The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.60/No.28           August 5, 1996 
 
 
Hundreds Protest Burnings Of Black Churches  

BY BOBBI SACK
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Four hundred people gathered here July 2 for a march and church service to protest the burning of Black churches in the South.

Sponsors of the event included the NAACP, AFL-CIO, Jewish Community Relations Council, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Baptist Ministers Conference, Black Male Coalition, and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

Participants gathered at the Avondale Town Center and marched a short distance to the Southern Baptist Church, where the service was held. Speaker after speaker condemned the racist church burnings, and pointed to the solidarity that is being forged in opposition to these attacks and to help rebuild the churches. The platform included Cincinnati mayor Roxanne Qualis.

Rev. Damon Lynch Jr., president of the Baptist Ministers Conference, gave a report on progress in raising funds to rebuild the burned churches. Thousands of dollars have been raised here so far, including several donations of $500 and $1,000 from local churches. BY JOANNE MURPHY

DES MOINES, Iowa - Around 300 people gathered June 30 in the parking lot of the Corinthian Baptist Church here to protest the string of arson attacks against predominantly Black churches across the South.

Sponsored by the Black Ministerial Alliance, the protest drew participants from a wide variety of Christian churches, as well as Jewish synagogues and Muslim mosques. Many individuals came on their own after seeing an announcement in the Des Moines Register, some driving an hour and a half from Pella and Ames, Iowa.

Participants were encouraged to sign up to help rebuild two churches in western Tennessee whose insurance was canceled by a West Des Moines firm after the buildings were torched.

The company's only explanation was that the premiums paid by the churches do not cover the loss. The contingent from Des Moines is scheduled to be working in Tennessee the first week of August.  
 
 
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