FBI launches vandalism investigation at Sacramento Black church after series of hate crimes

On June 21, in the Bay Area community of Union City, a white sedan parked in a residential neighborhood with Black Lives Matter signs had its windshield smashed and was spray painted with racist, anti-Black graffiti.

Less than two weeks later, on the Fourth of July, a pair of white residents in Martinez sparked outrage when they were caught on video painting over a portion of a Black Lives Matter mural that had just been completed on a city street.

The very next day, a parishioner at Murph-Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a predominantly Black, 126-member church in North Highlands that was holding a drive-in church service outside because of COVID-19, found racial slurs, including “Kill ‘em all” and “KKK,” carved into the rooftop air conditioning unit.

The slurs also included the N-word, as well as a reference to Antifa, the anti-fascist movement that regularly protests right-wing gatherings.

“I was alarmed,” Pastor Carieta Cain Grizzell said last week as she reflected on the second racist assault against her church in the last four years. “Oh, my God, this again.

“And, of course, with the present climate you don’t know what is going to happen as a result. You don’t know whether that’s a threat or whether it’s a warning. You don’t know exactly what that means.”

FBI begins probe of vandalism at Black church

No one is certain yet whether the incidents and others – including racist pamphlets posted in Placerville, graffiti targeting minority-owned businesses in various California cities, motorists making obscene gestures at Black Lives Matter protesters in Sacramento – all form some sort of backlash to the outpouring since the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

But several incidents are now being investigated as possible hate crimes, and the attack on Murph-Emmanuel, a church that includes non-Black members, is now the focus of an FBI investigation.

“We are fully engaged, working with the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department to investigate and potentially prosecute this case,” U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott told The Sacramento Bee. “Any nonsensical attack like this on a house of worship – be it a Muslim mosque, a Jewish synagogue, a Hindu temple or a Christian church - is simply unacceptable.

“And we will, in conjunction with our local law enforcement partners, fully investigate and, if appropriate, prosecute those who have done this.”

Targeted church welcomes all, offers food to neighborhood

The church, which sits back from Don Julio Boulevard near a high school field about two miles from the old McClellan Air Force Base, seems like an unlikely target for hate.

A sign out front promises that “All Are Welcome,” and despite the fact that coronavirus has forced services to be live-streamed instead of being held in the sanctuary, the church runs a food closet that offers meals to neighborhood residents of any race.

“Most of the people that we feed are not African-American,” Grizzell said. “Most of the people that we feed are others.

“We reach out to everybody. We serve everybody.”

Incident is second attack in four years

Despite that, the church, which had its front doors locked during a visit last week and is equipped with security cameras and alarms, has been targeted at least twice in the last four years.

On June 4, 2016, someone spray painted the N-word on the church’s front door and security alarm sign, and smashed the building’s ornate, stained-glass windows.

Since the latest incident, Grizzell says she has heard from other pastors offering support, and notes that Sacramento’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations immediately denounced the incident.

“Unfortunately, there’s always been incidents against churches, especially Black churches,” said Basim Elkarra, executive director of CAIR’s Sacramento chapter.

There are no hard statistics yet on hate crimes in the aftermath of the George Floyd marches that erupted worldwide and sparked counter protests in many areas.

Dozens of hate crimes against houses of worship reported

The California Department of Justice reported 66 hate crime events against houses of worship in 2019, and one scholar says incidents at houses of worship are simply not unusual anymore.

“Unfortunately, churches routinely get targeted, and especially with regard to the African-American community,” said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.

But he added that he has seen anecdotal evidence so far this year of hate crimes against Asian Americans because of coronavirus, as well as against Black citizens. And, Levin said, things likely will get worse in coming months because of the political calendar.

“In most places, hate crime is down the first half of this year,” Levin said. “But in election years we routinely see spikes in the second half of the year.

“When we see periods of racial division in an election year, we often see spikes. We’re still waiting for data, but we’ve had a sharp increase in many places of anti-Asian hate crimes, and what I’m hoping is that is not going to be a harbinger of hate crimes against others.”

Pastor says church members will rely on faith

For Grizzell, the incident is particularly disappointing given the outpouring of support for racial equality after George Floyd’s death.

“I’m really happy about the progress that people are making,” she said. “We’re seeing that all races of people are joining in in the protests, and it was wonderful to see whites and Latinos and Asians and everybody. And not only in the United States, but to see all over the world that people were joining in and protesting.”

But are the protests to blame for what happened at Murph-Emmanuel?

“It could be,” Grizzell said. “It’s hard to say. I think there are a lot of different feelings about what is happening.

“I know some people are not happy with the protests and the tearing down of certain monuments. I mean, racism has always existed, but I think it’s out there more.”

Grizzell says she and her parishioners will rely on their faith to move forward, but will still take precautions.

“Of course, they’re upset,” she said. “We do have a lot of faith. We’re not going to have blind faith.

“We stand on the word of God..., but that doesn’t mean we’re going to just not wear masks or just put ourselves out there. We’re going to take precautions and do what we’re supposed to do to protect ourselves. But we believe that God is faithful, and he will take care of us.”

This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 10:45 AM.