THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 16, 1996 TAG: 9607160002
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 47 lines
In the past 18 months, 73 black churches have been burned while 75 white churches have fallen to arsonists.
In the past few years, 165 black churches have burned while 245 white churches have been burned.
Where is the black church-burning epidemic that President Clinton has been making so much noise about in recent months? It appears that he is directing the resources of the attorney general's office in the wrong direction. At the least, he has slighted the group with the most losses in favor of a group from which he hopes to win votes in the November election.
The Democratic National Committee has seized the opportunity to exploit the losses of black churches only to make a trumped-up election promise. Where is the promise to help white churches? Can we really see through this issue that it is the liberals who exploit race and create racism purely for gain?
The burning or defamation of a house of worship, be it white, black, mixed, Christian, Jewish, Moslem or other, is an infringement to our freedom of religion and is shaking a fist in the face of God!
We must not allow the special-interest groups in the Democratic Party to make church burning a ``black'' issue in order to win votes. CARLYLE THOMPSON
Chesapeake, July 9, 1996
In the past 18 months, 73 black churches have been burned while 75 white churches have fallen to arsonists.
In the past few years, 165 black churches have burned while 245 white churches have been burned.
Where is the black church-burning epidemic that President Clinton has been making so much noise about in recent months? It appears that he is directing the resources of the attorney general's office in the wrong direction. At the least, he has slighted the group with the most losses in favor of a group from which he hopes to win votes in the November election.
The Democratic National Committee has seized the opportunity to exploit the losses of black churches only to make a trumped-up election promise. Where is the promise to help white churches? Can we really see through this issue that it is the liberals who exploit race and create racism purely for gain?
The burning or defamation of a house of worship, be it white, black, mixed, Christian, Jewish, Moslem or other, is an infringement to our freedom of religion and is shaking a fist in the face of God!
We must not allow the special-interest groups in the Democratic Party to make church burning a ``black'' issue in order to win votes.
CARLYLE THOMPSON by CNB