NAACP warns black churches of suspected arson attacks

The NAACP warned black churches Tuesday to take “necessary precautions” as authorities in Southern states investigate whether several church fires over the last week were arsons.

Citing a series of arsons that struck black churches across the South in the 1990s, the NAACP used a hashtag that went viral this week and tweeted Tuesday, “Almost 20 years later, we must again ask, #WhoIsBurningBlackChurches?”

Officials said two black churches were targeted by arsonists last week in Knoxville, Tennessee, where a van was destroyed, and Charlotte, North Carolina, where a church building was destroyed. No arrests have been made or suspects identified in those cases. Nor has a possible motive been given.

Investigators were also looking into what caused the fires that destroyed black churches in Macon, Georgia, and Warrenville, South Carolina, though officials said they have not found a cause or any evidence of criminal intent in those blazes.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has taken the lead on investigating the fires in Charlotte and Macon. A spokeswoman told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday that there was no update on those cases.

Church fires are relatively common in the U.S. According to the National Fire Protection Association, officials responded to 1,660 fires at religious and funeral properties in 2011, down from 3,500 in 1980.

But the specter of black churches burning – especially after the June 17 massacre that left nine parishioners dead at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina – rattled many given the nation’s long history of racial violence against black churches.