Justin Martyr and W. E. B. Du Bois on violent persecution

Helpful articles addressing the terrorist attack at Emanuel AME Church last week have appeared in a number of outlets, some offering superb analysis. 

One question concerning the context of violence in church in particular, and persecution in general, is what commonalities exist between the experiences of persecuted groups—namely Christians on the basis of their faith and African Americans on the basis of their race. And are there any commonalities in the ways these groups have responded to the violence perpetrated against them?

This is a complicated question. African Americans have often been persecuted because of both their race and their Christian confession. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between these two triggers of violence. (See Carl Chinn’s statistical analysis of church violence in America since 1999.)