In the month of March, a series of historically black churches were set on fire. The person behind these fires was Holden Matthews, the son of a deputy sheriff. He was charged with three counts of arson of a religious building. One for each of the three churches that he had burned down. Prosecutors believed that his motives were racially influenced, and charged him with hate crimes. He is now facing up to 65 years in prison with no bail if found guilty. As for the media coverage, there wasn't much of an outcry as there was for the recent events of the ongoing fire taking place at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Recently in Paris, the Notre Dame Cathedral was on fire for an accidental reason. This lead to a media uproar, every major news source was reporting about the Cathedral. There was an immediate response to try and rebuild the Cathedral. People pitched in from everywhere trying to help the cathedral, even the United States promised to give a helping hand.
The lack of attention and public outcry for the historically black churches exemplifies the oversight of black related issues. The cathedral a predominately white symbolic institution was able to get the attention it compared to the black churches. Just like the cathedral, the historically black churches held an important role in their communities. These churches have been around for over one hundred years, helping aid their communities spiritually and physically. They provided safe spaces to store and uplift black history through religious means. Throughout history, these churches have endured the Jim Crow era, and earlier forms of racism in the United States. When these institutions are destroyed, so is the history and accomplishments behind it.
Let me clarify, I am not saying that the historically black churches are more important than the Notre Dame Cathedral. What I am saying is how both institutions hold an important significance in peoples lives, but yet the cathedral is receiving more of a public outcry compared to the historically black churches. The cause of the cathedral fire was a mere construction mishap whereas the fires started at these historically black churches was an intentional hate crime. One fire was caused with intent while the other was a mere construction mishap and yet the public outcry for both prove very different. Within two days the Cathedral has reached a $700 million dollars in donations. “Donations passed the $700-million mark Tuesday, with more support expected to pour in for the iconic 850-year-old church. The cost to completely repair the landmark will likely cost between 1 billion ($1.13 billion) and 2 billion euros, according to Stephane Bern, who heads heritage renovation programs across France” (Kristian Lam, USA Today). Within the 700 million dollars there are contributions from the United States; from places like Notre Dame University committing $100 thousand for donation, and the White House. According to the White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders she says “ The U.S. will offer assistance in the rehabilitation of this irreplaceable symbol of Western civilization”. The same care and consideration were never expressed towards the black churches, and these churches are located in the United States.
The black churches aren't receiving the same treatment as the cathedral, why you might ask? It all comes down to show that racism is still alive well in today's society. The donation amount for the cathedral and black churches is evident to that reasoning. The three churches, St. Mary’s Baptist church, Greater Union Baptist, and Mount Pleasent Baptist Church have not been able to reach their collective goal of 250k on their GofundMe campaign. Whereas the cathedral obtained its goal within a day. The white has is backing up the cathedral and helping rebuild it, rather than assisting the three historical black churches with their rebuilding. When it comes to black based issues the government tends to overlook, and shy away from giving a helping hand. A prime example can be seen with Flint Michigan. A city mostly occupied of black people and people of color. They have been living without clean water for seven years, and the government hasn’t done anything about it yet. But, were quick to act in providing funds and assistance for the Notre Dame Cathedral despite it not affecting the US as much as the other issues do.
Citations
Epstein, Kayla, et al. “The Man Accused of Burning down Three Churches in Louisiana Has Been Charged with Hate Crimes.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 16 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/04/16/man-accused-burning-down-three-churches-louisiana-has-been-charged-with-hate-crimes/?utm_term=.2eeefd9026d8.
NewsOne Staff. “The World Rallies Around Notre Dame Cathedral As Black Churches Burned Down In Louisiana Struggle.” News One, 16 Apr. 2019, newsone.com/3851085/notre-dame-cathedral-louisiana-church-fires-fundraising/.
Samuels, Brett. “White House Offers to Assist France in Notre Dame Rehabilitation.” TheHill, TheHill, 16 Apr. 2019, thehill.com/homenews/administration/439116-white-house-offers-to-assist-france-in-notre-dame-rehabilitation?amp&__twitter_impression=true.
This is a very strong and well argued blog post and I totally understand and see the connections you make towards the racism that is still present in our world, as seen through the churches and the cathedral. I would just like to add one point that might also help explain the focus on Notre Dame over the three historically black churches. According to your statement, the black churches had been standing for over one hundred years. Comparatively, Notre Dame, on the other hand, was built over 200 years (from 1163-1345) and has stood for just under 800 years. The immense historical significance of the cathedral coupled with the centuries it stood could be another aspect of why it is getting so much attention, compared to the black churches that stood for only a fraction of the time. Either way, I completely see your points and I definitely think there is value and truth to what you argue.
ReplyDeletethank you for your response, I understand the time disparity between the Notre Dame cathedral and historical black churches has a huge gap. The connection I was aiming for was the lack of the United States stepping in to help with the 3 black churches. The United States is 238 years old where as the 3 churches stand at 100 years old each. The cultural significance that the historical black churches hold is practically embedded in the United States history, but yet the United States was quicker to respond to the Cathedral than the 3 black churches.
ReplyDeleteI totally see that! Thanks for the clarification!
DeleteI appreciate the perspective that this post gives on this issue. The outcry on various social medias, in response to this event, has been massive. People’s response has also been very strong, with many wealthy people pledging large sums of money to restore Notre Dame. In fact, President Emmanuel Macron raised over $1 billion dollars to rebuild the cathedral. This is, obviously, a huge sum of money. For comparison, it would take between $122 million and $489 million dollars just to hire enough boats to clean the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for one year. This makes me wonder just how much the millionaires and billionaires of the world could help with various global problems if they had incentive to do so. Their large donations to Notre Dame show that they have the money to do so, so why don’t they? While there is not a clear answer to this question, I find it interesting to consider the implications.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though this article just goes to show that issues that effect the black community always seem to take a backseat to issues that effect white people in general especially in the US. While I see there is a historical significance with the Cathedral, we as a country do not have the same energy towards issues that actually are affecting our own communities especially when it involves majority people of color. Its scary to think that flint has gone without clean water for 5 years and we're fishing out millions of dollars for something like this instantly, our priorities as a country and a society in general are out of whack.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though this article just goes to show that issues that effect the black community always seem to take a backseat to issues that effect white people in general especially in the US. While I see there is a historical significance with the Cathedral, we as a country do not have the same energy towards issues that actually are affecting our own communities especially when it involves majority people of color. Its scary to think that flint has gone without clean water for 5 years and we're fishing out millions of dollars for something like this instantly, our priorities as a country and a society in general are out of whack.
ReplyDelete