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The Emanuel Nine Memorial is dedicated to reversing the spread of hate with a message of unyielding love and forgiveness.
A Wave of Love That Shook the World
When the families of the Emanuel Nine declared that hate would not win, they ignited a movement that reverberated across the globe.
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At a bond hearing for the accused killer, the judge afforded family members an opportunity to speak. Five of them offered exou rpressions of forgiveness to the remorseless killer. The first, Nadine Collier, a daughter of Ethel Lance, said:
“I just want everybody to know, to you, I forgive you. You took something very precious away from me. I will never talk to her again. I will never be able to hold her again. But I forgive you. And have mercy on your soul. You’ve hurt me. You hurt a lot of people. But God forgive you and I forgive you.”
Observers around the world, including many watching the hearing live on television, were profoundly moved by this display of Christian forgiveness.
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There was no civil unrest in Charleston in the aftermath of the slayings, only peaceful demonstrations and expressions of mourning for the victims, survivors, and Mother Emanuel AME Church. The shooter’s goal was to start a race war; instead, came a historic counter-wave of unity, and complex national reflection. The sidewalk along Calhoun Street overflowed with flowers, letters, and tokens of shared grief and hope from thousands of strangers. To preserve this historic outpouring of grace, the church gathered these gifts into a dedicated museum collection.
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To demonstrate the endurance of faith and the church, Emanuel reopened for worship on the first Sunday after the slayings, less than 24 hours after the police released it as a crime scene.
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During the initial bond hearing for the shooter, Alana Simmons, granddaughter of victim Rev. Daniel Lee Simmons Sr. stated that because her grandfather lived and preached in love, “hate won’t win.” On June 21, four days after the massacre, an estimated 10,000 people formed a human chain across Charleston’s Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper River in a show of support and reverence for Mother Emanuel and the victims.
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President Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, was inspired to deliver a eulogy about forgiveness and grace at a memorial service for Clementa Pinckney and other victims on June 26, 2025. He addressed the nation’s racial challenges directly and thrilled the crowd with an a cappella rendition of “Amazing Grace.”
