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Debris at one of the church fires in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
The influx of generosity caused by the fire of Notre Dame Cathedral sparked renewed interest in fund-raising for the black churches of the United States, which were destroyed by a fire criminal at the beginning of the year.
On Monday, as French firefighters attacked the 850-year-old building fire, Megan Romer, a resident of Louisiana, tweeted her sadness at the destruction of the cathedral.
However, she also took the opportunity to divert the attention of her followers to three other churches devastated by a fire and on which the billionaires did not queue to save them.
"If you are going to donate money to rebuild a church this week, I beg you to create the black churches in St. Landry Parish," Romer wrote.
She was referring to three black churches in Louisiana that were the subject of arson in late March and early in the month. The Baptist churches of St Mary, Greater Union Baptist and Mount Pleasant Baptist have been razed.
When Ms. Romer wrote her appeal, the three churches' fundraising page was well below her $ 1.8 million goal – less than $ 100,000 was raised.
While recognizing the importance of the French cathedral, she wrote: "Remember that the famous story is not the only story.Image the courage it took to build and fill a house of black worship in the Louisiana rural post-bellum, and now. "
She also reminded people that the parish had been the scene of the deadly massacre of Opelousas in 1868.
Since Monday, his tweet has been shared more than 37,000 times as the word spread in all social media. Influential characters like Hillary Clinton and CNN anchor Jake Tapper pushed the fundraising page to their supporters.
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@ HillaryClinton
"The reconstruction of Notre-Dame will be well financed" writes journalist Yashar Ali, who donated $ 1,000 to the fund.
On Wednesday, total donations for the three churches exceeded $ 1 million and more than 18,000 donated.
"This shows that the church is not only fire-proofed, but also the test of faith," said Pastor Mason Jack at the local news channel News15 . "Receiving calls from New York and all over the country and showing love for our sister churches means a lot to us," he said.
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@ LAFIREMARSHAL
Holden Matthews has been charged with hate crimes
The three fires in Louisiana were lit with gasoline and occurred around Opelousas, about 100 km west of the state capital, Baton Rouge.
Holden Matthews, 21, son of a local police officer, was arrested for fires and charged with hate crimes. He pleaded not guilty to a court appearance on Monday.
When looking for a suspect, Governor John Bel Edwards said that these attacks recalled "a very dark past of intimidation and fear."
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