Skip to main content

Cohen Expresses Concern over Recent Fires at Black Churches

July 1, 2015

[MEMPHIS, TN] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) issued the following statement about several recent fires at historically black churches in states across the South, including Tennessee:

“I am very concerned with the recent string of fires at black churches across the South. We must fully and quickly investigate them and bring any responsible parties to justice. Places of worship should be sacred, and those who seek to destroy them cannot be tolerated by our society.”

Following a string of church burnings in Tennessee in the 1990s, then-State Senator Cohen sponsored legislation, which became law, to strengthen penalties for those found guilty of setting fire to houses of worship.