Police and federal authorities are investigating a suspected act of arson at the Museum of African American History in Boston after a package containing materials for an upcoming Juneteenth celebration was set on fire outside the institution this week.
According to Boston police, the incident occurred around 8 a.m. on Wednesday at the museum’s African Meeting House site on Beacon Hill. Security footage reportedly shows a man opening a package, scattering some of its contents, and setting several items on fire in an alley behind the historic building.
The package contained materials intended for the museum’s upcoming Juneteenth celebration, according to museum president and CEO Noelle Trent.
Boston police said they are investigating the incident alongside the National Park Service and are working with civil rights groups to identify any possible bias motive. Authorities have not classified the incident as a hate crime, though Trent said the circumstances were troubling given the location and the nature of the materials that were targeted.
“For us, this feels like a hate crime … the proximity of burning something near the oldest existing Black church building in the country is quite unnerving.” Trent told GBH News, adding that the burned items were clearly marked as Juneteenth-related materials.
The museum’s Boston campus includes the African Meeting House, widely recognized as the oldest surviving Black church building in the United States, as well as the adjacent Abiel Smith School, which was built in 1835 for Black students. Museum officials noted that any fire near the site could have posed a serious threat to both the historic structures and the surrounding Beacon Hill neighborhood.
Police released images of a suspect described as a white man wearing a dark jacket, dark pants, and white sneakers. Police are asking the public for help identifying the suspect.
