“Racism Blamed in Shock Wave of Church Burnings,” read the screaming headline in the New York Daily News. “The South is Burning: A Rash of Torching at Black Churches Has Resurrected the Ugly Specter of Racism,” chimed in the Toronto Star. Newsweek warned of “Terror in the Night Down South,” While USA Today reported that “Arson at Black Churches Echoes Bigotry of Past.”(Fumento 1) In the summer of 1996, the U.S. media widely reported a surge in white racist burnings of black churches in the American South. It all started the Center for Democratic Renewal announced a huge increase in arsons against black churches by whites. Bl