I talked about this last week, and while I’m glad to see that the rash of “mysterious” fires at black churches across the South is getting noticed by the media finally, it’s reprehensible that the burnings are somehow continuing.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel told the Post and Courier that local officials, as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the fire in Greeleyville on Tuesday night. Keel said on Tuesday night that they had not completed their investigation into the fire.
By Wednesday morning, the fire had destroyed the church’s roof and interior, according to CNN.
Keel noted that the fire may have been ignited by lightning, as storms passed through the region on Tuesday, according to the Post and Courier. But he said that he was concerned about the possibility that the fire is somehow linked to the other fires in the region.
About half the incidents, including last night’s Greeleyville fire, are not being treated as arson investigations yet. It’s possible that some of these fires are plain old lightning damage or electrical accidents that happen.
But there’s too much history in America to be treating these lightly, and there are some cases that are being investigated as arson. You will excuse me if I think that there might be a reason to consider that these churches are being targeted deliberately as a distinct possibility.
Of course, that would require admission that post-racial America still has big problems, and that’s not going to happen anytime soon, not as long as we have things like presidential candidates meeting with violent right-wing domestic terrorist racists.
Hoocoodanode, right?