Just got this with a request to forward it to others -- please do the same. -- Hana +++++++++++++ Within the past five weeks two of our Black cultural organizations were targeted victims of racial violence. On February 27th, at 4:00 a.m., six Molotov cocktails were thrown from highway #7 at the Black Cultural Centre in Dartmouth, resulting in a fire causing $1,500 damage. A postage stamp size article reporting the incident appeared on the back pages of a single newspaper. On March 31st approximately 10:30 p.m, an unrecognized car was seen speeding away from the five year old office building at the Black Loyalist heritage site in Birchtown. Flames lapped around the outside deck to which a fire-accelerant had been applied. The building is a total loss. Also lost are the records, genealogical data, and planning documents-twenty years of work by the Black Loyalist Society. Major media reports of the incident came out two days later. No one has charged in either case. Bottom line: two acts of intentional destruction at the core of African Nova Scotia's cultural identity and self-esteem occurred within one month of each other. Along with the Victoria Road Baptist Church incident, a heightened pattern of racism is occurring. . These are hate crimes. I am asking all African Nova Scotians to do the following: 1. Be vigilant. Watch out for any persons out there with "bragging" rights and report immediately to RCMP. 2. Actively engage in continuing dialogue with the media and your MLA and your MP. These crimes cannot be allowed to be cast off as irrelevant. 3. We need to support and demand the need for investigative journalism from our media to identify these criminals. 4. Watch our communities with special vigilance. Sharon Oliver