Love wins -Emanuel African Methodist Church, Charleston, SC

I am compelled to write about what has happened in my community over the last two weeks. Unless you have been living under a rock, you have read about the senseless shooting that killed nine black parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. The troubled young man who shot them, Dylann Roof from Eastover, South Carolina, came to a prayer meeting with the express intent of starting a race war. Much like those Americans who end up working with extremist groups in the Middle East, he was radicalized on the internet, reading a white supremacist web site with all kinds of nasty, hateful ideas and decided he should be the one to act on those ideas.

But let’s be clear. It did not work, and it will not work. Charleston has instead come together. Love wins. Funeral after funeral, black and white people touched hands, sang hymns together, and celebrated the lives of nine good people. Because so many wanted to attend, one funeral oration was held in the TD Arena at the College of Charleston. The first bible study was held just one week later, and the message was all about love. Two major funds were set up, the Mother Emmanuel Hope Fund, to help the families with burial costs, and Lowcountry Ministries—Pickney Fund to support youth and health initiatives for the underserved. Local grocery stores are collecting funds to help the families defray other costs. Charleston Southern University has created a scholarship for one of the students that lost his mother to finish his education. The College of Charleston has renamed the “Colonial” scholarship fund for one of the nine.

And perhaps most amazing of all, there is finally a real discussion about taking the Confederate flag off of the Statehouse grounds here. It’s only been a few years since it was taken off the Capitol dome, but it didn’t make it off the property. The Citadel, in response to the shootings, decided to take down the Confederate Naval Jack from Summerall Chapel. Sure, there have been protests, and people from outside the community have urged violent, riotous responses. But the families of the dead instead urged forgiveness, and showed remarkable courage in staying on the side of love and healing.

Yes, there is a lot more work to be done to help us truly understand and not just tolerate each other. Other outsiders have come to mourn with us, and moved us with their actions and their words. Most of the nation knows Barack Obama sang Amazing Grace as part of his eulogy for state Senator Clementa Pickney. This is the spirit we will keep alive, in the celebration of all those nine lives lost. So let us remember them:

  • Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd (54) – Bible study member and manager for the Charleston County Public Library system; sister of Malcolm Graham
  • Susie Jackson (87) – a Bible study and church choir member
  • Ethel Lee Lance (70) – the church sexton
  • Depayne Middleton-Doctor (49) – a pastor who was also employed as a school administrator and admissions coordinator at Southern Wesleyan University
  • Clementa C. Pinckney (41) – the church pastor and a South Carolina state senator
  • Tywanza Sanders (26) – a Bible study member; nephew of Susie Jackson
  • Daniel Simmons (74) – a pastor who also served at Greater Zion AME Church in Awendaw
  • Sharonda Coleman-Singleton (45) – a pastor; also a speech therapist and track coach at Goose Creek High School
  • Myra Thompson (59) – a Bible study teacher

By remembering these people, it should be clear that love does indeed win in the midst of tragedy, and their lives are worth celebrating.

 

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