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Firefighters and fire investigators respond to a fire at the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church on April 4 in Opelousas, Louisiana (Leslie Westbrook / The Advocate / AP)
Sunday, a A fundraiser to help three black churches rebuild arson had raised just under $ 50,000.
Wednesday morning, the total had climbed to $ 1 million.
After the whole world witnessed with anguish of fire at the famous Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday, politicians, activists, celebrities and journalists gathered on Tuesday on social media to publicize the GoFundMe campaign in favor of three much smaller places of worship.
In late March and early April, St. Mary Baptist Church, Great Union Baptist Church and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church were burned in less than 10 days in the parish of St. Landry, Louisiana. rubble. Authorities have accused Holden Matthews, 21, of lighting fires, and this week prosecutors have accused him of hate crimes.
[National Deputy’s son charged in connection with burning of 3 black churches in Louisiana]
While France was receiving a wave of international sympathy and nearly a billion dollars of donations and pledges Wednesday as its leaders pledged to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral, some wanted to make sure that churches of St. Landry are not forgotten.
Journalist Yashar Ali on Tuesday urged his Twitter followers to align his donation with the GoFundMe campaign or pay his own amount.
He was quickly joined by some of Twitter's most influential users, who collectively collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in a matter of hours. Some donors donated $ 10 or $ 15, while other personalities such as Megyn Kelly, Aileen Getty and Jake Tapper contributed $ 1,000 or more.
The largest donation comes from philanthropist Robert F. Smith, who donated $ 50,000, according to Ali.
The GoFundMe page was created last week by the 7th District Baptist Association. The president of the association, Freddie Jack, told The New York Times that he had initially set a target of $ 600,000, which he then tripled to $ 1.8 million.
"St. Mary and the Great Union, all you see is charcoal. It's a total and total loss on all three sites, "he said. "They have a long way in front of them. They are far from a complete recovery, but the generosity of the population seems to say a lot. "
In addition to GoFundMe, a local car dealership has created an account with IberiaBank and is committed to paying up to $ 50,000 in consideration, the Daily Advertiser reported. The bank also announced a contribution of $ 6,000.
Benjamin Watson, a former member of the New Orleans Saints, helped promote online fundraising for several days.
"It's imperative," Watson tweeted, "Let us show this community and the whole country that these types of acts do not represent who we are."
Read more:
Yesterday, Our Lady burned. Today, millions of people have been mobilized around the world to rebuild.
Notre Dame will close for a period of up to six years during an ambitious rebuilding effort
Police Arrest Suspect in "Suspicious" Fires Burning Three Black Churches in South Louisiana
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