Every day when Rev. Walter Sadler is about to leave work at Southern Bethany Baptist Church in Burtonsville, he looks out the front window to make sure nobody is lurking in the parking lot before he heads out to his car. After facing vandalism, theft of a van, and threats targeted at the historically Black church over the past few years, he and his parishioners don’t always feel safe. They lock the doors immediately after services, and he won’t let parishioners put up a “Black Lives Matter” sign in the church yard because he’s concerned it could make the congregation a target.
“Sixty years later [after the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing], we are still dealing with racism and violence in our churches, and community,” Sadler said at a press conference at the Montgomery County Executive building on Wednesday, referencing to a 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four Black children.
Southern Bethany Baptist Church is one of the 136 beneficiaries of a $900,000 security grant program sponsored by Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) and the County Council through the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. The grants allow houses of worship and community organizations at risk of hate crimes to pay for security guards, cameras and other safety measures.
“It keeps hope alive, that we can feel that we have a sense of worship,” Sadler said of the grant funding.
Elrich said he’s proud to support the program and has continued to put more money toward it each year since it began in 2018, but he is concerned about the prevalence of hate crimes in the county.
“This is not a happy occasion. … I’m certainly happy to be doing this, but the truth is, I wish we weren’t doing this,” Elrich said. “We have to keep people safe, which is why we’re doing this, but it takes money away from things that would make some of our communities stronger. So it’s really imperative that we figure a way out of this.”
The county reported a 38% increase in applications for grant funding this year, with over 150 organizations applying. This is the largest amount of money the county has given out for this program.
“The majority of these folks could articulate experiences of the past that qualify as hate crimes,” said Luke Hodgson, director of the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. “This cannot be normalized.”
Hodgson said the incidents reported in the applications range from graffiti, vandalism and arson, to intimidation and threats against members of the groups, white supremacist materials distributed on campuses, and individuals physically entering facilities and intimidating people.
The program started when county leaders met to discuss ways to address and prevent targeted hate incidents shortly after the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018.
Ron Halber, director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, said programs such as this one are imperative as the need for them increases.
“Conditions that gave rise to these hate crimes have only intensified. These include the breakdown of civil discourse, societal political polarization, normalization of hate speech and the failure to condemn it,” Halber said.
The county has experienced a wave of hate incidents over the past couple of years. According to an October 2023 report from the Maryland State Police, spikes in antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ incidents contributed to a nearly 20% overall increase in hate incidents in the state in 2022. In the county, drag story hours have faced violence and bomb threats, pride flags have been vandalized and torn down, and antisemitic graffiti has been found in various public spaces across the county.
Officials also increased vigilance within days of the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023. Montgomery County police increased patrols around Jewish and Muslim gathering places and houses of worship. Antisemitic graffiti has been reported at Montgomery County Public Schools buildings and a Gaithersburg apartment building. Pro-Palestinian protesters reported offensive language and speech being used by pro-Israel protesters at a rally in Rockville, where at least one person was recorded on video calling Palestinians “animals,” “barbarians” and “murderers.”
“We know that these are critical places our residents rely on on a day-to-day basis, and regardless of where somebody is, regardless of what type of institution it is, it is our obligation in government and local government especially to keep our residents safe,” Council President Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) said during the press conference.
Ann Keochinda, a representative of Wat Thai Washington, D.C., a Buddhist temple in Silver Spring, said the congregation applied for a grant this year after intruders broke in and stole cameras the temple had installed.
“When the intruder came in, it had a ripple effect. We feel unsafe. How can you be a place of worship? A temple, which is supposed to be a safe and peaceful place?” Keochinda said. “You cannot do anything like that. You have to lock the door, you have to keep watch. That should not be the case. So we are very grateful to the county.”
Elrich said it will take more than just security to end hate in the county.
“You just don’t suddenly pass a piece of legislation, and everybody says, ‘Oh, my bigoted ideas are totally wrong, and I’m just going to change myself.’ That’s not what happens,” Elrich said. “This country has taught and fostered racism for years.”
Elrich said he believes it is the schools’ imperative to teach students about different cultures in order to prevent ignorance.
“Schools need to be willing to take a much more aggressive role in teaching people about other people’s religions and beliefs and the validity of their existence because you cannot be sure that they’re getting that in their home or other environments,” Elrich said. “And if you can’t say that because you’re afraid that’s political, that’s a sad commentary if we think talking about the humanity of human beings is a political statement.”