage, Clinton, SC.
4 October 8, 1991 Sandhill's Freewill Baptist Church, Hemingway, SC.
5 December, 1991 Barren River Baptist Church, Bowling Green, KY.
6 February, 1992 Rock Springs Baptist Church, McDonough, GA.
7 October 21, 1992 Tucker Baptist Church, Union, SC.
8 April 4, 1993 Springhill Freewill Baptist Church, McComb, MS.
9 April 4, 1993 Rocky Point Missionary Baptist, McComb, MS.
10 April 19, 1993 Camp Welfare Baptist Church, Fairfield, SC.
11 May 19, 1993 St. Stephens Baptist Church, St. Stephen, SC.
12 January 17, 1994 Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
13 February, 1994 Bucks Chapel Church, Summer County, AL.
14 February, 1994 Pine Top Baptist, Summer County, AL.
15 February, 1994 Oak Grove Missionary Church, Summer County, AL.
16 February 19, 1994 Rock Hill Baptist Church, Aiken County, SC.
17 February 25, 1994 Old Rosemary Baptist Church, Aiken County, SC.
18 June 6, 1994 Jerusalem Baptist Church, Aiken, S.C.
19 July 21, 1994 Springfield Baptist Church, Madison, GA.
20 July 21, 1994 Elam Baptist Church, Jones County, GA.
21 August 5, 1994 Greater Missionary Baptist Church, Clarkesville, TN.
22 August, 1994 Benevolent Lodge #210, Clarkesville, TN
23 September 8, 1994 Rice's Chapel, Buffalo, SC.
24 September 8, 1994 New Wright's Chapel, Shelby County, TN.
25 September 8, 1994 to Dec. 31, 1995 Five(S) churches, Memphis, TN.
26 October 8, 1994 Shrub Branch Baptist Church, Blackville, SC.
27 October 23, 1994 St. Paul A.M.E. Church, Cades, SC.
28 December 30, 1994 Salem Missionary Baptist Church, Fruitland, TN.
29 January 1, 1995 Bluff Road U.M.C., Columbia, S.C.
30 January 13, 1995 Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, Crockett County, TN.
31 January 29, 1995 Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, Columbia, TN.
32 January 29, 1995 Canaan AME, Mt. Pleasant, TN.
33 January 31, 1995 Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Bolivar, TN.
34 March 9, 1995 Hammond Grove Baptist Church, N. Augusta, S.C.
35 March 24, 1995 Sike Savannah Methodist Church, Ruffin, SC.
36 May 4, 1995 La Luz Del Mundo, Wahalla, SC.
37 May 21, 1995 Summer Grove Baptist Church, Aiken, SC.
38 June 20, 1995 Mt. Zion AME Church, Greeleyville, S.C.
39 June 22, 1995 Macedonia Baptist Church, Manning, S.C.
40 August 15, 1995 St. John's Baptist Church, Dixiana, S.C.
41 October 14, 1995 Zion Chapel AME, Sun, LA.
42 October 20, 1995 Sandy Grove, Bennettsville, SC.
43 October 1, 1995 Islamic Mosque, Greenville, SC
44 December 1, 1995 Mount Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Aiken County, SC.
45 December 11, 1995/td> Jerusalem Baptist Church, Boligee, AL.
46 December 13, 1995 Jesus Christ Holy Gospel, Laurens, SC.
47 December 22, 1995 Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Boligee, AL.
48 December 25, 1995 Mount Moriah Baptist Church, Hillsborough, NC.
49 January 8, 1996 Inner City Church, Knoxville, TN.
50 January 11, 1996 Little Zion Baptist Church, Boligee, AL.
51 January 11, 1996 Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Boligee, AL.
52 January 22, 1996 New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, Lee County, Ark.
53 February 1, 1996 Cypress Grove Baptist Church, Zachary, LA.
54 February 1, 1996 St. Paul Baptist Church, Baker, LA.
55 February 1, 1996 Sweet Home Baptist Church, Baker, LA.
56 February 1, 1996 Thomas Benevolent Society, Baker, LA.
57 February 21, 1996 Glorious Church of God and Christ, Richmond, VA.
58 February 28, 1996 New Liberty Baptist Church, Tyler, AL.
59 March 1996 Gays Hill Baptist Church, Miller, GA.
60 March 1996 Butler Chapel A.M.E., Orangeburg, SC.
61 March 5, 1996 St. Paul A.M.E. Church, Hatley, MS.
62 March 10, 1996 Falling Meadows Baptist Church, West Point, MS.
63 March 25, 1996 Central Baptist Church, Dallas County, AL.
64 March, 1996 El Bethel Church, Yazoo County MS
65 April 7, 1996 St. Paul's Primitive Baptist Church, Lauderdale, MS.
66 April 11, 1996 Mt. Charles Church, Raincourtville, LA.
67 April 13, 1996 Rosemary Baptist Church, Barnwell, S.C.
68 April 26, 1996 Effingham Baptist Church, Florence County, S.C.
69 May 14, 1996 Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, Tigrett, TN.
70 May 17, 1996 Three (3) African American Churches, Desha County, Ark.
71 May 23, 1996 Mount Tabor Baptist Church, Cerro Gordo, NC.
72 May 24, 1996 Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Lumberton, NC.

SOURCE: CENTER FOR DEMOCRATIC RENEWAL

For Further Information

The National Council of Churches

Washington Post articles

The United Methodist Church

U.S. Investigates Suspicious Fires at Southern Black Churches

Rebuilding Burned Churches

Hate Crime Data Collection Project

Information on Church Arson

Burned Methodist Churches 1990-2000

10 Essential Steps for dealing with hate groups before and after they come to town.

The Center for Democratic Renewal, PO Box 50469, Atlanta, GA 30302 - E-mail cdr@igc.apc.org

Southern Church Task Force, The Department of Justice. US Dept. of Justice, Wash., DC 20530 (888-855-5000).