Black Churches In Four States Have Been Destroyed By Fire In The Past Week

Nick Visser
Updated

At least four predominantly black churches have caught fire in the last week, including at least three that have been the subject of arson, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports.

The string of blazes, which have occurred in four Southern states and Ohio, comes a week after nine people were gunned down at a Charleston, South Carolina, church. Dylann Roof, 21, has been charged with nine counts of homicide and possession of a firearm during commission of a violent crime.

An arsonist set fire to the College Hills Seventh Day Adventist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Monday. The following day, God’s Power Church of Christ in Macon, Georgia, was gutted by flames. And on Wednesday, Briar Creek Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, was deliberately set ablaze, causing more than $250,000 in damage.

Briar Creek Pastor Mannix Kinsey told a local news station he hopes the event turns out not to be a hate crime, and the culprit is "already forgiven," but he's worried about "the climate."

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“We are still talking about this same issue and this is 2015,” he said. “We all have to consider what else do we need to do to actually be able to work together.”

Other churches in South Carolina and Ohio, a Baptist church that is not predominately black, have also caught fire, though it's unclear if arsonists began the blazes.

Despite the cause, most of the churches have predominately black congregations, and the SPLC has said the string of nighttime fires "may not be a coincidence." The legal advocacy organization said that even if the events are determined to be arson, it takes additional proof to classify the acts as hate crimes. Since 1956, there have been at least 91 violent attacks on black churches.

The Atlantic noted the burning of American churches dates back to before the Civil War. The crime is often racially motivated, "a highly visible attack on a core institution of the black community, often done at night, and often motivated by hate," the outlet's Emma Green wrote earlier this week.

CORRECTION: This article originally identified College Heights Baptist Church in Elyria, Ohio, as predominantly black; it is not.

Lisa Doctor joins a prayer circle down the street from the Emanuel AME Church early Thursday, June 18, 2015 following a shooting Wednesday night in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Lisa Doctor joins a prayer circle down the street from the Emanuel AME Church early Thursday, June 18, 2015 following a shooting Wednesday night in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Worshippers gather to pray in a hotel parking lot across the street from the scene of the shooting. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Worshippers gather to pray in a hotel parking lot across the street from the scene of the shooting. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The steeple of Emanuel AME Church is visible as police close off a section of Calhoun Street (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The steeple of Emanuel AME Church is visible as police close off a section of Calhoun Street (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Police stand outside the Emanuel AME Church following the shooting (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Police stand outside the Emanuel AME Church following the shooting (AP Photo/David Goldman)
An FBI agent walks across the street from the Emanuel AME Church following the shooting. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
An FBI agent walks across the street from the Emanuel AME Church following the shooting. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Worshippers gather to pray in a hotel parking lot across the street from the Emanuel AME Church (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Worshippers gather to pray in a hotel parking lot across the street from the Emanuel AME Church (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Worshippers gather to pray down the street from the Emanuel AME Church. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Worshippers gather to pray down the street from the Emanuel AME Church. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Worshippers embrace following a group prayer across the street from the Emanuel AME Church. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Worshippers embrace following a group prayer across the street from the Emanuel AME Church. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Lisa Doctor joins a prayer circle down the street from the Emanuel AME Church. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Lisa Doctor joins a prayer circle down the street from the Emanuel AME Church. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Police close off a section of Calhoun Street. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Police close off a section of Calhoun Street. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Worshippers embrace following a group prayer across the street from the scene of the shooting. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Worshippers embrace following a group prayer across the street from the scene of the shooting. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A distraught man is comforted as a group of concerned people arrive inquiring about the shooting. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A distraught man is comforted as a group of concerned people arrive inquiring about the shooting. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Police walk down the street from the Emanuel AME Church. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Police walk down the street from the Emanuel AME Church. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Police stand outside the Emanuel AME Church following the shooting. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Police stand outside the Emanuel AME Church following the shooting. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A man looks on as a group of people arrive inquiring about the shooting. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A man looks on as a group of people arrive inquiring about the shooting. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Police stand outside the Emanuel AME Church. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Police stand outside the Emanuel AME Church. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.