THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 22, 1996 TAG: 9607220049
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 54 lines
Fires that have gutted black churches across the nation come at a time when flames of intolerance also are spreading, Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., former executive director of the NAACP, said Sunday.
``It cuts to the heart of our community,'' said Chavis, who encouraged Hampton Roads residents to pray for both justice and the ``cowards'' setting fire to churches, synagogues and other religious institutions.
Chavis spoke at an afternoon rally that drew hundreds of residents and local officials to Providence United Church of Christ in Chesapeake. The meeting called attention to a series of fires - many suspected or found to be arson - at black churches. Many have been concentrated in the South.
``Now is the time to be nosy,'' said Paul Gillis, president of the state chapter of the NAACP. ``Be nosy about your churches. . . . If you see something, call 911. We can't afford to lose another church.''
In Hampton Roads, there haven't been any suspicious church fires. Still, congregations should take precautions, officials said. The city's Police Department offered to survey local churches for security risks.
Chavis and other black leaders criticized federal authorities and the media for playing down the race factor in the church fires and, he said, underreporting the number of cases.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has tracked between 40 and 50 fires at predominantly black churches since Jan. 1, 1995. But a USA Today investigation came up with its own figure: 66, as of June 30.
Figures don't mean much if law enforcement officials aren't reporting or properly looking into cases, Chavis said.
``A lot haven't been investigated like they should be,'' he said.
The National African American Leadership Summit, based in Washington, did its own survey, finding more than 100 cases of black church fires in the past 18 months. ``Some people still can't count,'' said Chavis, alluding to the controversy over the official count of Million Man March participants. ``And it concerns me.''
ATF officials acknowledge that their numbers aren't complete.
``Right now, we're working on a more accurate list,'' Virginia O'Brien, an ATF spokeswoman, said last week.
For many churches, the fires can be devastating. Most of the black churches do not have insurance, said Alexander Jamison Sr., pastor of the local church and president of the Southern Region of Ministers for Racial and Social Justice.
That's why churches here need to unite and help rebuild those that have lost everything, Jamison and others said.
The community must work together, said Shirley J. Perry of Chesapeake, but: ``First, we need to pray.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Former NAACP director Benjamin Chavis spoke at an area rally. by CNB