Light the way for me oh lord.

Quote:

DURHAM, N.C. -- Three large crosses were burned in separate spots around the city during a span of just over an hour, and yellow fliers with Ku Klux Klan sayings were found at one location, police said.

The cross burnings Wednesday night marked the first time in recent memory that one of the South's most notorious symbols of racial hatred has been seen in the city.
"At this day and time, I thought we'd be beyond that," said Mayor Bill Bell. "People do things for different reasons, and I don't have the slightest idea why anyone would do this."

The first burning was reported at 9:19 p.m. outside St. Luke's Episcopal Church. The next came at 9:54 p.m. atop a large pile of dirt near an apartment complex construction site; the third was at 10:28 p.m. at a downtown intersection.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/26/AR2005052600272.html

600 protest burnings at 3 Durham vigils



BY GINNY SKALSKI : The Herald-Sun
[email protected]
May 26, 2005 : 11:35 pm ET

DURHAM -- Tears welled up into Cassandra Allen's eyes as she looked around the candle-lit circle of about 250 people huddled at Durham's Oval Drive Park on Thursday night to stand against the hatred symbolized by three burning crosses found in the city the night before.

"I challenge you after you leave here tonight and your candle is long blown out that you do continue to let your light shine bright," Allen said.

Afterward, she walked back to the park's basketball court to retrieve her son's ball.

"I have a question," her 11-year-old son, Caron Allen, declared while playing with wax from his candle. "Is this going to turn into a big war or something?"

"I don't think so," Allen said. "Someone felt like they had a message to get across and they did it in a very cowardly way."

Durham residents were shaken by the news that three flaming crosses were found in the Bull City on Wednesday night. Almost 600 gathered at three vigils Thursday night to protest the burnings.

Although authorities have not pinpointed a motive for the burnings, many residents see them as an attack on the diversity they say attracts them to the city.

Community and religious leaders swiftly organized the three candlelight vigils to demonstrate they would not be intimidated by the symbols that some called "domestic terrorism."

Nearly 100 people gathered downtown and planted a crape myrtle tree at the site where one 7-foot cross burned the night before.

"We feel like we were victims" said the Rev. Ryon Price, a white 28-year-old who attended the vigil with his black wife, Irie. "Regardless of motive, we feel we are victims of a hateful act."

In southwestern Durham, about 225 people gathered at a construction site on South Roxboro Street, just north of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, where a cross was extinguished by firefighters the night before. Some of them prayed and others spoke about what the incidents meant to them.

"We are here together as a community and we will not let someone tear us apart with hatred," said Donna Kornegay, who brought her two young daughters to teach them what race means to some people. "I will not relinquish my power to those who hate me."

The city Human Relations Department is planning a larger communitywide unity rally for next week. Yvonne Peña, who heads the department, said it's important to coordinate an event catering to all backgrounds.

"The message is, 'We will not accept this kind of activity whatsoever,' " said Peña, who canceled her vacation after hearing about the incident so she could be involved in the investigation. "We're a diverse community and we're striving to overcome racial barriers."