[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 84 (Monday, June 10, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H6092-H6093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCH ARSONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolinia [Mrs. Clayton] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, church buildings can be burned to the 
ground, but the spirit of the church will always stand.
  The recent rash of church arsons in African-American communities 
throughout the United States leaves one wondering if anyplace is safe, 
if anyplace is secure, if anyplace is sacred.
  But because those who have done these unthinkable acts have targeted 
the very places we hold most dear and most precious, there is no doubt 
in my mind that good will come from this evil.
  Even after a ravaging fire, something remains.
  It may only be a blade of grass, but from that blade of grass will 
come a beautiful landscape.

[[Page H6093]]

  It may only be an idea that remains, a determined spirit, but from 
that idea, that spirit, will come another church.
  As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. often stated, eloquently and 
profoundly, ``You can kill the dreamer, but you can-not kill the 
dream.''
  Mr. Speaker, I must admit that I was stunned when the church arsons 
hit home.
  Last Thursday, when the Matthews-Murkland Presbyterian Church in 
Charlotte, NC became another one of the more than thirty African-
American churches to be burned over the past 18 months, the shock and 
amazement of this deed left me dazed and numb.
  I thought, How could anyone violate what is most cherished, most 
precious to a civilized society?
  But then, there was Oklahoma City and the World Trade Center in New 
York.
  We live in very puzzling and troubling times.
  Yet, from the ashes of Oklahoma and the ruins of New York, something 
remains, and something emerges.
  Good ultimately prevails over evil.
  And, it is in that spirit, Mr. Speaker, that I rise to urge all of my 
colleagues to use this week to also rise in swift resounding voices to 
condemn this evil and to demonstrate that it will not be tolerated.
  President Clinton on Saturday outlined a four-step plan that he has 
put in place in response to these acts.
  Among those steps is the creation of a task force involving the 
Justice and Treasury Departments and more than 200 law enforement 
officers.
  It is now time for the Congress to step forward.
  First, we should all support the bipartisan legislation introduced by 
our colleagues, Mr. Conyers and Mr. Hyde.
  That legislation would make it easier to bring prosecutions and 
stiffen the penalties against those who target houses of worship.
  Second, I would urge support for a resolution I am introducing, 
calling on the collective outrage of congress and denouncing these 
arsons.
  It is my hope that such a resolution can be considered this week and 
that as many Members who wish will have the opportunity to speak in 
favor of the resolution.
  And, finally, we should all, work within our respective communities 
to help prevent future arsons.
  The President told the story of Rev. Terrence Mackey, who awakened 
one morning to a spot in a field where his church had stood the day 
before.
  Reverend Mackey was concerned about what he could say to his daughter 
about what had happened.
  Eventually, he said to his daughter, ``They didn't burn down the 
church. They burned down the building in which we hold church. The 
church is still inside all of us.''
  These acts of hate have inspired acts of love.
  Oftentimes when evil people have burned a church building, good 
people of every race and color and religion have worked together to 
rebuild the church.
  When three African-American churches were burned in Alabama, a group 
of unpaid volunteers from the Washington area stepped forward to help.
  When the St. John Baptist Church in Dixiana, SC was the target of 
repeated vandalism, a group of African-Americans and whites, Democrats, 
and Republicans, those with money and those without, organized the Save 
St. John Baptist Church Committee, and they rebuilt the church.
  But this church, just a couple of miles from where the Ku Klux Klan 
meets, was also burned to the ground.
  Yet, with the help of many, diverse volunteers, it too will be 
rebuilt.
  And, when the church in Charlotte was burned down, the pastor 
preached forgiveness, and the congregation knew in their hearts that 
help would come to rebuild.
  At the end of the day, evil loses and good wins.
  On June 15, Reverend Mackey, his daughter, the congregation, and 
friends will undertake a symbolic march from the site of the old church 
in Greeleyville, SC, to the site of their new church.
  My resolution urges all Members on June 15 to join with Reverend 
Mackey, his daughter, his congregation and others, in whatever gesture 
is deemed appropriate, to say to those who would promote evil--that you 
have burned our churches, but cannot burn our spirit.
  Mr. Speaker, after a fire, something always remains, a blade of 
grass, a spirit.
  Mr. Speaker, if I may borrow from the Bible on this occasion, I am 
reminded of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3, verses 1 through 8.
  It states, in part, ``To every thing there is a season, and a time to 
every purpose under the heaven. A time to keep silence and a time to 
speak.''
  Mr. Speaker, this is a time to speak, and I urge my colleagues to 
join me in speaking against these dreadful deeds.

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