Reflections On Charleston

This July, in a tightly packed gym in the middle of Charleston, hundreds of men and women of all races gathered for a prayer event where they held hands, crying for each other and singing the civil rights protest anthem, “We Shall Overcome.”We Charlestonians responded in such a fashion to a shooting that took place on the cloudy night of June 17, 2015 during a prayer service in a historic black church, where a white man shot and killed nine African Americans. The attack has been called a hate crime by authorities, and suspect Dylann Roof now faces nine counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and the use of a firearm during a violent felony, in addition to 33 federal hate crime counts.The shooting came in the wake of a year full of racial tension, fueled by several killings of men and women of color, mostly the result of police brutality. However, the events that took place in the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church seemed to bring a climax in tragedy—one of Roof’s former roommates claimed Roof wanted to “start a civil war,” a direct testament to the levity of hate and racism the 21-year-old held in his heart.However, Charleston, a city rooted in religion and all too familiar with the horrors of civil war, wouldn’t help Roof carry out his intentions. Rather, the community set an example for the rest of the country, preaching a message of acceptance and unification between the white and black communities, rather than turning to violence such as we have seen in the past, most recently in Baltimore.The movement started with a message of forgiveness: relatives of the nine victims confronted Roof during his initial hearing, not only speaking of their pains, but also forgiving him and asking him to repent. After witnessing Roof’s strong messages of hate, these victims were determined not to respond in kind, according to Alana Simmons, the granddaughter of Reverend Daniel Simmons, one of the victims of the shooting.During the hearing, she described the pleas in courts as “proof [the victims] lived in love and their legacies will live in love, so hate won’t win.” Seeing these men and women bravely forgive the murderer of their relatives brought a powerful message to the Charleston community, encouraging them to come together with love, rather than pointing fingers. The Charleston community did the prior, organizing several tribute events and walks to pay homage to the victims. Similarly, several prayer services were held in the AME church and other areas as the city prayed for the victims and asked God to help people to come together in this struggle against hate. People chanted the slogan, “Charleston Strong,” walking through Charleston’s streets to emphasize the community’s support for one another.To me, someone who was born and raised in Charleston and attended these events, our community’s response was moving. So why have I not seen anything similar after the other shootings? When reflecting on some of these past murders such as in Ferguson and Baltimore, an underlying issue became clear to me as I asked myself: can change be enacted through messages of peace and unity, or does the response need to be more aggressive to grab the nation’s attention?I took a look back at some of the past race movements of America to get a better understanding of the situation. I started with Dr. King, probably the most well-known race advocate in our country’s history. Despite the limited voice of black men and women at the time, Dr. King applied a Gandhi-style approach of non-violence to his fight against segregation. He made an important distinction between an aggressive spirit and physical peace. Rather than fighting back, his response to violent attacks was to continuously take the blow until the attacker wore down from the victim’s endless tolerance. Dr. King believed that he would have won the battle at this point, and that the attacker would now look at his message with a more open mind, joining the movement.The other important message Dr. King taught was one of forgiveness and acceptance, rather than revenge. “It is evil that the nonviolent resister seeks to defeat, not the persons victimized by evil,” he said. His aim was “not to defeat the white community, not to humiliate the white community, but to win the friendship of all of the persons who had perpetrated this system in the past.” One can compare this message to Charleston’s colored community in 2015; they sought not to condemn Roof, but to forgive him, and encouraged the white community of Charleston to follow their lead, rather than listen to Roof’s hateful message.The idea of non-violence that has been common throughout the civil rights movements of American history—other famous race advocates such as Jimmy Lee Jackson, Bayard Rustin and even Abraham Lincoln were all supporters of non-violence and have made important social advancements using its ideology. Of course, there were other riots and protests that accompanied them as well, but their overarching message sought to help the white community, rather than to condemn them.As we enter another school year, and as we will most likely encounter more tragedies, I encourage students to remember the message of acceptance non-violence teaches. Yes, white people have certain privileges, and yes, we have a lot to learn about race, but we need to learn together, as a community. If someone holds a belief that you disagree with, don’t get mad at him or her, or immediately dismiss him or her as wrong. Rather, try to listen, help educate and see what you can take away from the conversation. It’s this idea of acceptance that the Charleston community fostered, and the result has been beautiful: a city that has united and grown from its tragedy.