Distributed to some depository libraries in microfiche.

Distributed to some depository libraries in microfiche.

In the 1990s, churches across the southeastern United States were targeted and set ablaze. These arsonists predominately targeted African American congregations and captured the attention of the media nationwide. Using oral histories, newspaper accounts, and governmental reports, Christopher Strain gives a chronological account of the series of church fires. Burning Faith considers the various forces at work, including government responses, civil rights groups, religious forces, and media coverage, in providing a thorough, comprehensive analysis of the events and their fallout. Arguing that these church fires symbolize the breakdown of communal bonds in the nation, Strain appeals for the revitalization of united Americans and the return to a sense of community. Combining scholarly sophistication with popular readability, Strain has produced one of the first histories of the last decade and demonstrates that the increasing fragmentation of community in America runs deeper than race relations or prejudice. A volume in the series Southern Dissent, edited by Stanley Harrold and Randall M. Miller

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

The focus of the hearing was on the progress being made in the investigations into the numerous incidents of church fires in the Southern states; the effectiveness of Federal, State, and local cooperative efforts &task forces; and whether current law is adequate and whether it provides the necessary tools to solve these particular crimes. Testimony and prepared statements are included from a number of government and law enforcement personnel (the FBI, Treasury Dept., Justice Dept., Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, etc.), the NAACP, and representatives from some of the affected churches and religious organizations.

Excerpt from Church Fires in the Southeast: Hearing Before Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Second Session, May 21, 1996 The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:40 a.m., in room 2141, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Henry J. Hyde (chairman of the committee) presiding. Present: Representatives Henry J. Hyde, Bill McCollum, George W. Gekas, Howard Coble, Steven Schiff, Bob Goodlatte, Fred Heineman, Ed Bryant of Tennessee, Steve Chabot, Bob Barr, John Conyers, Jr., Barney Frank, Robert C. Scott, Xavier Becerra, Zoe Lofgren, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Maxine Waters. Also present: Alan F. Coffey, Jr., general counsel/staff director; Diana Schacht, deputy general counsel; Kathryn A. Hazeem, chief counsel; Nicole Robilolto, assistant counsel; Kenny Prater, clerk; Julian Epstein, minority staff director; Perry Apelbaum, minority general counsel; Melanie Sloan, minority counsel; and Tom Diaz, minority counsel. Opening Statement of Chairman Hyde Mr. Hyde. The committee will come to order. This morning the House Judiciary Committee turns its attention to a very disturbing development in our Nation, that of the large number of church fires that have occurred in recent months. The trend is particularly troubling because of the number of African-American churches that have fallen victim to these burnings. This year alone there have been 21 church fires involving African-American churches. In 1995, six such incidents were reported and investigated by Federal law enforcement officials. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Civil Rights Division, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are actively involved in these investigations. Law enforcement task forces are made up of Federal, State, and local authorities and they've been established in a number of these cases, and over 200 Federal investigators are actively involved at this time. Most of these incidents have occurred in Southern States: Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Virginia, and Louisiana. But suspicious incidents involving African-American churches are also being investigated in New Jersey and Arizona. It's unclear how many of these fires actually were arson, and it also is unclear how many were racially motivated. To date, there is no evidence of a national conspiracy. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.