Even though many of the churches were burned during times of slavery, they continued to rebuild and grow, and this allowed for them to become even more important within the black community, which led them to become increasingly more important in the black political community, as well. .

             Arson has always been a touch crime to investigate, and many cases are never solved, due to lack of evidence. Therefore, there are many different explanations for burning churches. About half of all the arsons are inside jobs, some are conducted by extremists, and other involve no racial motivation (Morgenthau & Carroll, 1996), and arsons occur at white churches as well as black (Booth, 1996). Just recently, there were black churches in the state of Alabama that were burned, showing that the problems that were seen many years ago have not been totally eradicated from society. The overall trend for arson among black churches is down, although this is not the case in the American South. The churches in the South are older wooden buildings, located on country roads miles away from the police and fire departments. They are vulnerable to arson because they burn quickly and often destroy the evidence of the crime (Morgenthau & Carroll, 1996). As a result, these churches are easy targets for arsonists, as arsonists stand a much lower chance of being convicted if the evidence is destroyed. Further, quick burning and remote access helps ensure the churches will be destroyed before a fire department arrives. .

             Further, by denying the fact that these church burnings were racially motivated or taking a passive stance on the issue may make some black Americans feel as if their concerns are not being addressed. African American churches suggest that church burnings are a direct outcome of racial unrest, and that churches are presumably selected as targets of violence because of their strong organizing influence in African American communities (Morgenthau & Carroll, 1996).