The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed federal charges against the suspect in the alleged racist arson of a historic social justice center in Tennessee.
A suspect whom authorities have linked to white supremacist movements has been arrested in the March 2019 fire that destroyed an office at the Highlander Research and Education Center, at which Rosa Parks and other civil rights leaders trained.
“We welcome the charges and hope they are taken as a sign that justice will be done even if it takes years ,” said CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison. “Hate-motivated attacks on historical buildings and monuments cannot be tolerated and must be prosecuted.”
Washington, D.C., based CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com