A 35-year-old church with a predominantly Black congregation was heavily damaged by fire this morning in Enid, Oklahoma, the latest in a string of such fires. The fire was described as suspicious. Yesterday, in Greeleyville, South Carolina, at the new home of the Mt. Zion AME Church, which was burned last year, President Clinton called for Americans to stand as one against the forces of hatred.

President Bill Clinton: “We have to say, all of you who’ve been afflicted by this, we know that we’re not going back to those dark days, but we are now reminded that our job is not done. I pledge to you I will do everything I can to prosecute those responsible for the rash of church burnings, to prevent future incidents, to help communities to rebuild. But Americans must lead the way.”

Republicans accused Clinton of using the Black church burnings as a campaign issue. Church members say the two men charged with the Mt. Zion burning are suspected members of the Ku Klux Klan. And the Southern Baptist Convention is offering prayers, money and volunteer labor to help the congregations of Black churches which were destroyed by fire. The Baptists have been meeting in New Orleans. Southern Baptists in Florida already have raised $50,000 to help rebuild the churches, and a collection among convention delegates yesterday was to raise more money for the cause. Last year, the predominantly white Southern Baptist Convention approved a resolution apologizing for past and present racism in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.