U.S. Probe of Black Church Fires Sought

A group of black ministers called Monday for a more aggressive federal probe into a rash of suspicious fires at Southern black churches reminiscent of the anti-civil rights attacks of the 1950s and ‘60s.

The ministers, some of whose own churches were burned, appeared at a news conference sponsored by the Christian Coalition, a politically influential, largely white, organization associated with right-wing Republican causes.

Announcing a $25,000 reward for information that will help solve the arson fires, Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed said that in the violence against black churches during the civil rights movement, white evangelicals were too likely to “look the other way.” He said he wants Christians to show unity across racial lines.

The targeted churches have also received support from the more liberal National Council of Churches, which said in Washington Monday that it had a team in Alabama trying to help the congregations rebuild and recover.

The council said it was working with a number of civil-rights organizations looking into what they suspect are racially motivated attacks linked to white supremacists.

There have been different counts of how many churches have been attacked, with estimates ranging from 15 to 26.

High-level Justice Department civil-rights authorities have also had a role in investigating the cases.