Burning of African American Churches in Louisiana and Perceptions of Race Relations: Executive Summary of a Community Forum Held by the Louisiana Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights in Baker, Louisiana, July 8-9, 1996

• NCJ Number: 165535
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 18 pages
• Corporate Author: US Cmssn on Civil Rights
• Sale Source: US Cmssn on Civil Rights
• Publication Type: Conference Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A community forum held in Baker, La. in July 1996 examined arson against black churches in Louisiana; discussed perceptions of race relations; and assessed the investigative procedures of Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials.

Abstract

Nine African American churches in Louisiana were burned under circumstances that ruled out accident between May 1995 and June 1996. Louisiana does not have a hate crime statute, but it does provide for civil action by hate crime victims and for increased criminal penalties for vandalism at houses of worship. Ministers of churches attacked by arson or otherwise in Louisiana, religious representatives of other organizations, law enforcement personnel, elected officials, and community members took part in the forum. Topics included arson, vandalism, insurance coverage, race relations in the area, concerns of church members, the positions of elected officials, services to whites and blacks, support for victims of arson, the training of law enforcement to respond to hate crimes, investigative procedures, and coordination of law enforcement efforts at different levels of government, and the role of the State's human rights commission.