Church Fires and the Clinton Administration
“I have always thought of the church as a sanctuary, meaning it is both sacred and a safe place. So to burn a church, especially one
in the Black Bible Belt: a poor, rural, predominantly Black community, seemed to boggle my mind. What do the arsonists have to gain? I had a thousand
hypotheses and I thought the only way to rest my mind is to put them and the church community in a play – and play with them. Again, I wasn’t looking for answers as much as I was looking to raise a few questions. The answers should come from the audience.”
–Marcus Gardley
in the Black Bible Belt: a poor, rural, predominantly Black community, seemed to boggle my mind. What do the arsonists have to gain? I had a thousand
hypotheses and I thought the only way to rest my mind is to put them and the church community in a play – and play with them. Again, I wasn’t looking for answers as much as I was looking to raise a few questions. The answers should come from the audience.”
–Marcus Gardley
"This Rash of Violence"
Historically, church burnings were fairly common in the 1960s during the Civil Rights era. One case in particular that lingers in the fabric of Alabama state history is that of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham on September 15, 1963. The flare up of church burnings in the 1990s, and even in more recent cases, is what several Black civil and community leaders deem as "domestic terrorism." Between January 1995 and May 1997, the Arson Task Force (ATF) investigated 429 church arson crime scenes. As a reaction to the serial church burnings, President Bill Clinton formed the National Church Arson Task Force. This plan implemented a strategy to identify and prosecute arsonists. In addition, the Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996 granted federal prosecutors greater power in pursuing burnings and desecrations at houses of worship.
Learn more about ATF and its history.
Read a transcript of President Clinton's Radio Address on June 8, 1996.
Church Burnings in the 1990's: A Chronology
April 4, 1993
Springhill Freewill Baptist, McComb, MS
Rocky Point Missionary Baptist, Summit, MS
July 21, 1994
Springfield Baptist, Madison, GA
September 8, 1994
New Wright's Chapel, Shelby County, TN
January 13, 1995
Johnson Grove Baptist, Bells, TN
Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, Denmark (Crockett County), TN
January 29, 1995
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, Colombia, TN
Canaan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Mount Pleasant, TN
January 31, 1995
Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Bolivar, TN
June 1995
St. Paul AME, Dallas, GA
June 20, 1995
Mount Zion AME Church, Greeleyville, SC
June 21, 1995
Macedonia Baptist Church, Bloomville, SC
October 14, 1995
Zion Chapel AME, Sun, LA
December 22, 1995
Mount Zion Baptist Church, Boligee, AL
December 25, 1995
Mount Moriah Baptist, Efland, NC
December 30, 1995
Salem Baptist, Gibson County, TN
January 8, 1996
Inner City Baptist Church, Knoxville, TN
January 11, 1996
Little Zion Baptist Church, Boligee, AL
Mount Zoar Baptist Church, Boligee, AL
January 26, 1996
Ohovah AME (African Methodist Episcopal) Church, Orrum, NC
January 27, 1996
Cypress Trails United Methodist Church, Spring, TX
Resurrection Lutheran Church, Spring, TX
February 1, 1996
Cypress Grove Baptist Church, Zachary (East Baton Rouge), LA
St. Paul's Free Baptist Church, Baker (East Baton Rouge), LA
The Sweet Home Baptist Church, Zachary, LA
Thomas Chapel Benevolent Society, Zachary, LA
February 21, 1996
Glorious Church of God and Christ, Richmond, VA
March 5, 1996
St. Paul AME Church, Hatley, Mississippi
March 20, 1996
New Mt. Zion Baptist, Rulesville, Mississippi
March 27, 1996
Gays Hill Baptist, Millen, Georgia
April 11, 1996
St. Charles Baptist, Paincourtville, Louisiana
April 13, 1996
Rosemary Baptist, Barnwell, South Carolina
April 26, 1996
Effingham Baptist, Effingham, South Carolina
May 14, 1996
Mt. Pleasant Baptist, Tigrett, Tennessee
May 23, 1996
Mt. Tabor Baptist, Cerro Gordo, North Carolina
May 24, 1996
Pleasant Hill Baptist, Lumberton, North Carolina
June 3, 1996
Rising Star Baptist, Greensboro, Alabama
June 6, 1996
Matthews-Murkland Presbyterian, Charlotte, North Carolina
June 9, 1996
New Lighthouse of Prayer, Greenville, Texas
SOURCES: Center for Democratic Renewal (CDR), USA Today (as found in Barry E. Lee's article "Black Southern Churches Under Fire" [1996]) and CNN's Arson Timeline (1996)