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Notre Dame donations spark call for help in rebuilding burned black churches in Louisiana
Image source: CBS News video screenshot

Notre Dame donations spark call for help in rebuilding burned black churches in Louisiana

A movement on social media is asking Americans to contribute to rebuild houses of worship at home

Within hours of the tragic fire that destroyed much of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday, French billionaires pledged hundreds of millions toward rebuilding the international treasure.

The next day, freelance journalist Yashar Ali noted on Twitter that "Notre Dame will be well funded," and asked followers to join him in contributing to help rebuild the three black churches torched by an arsonist in Louisiana in recent weeks.

What are the details?

Ali noted, "In the past month, three historically black churches in Louisiana were destroyed by a racist arsonist. He has been charged with hate crimes, but these churches need your help."

He then attached a link to a GoFundMe page supporting the reconstruction of the Baptist churches' "sanctuaries, [and] for the purchase of all necessities lost in the fires, including pews, sound system, musical instruments, etc."

Twitter followers from across the political spectrum jumped on board, with pledges coming from conservative pundit Ben Shapiro to CNN's Jake Tapper — raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in a matter of hours as Ali kept up the momentum.

Anything else?

Over a span of 10 days, the St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre, the Greater Union Baptist Church in Opelousas, and the nearby Mount Pleasant Baptist Church were all torched. A suspect was arrested last week, initially charged with arson; hate crime charges were tacked on the same suspect this week.

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