In the days since the tragedy that claimed the lives of nine victims at Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina, several churches across the southern region of the United States have been set ablaze. Although investigators are saying that arson is suspected in just two of the cases, many observers believe the church fires signify a racially fueled attack on Black Christians and the church itself.
RELATED: Charleston Church Shooting Leaves 9 Dead, Suspect Captured
Keep Up With Face2Face Africa On Facebook!
The latest of the church fires took place on June 30th in Greeleyville, South Carolina, at Mount Zion AME Church. Photos (pictured just below) of the powerful blaze zipped across news outlets and social media feeds, adding to concerns that something of an insidious nature is afoot.
Investigators, though, claim that this fire was caused by lightning and not the work of an arsonist.
Yet those assurances didn’t calm fears as the same church was torched 20 years ago by a pair of White men who were members of the Ku Klux Klan hate group.
More pointedly, in the past 11 days, seven churches have caught on fire — with six of those buildings housing large numbers of African-American churchgoers.
The June 17th massacre that took place in the city of Charleston, South Carolina, still has much of the nation reeling and the curious timing of the church fires has sparked speculation that they’re the handiwork of racist Whites looking to disrupt the lives of Black people.
However, investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) insist that two of the fires were likely caused by lightning during a period of strong storms across the South, so they haven’t designated them as hate crimes. Meanwhile, the cause of the two other blazes are yet to be determined.
Despite this, with church fires having been reported in North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee, the hashtag #WhoIsBurningBlackChurches has emerged on social media, with skeptics rejecting investigators’ claims of the fires largely being random acts of nature.
The timing of the church fires is noteworthy considering the violent acts unleashed against African Americans in the past year.
Coupled with the overwhelming sense that justice has not been served in several police brutality cases, Black Americans are rightfully angered at what appears to be a planned attack to upend their morale and shake their faith.
SEE ALSO: Boko Haram Survivors: Chibok Girls Are Brainwashed, Terrorize Civilians Alongside Terrorists
.
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has said that his little brother was subjected to racial abuse,…
Reggie Bush has regained his place as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner after over a…
Since 2012, actor Nick Cannon has openly shared his struggle with lupus to support others…
Former USC superstar Caleb Williams has been drafted by the Chicago Bears as the No.…
Stephen A. Smith is an ESPN analyst. People widely regard him as the face of…
Lil Durk is an American rapper and one of the most influential voices in the…
In 2022, Kevin Hart added a new title to his impressive resume: a tequila entrepreneur.…
AEW's latest pay-per-view, Dynasty 2024 on Sunday night saw Swerve Strickland defeat Samoa Joe to…
Renowned civil rights activist Opal Lee, known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," will be awarded…
Violet Horne lost her two sons to gun violence within the space of a month.…
An Ohio man said a K-9 bit him seven times after he was pulled over…
Three male foreign tourists who were spotted posing naked in a popular dune in Namibia…
Will.i.am is partnering with other prominent figures to revolutionize the digital media scene by forming…
Sabelle Beraki's childhood was inundated with the lack of representation when it came to a…
Benjamin Harvey is the founder of AI Squared, a third-party software company that helps organizations…