Healing & Hope: Charleston, 10 Years Later

CHARLESTON, S.C. — June 17, 2015, was like most Wednesday nights at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church -- it was bible study night.

But nine of the people who showed up that fateful night didn’t leave alive.

Ten years after a deadly shooting at the church, many would come to regard those in attendance as saints -- blessed by God, agitated by evil, elevated by grace. Like any good teacher, the Wednesday bible study at Mother Emanuel is still sharing new lessons and asking what have we truly learned.

Channel 9’s Ken Lemon is examining the history of Mother Emanuel and what has taken place since the tragedy.

Healing & Hope: Charleston, 10 years later

• ‘A powerful legacy’: Mother Emanuel’s impact on Charleston stretches from past to present
• ‘Unthinkable’: The attack on Mother Emanuel left behind hurt, anger
• ‘Evil, pure evil’: Hatred, forgiveness, and honoring the victims of the Charleston church attack

The Emanuel Nine:

• Pastor Clementa Pinckney
• Rev. Daniel Simmons
• Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton
• Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor
• Cynthia Hurd
• Susie Jackson
• Ethel Lance
• Tywanza Sanders
• Myra Thompson

They are the nine lives lost in the tragic shooting ten years ago, and there are plans to build a memorial to them. There will also be a survivors’ garden with six trees, one for the person the gunman spared as a messenger, the other people in another part of the church during the season, and one for the church itself.

Maybe the biggest lesson is that the person who aimed to make a point with hate isn’t acknowledged here.

The names of those who came in faith will be etched on a monument inside the church, which has survived a fire, an earthquake, and unspeakable hate.

(VIDEO: Progress underway on memorial for victims of Charleston church shooting)

Progress underway on memorial for victims of Charleston church shooting

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