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Families of Charleston Shooting Victims: "We Forgive You"

by Elma09Xqhdroerlw Posted on June 19, 2015

Mother Jones

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As Dylann Roof, the gunman accused of killing nine people inside a church in Charleston, South Carolina, appeared in court on Friday to formally hear the charges against him, representatives of the victims’ families came forward to deliver a powerful message of forgiveness.

“You took something very precious away from me,” a family representative for Ethel Lance, the 70-year-old grandmother who died in Wednesday’s massacre, told Roof on behalf of Lance’s loved ones. “I will never talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her again. But I forgive you and have mercy on your soul. You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people, but I forgive you.”

Some of the victims’ family members also invited Roof, who attended his bond hearing through a video conference, to join them in bible service to repent and to “change your ways no matter what happened to you.”

Felicia Sanders, who survived the shooting by pretending to be dead, also spoke about losing her son in the attack. “Tywanza was my hero….May God have mercy on you.” Another family member, Bethane Middleton-Brown, whose sister was killed on Wednesday, told Roof, “For me, I’m a work in progress and I acknowledge that I’m very angry. We have no room for hate. We have to forgive. I pray God on your soul.”

On Thursday, Chris Singleton, the son of victim Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, responded to the tragedy by expressing gratitude for those who reached out to him since his mother’s murder.

“Love is always stronger than hate, so if we just love the way my mom would, then the hate won’t be anywhere close to where love is,” Singleton said. “We’ve come together as a community to try to get past these things. A tragedy has happened, but life is going to go on and things are going to get better.”

“This church is such a family,” he continued. “‘ve been going there since sixth grade when I moved here. Feels like they’re all older than me, but it’s like I’m everybody’s grandson.”

Roof, who appeared emotioneless during the hearing, was charged with nine counts of murder. His bond is set at $1 million.

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Families of Charleston Shooting Victims: "We Forgive You"

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Here’s What We Know About the People Who Lost Their Lives in Charleston

by Cynthia Trevino Posted on June 18, 2015

Mother Jones

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Nine people were killed in the shooting at the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday night. On Thursday afternoon, Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten officially identified all of the victims, some of whose names had leaked out over the course of the day. Here are brief sketches of their lives.

State Sen. Clementa Pinckney

Pinckney, 41, was a pastor at Emanuel AME and a widely respected state senator. “Sen. Pinckney was a legend,” said fellow state Sen. Marlon Kimpton on CNN. “He was the moral compass of the state Senate.” Pinckney’s desk in the statehouse was covered with a black cloth after news broke of his death:

During his remarks on Thursday afternoon, President Obama said he knew Pinckney personally, along with other members of the church. “To say our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families and their community doesn’t say enough to convey the heartache and the sadness and the anger that we feel,” he said.

Sharonda Coleman-Singleton

Coleman-Singleton, also a pastor at the church, was a coach at Goose Creek High School near Charleston. South Carolina’s high school sports governing body mourned her death on Twitter after it was announced on Thursday morning:

“I saw her at work everyday and she always had a smile on her face,” Chris Pond, the baseball coach at Goose Creek, said to the Berkeley Independent.

Cynthia Hurd

Hurd, the manager of the St. Andrews branch of the Charleston County Public Library, was identified by her employer as one of the victims.

“Cynthia was a tireless servant of the community who spent her life helping residents, making sure they had every opportunity for an education and personal growth,” the library said in a statement on Facebook.

The library announced it would shut all of its branches on Thursday to honor Hurd.

TYWANZA SANDERS

Lady June Cole, the interim president of Allen University, said on Thursday that Tywanza Sanders, a 2014 graduate of the small historically black university in Columbia, S.C., was killed in the shooting. Cole called Sanders a “quiet, well-known student who was committed to his education” and who “presented a warm and helpful spirit.”

It’s not about how much money you got it’s not about materials you possess its about love faith belief hope determination perseverance passion pain patients. God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers. I love these instruments but my love for God is greater. This acoustic guitar and my first musical love my trumpet my sacrifice will bring joy to others #moneymotivatemoney #grindovermatter #success #loveyours #giveGodcredit #trustinGod

A photo posted by TyWanza Sanders (@freshwanza) on Apr 19, 2015 at 7:30am PDT

MYRA THOMPSON

Archbishop Foley Beach of the Anglican Church of North America wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday that Myra Thompson, the wife of the Rev. Anthony Thompson of Charleston’s Holy Trinity REC Church, was killed in the attack.

Ethel Lee Lance
The 70-year-old grandmother had worked at Emanuel AME for more than three decades. Her grandson Jon Quil Lance told the Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston that Lance was a hardworking Christian and “the heart of the family.”

Susie Jackson
The 87-year-old was a longtime church patron and Ethel Lance’s cousin, according to the Post and Courier.

Daniel L. Simmons Sr.
The 74-year-old was a ministry staff member at Emanuel AME and the former pastor of Greater Zion AME Church in the nearby town of Awendaw. His daughter-in-law, Arcelia Simmons, told ABC News that Simmons attended services at Emanuel on Sundays as well as weekly Bible study. Simmons died in the hospital after the attack.*

Depayne Middleton
The 49-year-old mother of four sang in the church choir.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Allen University is located in Charleston. It is actually located in Columbia, S.C.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the town of Awendaw.

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Here’s What We Know About the People Who Lost Their Lives in Charleston

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We’re Still at War: Photo of the Day for May 27, 2014

by EdnaBloomfield Posted on May 27, 2014

Mother Jones

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Cpl. Scott Bradley and Lance Cpl. Dakota Marshall, two Marines with Black Sea Rotational Force 14 from 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, reach the peak of a cliff with two Romanian soldiers of the 17th Mountain Troop Bn. during Exercise Platinum Lynx in the Carpathian Mountains, May 8, 2014. Exercise Platinum Lynx 14-5 is a bilateral exercise between the United States Marines and sailors, and Romanian Land Forces, designed to build familiarity and interoperability between the United States and their Romanian allies through squad and platoon level infantry training. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Scot Whiting/Released)

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We’re Still at War: Photo of the Day for May 27, 2014

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