The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.60/No.25           June 24, 1996 
 
 
`Stop The Burning Of Black Churches!'
Socialists call for protests to condemn racist assaults  

The following statement was issued June 12 by Socialist Workers Party candidates for U.S. president and vice president, James Harris and Laura Garza, along with John Hawkins for U.S. Senate in Alabama, Arlene Rubinstein for Senate in Georgia, and Jim Rogers for Governor in North Carolina.

The Socialist Workers campaign urges the labor movement, all working people, and supporters of democratic rights to organize protests to condemn the series of racist arson attacks in Black communities across the South. For 18 months, and despite pleas from Black ministers and others, little has been done by federal and state governments to respond to the string of church burnings.

Little was done despite the fact that it has been known for some time that white supremacist groups have been publicly agitating against Black churches. The lack of response by ruling class politicians to these fires serves to encourage further attacks. In Alabama, Gov. Fob James has refused to make any public statement condemning these attacks. Meanwhile, he has served as pointman for reintroduction of chain-gangs and other abusive treatment of workers behind bars - a disproportionate number of whom are Black. Now, with more than 30 churches in ashes, several ultrarightists have finally been arrested under growing pressure from Blacks across the South.

Protest actions, picket lines, and speak-out events can help press forward an effective answer to the terror campaign. The actions can support the demand made by church officials to the Justice Department in Washington that the police cease harassing parishioners and running lie-detector tests on pastors, and instead find and prosecute the perpetrators of the violence. Any local church should be able to call on and receive federal or state police protection if needed or desired.

To claim, as the Clinton administration has, that the federal government, the FBI, the AFT, and other police agencies don't know much about this string of church burnings is sheer hypocrisy. Federal secret police agencies, and local and state cops, are involved in every rightist outfit in this country.

The intent of this campaign is clear: to intimidate African- Americans and others from fighting to defend their hard won rights and to responding to the devastating impact of the capitalist economic crisis.

It is both the Democrats and Republicans who share direct responsibility for these attacks. Their bipartisan assault and increasing scapegoating of whole layers of the population-Black youth, "welfare mothers," immigrant workers, and others-for the social and economic problems caused by capitalism, creates a political atmosphere in which ultrarightists feel emboldened to carry out direct and brutal assaults on sections of the population.

President William Clinton says he will deploy more federal agents throughout the Southeast to investigate the fires. He also proposed changes in federal law to make it easier to prosecute those suspected of carrying out "attacks on places of worship."

But like the recently passed "anticrime," "antiterrorist," and "sexual predator" laws, Clinton's proposed law will be used to whittle away at democratic rights. No further laws are necessary to prosecute arsonists.

The labor movement, youth, and all fighters for social justice must join with Black organizations in demanding the arrest, prosecution, and jailing of those responsible for the arson attacks. It is only by keeping up the pressure through such actions that the government will be forced to put a stop to the arson.

Stop the church burnings now!  
 
 
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