GVPanorama - 10 Years after the Deadly Shooting, a New History of 'Mother Emanuel'
A new book delves into the deep history of the South Carolina church
Church member Theodora Watson at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 2, 2025. (Catie Dull/NPR)
This past June marked the 10th anniversary of the horrific shooting at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
New York Times reporter, Kevin Sack, went to cover the tragedy and became so engrossed in the church’s history, he started a book on it — Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church, recently released to coincide with the sad anniversary. Rather than wholly somber, Sack presents a proud history and a resilient congregation.
This recent NPR/WNYC report and audio segment talks to Sack and current congregation members.
“Sack's new book tells the story of how Mother Emanuel has been at the forefront of the struggle for racial justice since it was founded in an ‘act of bold subversion’ by enslaved and free African-Americans in the 1800s.”
excited to read this book, glad the church and its history can be remembered / honored in this way