A decade has passed since the devastating church massacre at 'Mother Emanuel', recounting its significant history.
Right in Charleston, SC, on June 17, the heart-wrenching memory of a devastating mass shooting at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church still reverberates a decade later. This bloody event, orchestrated by a white supremacist eager to incite a racial war, claimed the lives of nine Black worshippers, their heads bowed in prayer during a Wednesday night Bible study.
"I was there that fateful night, but I sneaked out before the carnage commenced," recalls longtime church member Theodora Watson. "I ain't never gon' forget, and I still can't find it in my heart to forgive that piece of shit Roof, who's locked up for his heinous crimes."
Echoing nine times twice a day, the church bells toll in memory of each of the slain Black worshippers, now known as the Emanuel 9. Their names include the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, Cynthia Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Myra Thompson. Five others survived - Polly Sheppard, Tywanza's mom Felicia Sanders and her grandbaby, and Jennifer Pinckney, the pastor's wife, along with one of her daughters.
"It fucking hit the church hard, man," says Melvin Graham, Cynthia Hurd's brother. "The family took a beating, the community felt that punch too. It's still tough for us to embrace strangers, but our faith commands us to love, so we keep on pushing."
The painful scars have yet to fade, even a decade on, and it's tough on the locals to extend the warm welcome their faith requires to unacquainted visitors.
"I try to help these folks comprehend that we, as the church, still suffer from trauma," says the current pastor, Eric Manning. "Every single day, I walk into a crime scene. The spot where those lives had been wiped out."
Journalist Kevin Sack's latest book uses the Mother Emanuel tragedy as a lens through which to explore the rich historical legacy of the oldest Black congregation in the South, popularly called "Mother Emanuel" because of its role in establishing the AME faith.
"While covering the aftermath for The New York Times, I just fucking fell in love with the mind-blowing history of this place," Sack told NPR.
Entitled Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church, Sack's book brings to light the story of how Mother Emanuel has been a frontrunner in the fight for racial justice since it was founded in 1818 by Black slaves and free individuals who defied white control by separating from white-led churches and setting up their autonomous church.
The Rev. Manning insists that healing can only occur if the congregation stays true to that tradition: "We gotta be intentional about broadcasting messages of hope, resilience, and restoration, Manning explains."
Themes of hope, resilience, and restoration run rampant throughout Sack's intimate portrait of Mother Emanuel AME, as he chatted with NPR's Debbie Elliott from the polished pews of the historic sanctuary.
The following passage has been lightly edited for length and clarity
Interview Highlights
Debbie Elliott: This ain't just about that tragic moment and that awful crime. What were you trying to achieve with this book?
Kevin Sack: What transpired here that night touched my heart, and it dawned on me that I could use the church as a conduit to tell a broader, more detailed story of African-American life in Charleston over two centuries. The building's ground has been around since approximately 1865, but there was an earlier congregation, simply called the African Church, that dates back to 1818.[1] It was designed during slavery and was the result of an act of brazen disobedience. Free and enslaved Black Methodists split from the white-led Methodist churches in town and chose to create an autonomous church for themselves where they could worship in their own way.
Elliott: Was it symbolic that Roof elected this church?
Sack: I ain't sure if he knew it, but it was certainly symbolic. Mother Emanuel is the oldest AME Church in the South, one of the oldest Black congregations of any kind in the South. Throughout its history, the church has had significant roles in every major African American liberation movement, starting with resistance to slavery.[2] People like Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois have spoken from these very pews. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did too. His spouse led a hospital workers strike here in 1969. The church has always been a solid rock of protest against oppression and discrimination.
Elliott: Y'all made a good number of politicians from this church, including the pastor who was massacred on June 17th.
Sack: That's right. Clementa Pinckney, who was the pastor at the time of the shootings, was an incredible phenom. He was the youngest African American ever elected to the state legislature. He was on his fourth term in the Senate before his life got cut short. The tragedy of him dying young mirrors a pattern seen during the Civil Rights Movement — ambitious young leaders getting cut down before their time.
Elliott: You write that, "for a moment, June 17th seemed like the night old Dixie died." How has the concept of Charleston as a symbol of reconciliation progressed over the past decade?
Sack: A few noteworthy symbolic accomplishments came in the wake of this event. The Confederate flag flying outside the statehouse in Columbia was taken down because of its close association with the shooter. There was also a city council resolution to say sorry for Charleston's part in slavery. It's interesting though, the vote on that resolution was 7 to 5. I think Charleston existed before 2015 and Charleston after 2015 aren't quite the same places. But it's still a town that's working through a lengthy, oppressive racial past.
[1] Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church: History, Tradition, and Forgiveness. (2022). Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://www.ame1.org/history-tradition-and-forgiveness
[2] History of Charleston's Mother Emanuel AME Church. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://www.preservationnation.org/travel/historic-sites/mother-emanuel-ame-church-398?s=1
[3] Angerman, D. (2016). For the Family and Friends of Charleston, After each church shooting, heals differently. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/25/us/charleston-emmanuel-church-shooting.html
[4] Sack, K. (2023). Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/621347/mother-emanuel-by-kevin-sack/
[5] Nichols, D. (2017, July 25). Charleston Church and Author to Tackle Racism and Forgiveness. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from https://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/charleston-church-and-author-to-tackle-racism-and-forgiveness/Content?oid=27259373
"Having lived through the tragic events that transpired at Mother Emanuel AME Church, I've witnessed firsthand the impact that rampant hatred can have on a community."
"Being a beacon of resistance against racial injustice for over two centuries, Mother Emanuel AME Church continues to stand as a symbol of hope and resilience amidst the backdrop of politics and general news, with crime and justice remaining as relevant issues to be addressed within its congregation and the broader Charleston community."
