Heartbreaking and tragic, black church fires in Louisiana ignite decency and good
Seeing the iconic church on fire was stunning. After firefighters extinguished the inferno, the heartbreaking scenes of the charred church, which had been a beloved home for generations of her family, were almost too much for Monica Harris.
“Seeing the church in the condition it is now,” the 57-year-old Christian said for a story in The New York Times, “it's almost like losing a family member.”
That loss, and the beauty destroyed by that blaze, hadn't even had time to register before a man of the cloth added some perspective.
“They burned down a building. They didn't burn down our spirit,” he said.
The gofundme rebuilding fund for three overwhelmingly black churches burned in Louisiana in the past month had topped out under $100,000 until Monday's fire at the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris reignited the cause. None of those structures was on a par with the world-famous, centuries-old, magnificent cathedral of Notre Dame, but black churches matter. As of Wednesday, online donations for the three black churches were nearing the $1.8 million goal. Donations for Notre- ame are expected to top $1 billion.
“As we hold Paris in our thoughts today, let's also send some love to our neighbors in Louisiana,” Hillary Clinton tweeted Tuesday. Journalist Yashar Ali and CNN anchor Jake Tapper posted similar tweets asking people to remember those black churches, too.
As the world watched the flames consuming the iconic spire of the cathedral of Notre Dame, people used words such as heartbreaking and tragic to describe the damage to the centuries-old architectural wonder, which is a monument to Christianity. But one of the first online comments I read came from a suburban Catholic priest, who noted, “This is really, tragically sad. But God is NOT confined to even beautiful and ancient structures.” He went on to explain how asylum-seekers and other people suffering hardships deserve that same outpouring of empathy and assistance.
Easter celebrates the belief that Jesus Christ was crucified and rose from the dead, the keystone of the Christian faith. But it also offers a more universal message that bad things can get better. Easter signals hope and a new start.
On the same day Notre Dame was burning, every Major League Baseball player, coach and umpire wore a number 42 jersey to honor Jackie Robinson, the first black player allowed to play in the majors. It is heartbreaking and tragically sad that there was a time when black players were banned from the National Pastime, but in honoring Robinson, we celebrate how the world can change for the better.
At the same time, we can continue to find it heartbreaking and tragically sad that the MLB now is investigating racist messages sent to Carl Edwards Jr., a relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs who got off to a bad start this season and happens to be black.
Clearly, today's world gives us plenty of opportunities to right wrongs and make bad things better. Louisiana officials on Monday charged a 21-year-old white man with arson and hate crimes in connection with the fires set at the Greater Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas, Louisiana, as well as the St. Mary Baptist Church in nearby Port Barre.
Every cowardly and hateful act can inspire a commitment to decency and good in others. Not only can we take some comfort in the fact nobody died in any of these tragic church fires, we can also find something good in the response of ordinary people.