Posted on 11/15/2026 7:33:40 AM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
It took Alana Grant years to find the strength to set foot in the basement of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, where her grandfather, the Rev. Daniel Lee Simmons, attended his final Bible study.
Her fears have been replaced by gratitude and hope now that there is a completed memorial in a courtyard by the front door for the “Emanuel Nine,” the Black churchgoers killed by an avowed white supremacist in 2015.
On Saturday, the long-planned memorial at the South’s oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church opens to the public.
Emphasizing remembrance and reflection, the marble memorial is anchored by a Fountain of Grace, symbolizing God’s eternal love and mercy...
Michael Arad, an architect on the 9/11 Memorial whose design was ultimately chosen...wrote about his admiration for the victims’ families who offered forgiveness to the shooter.
A white, Jewish New Yorker who had never visited South Carolina, Arad did a deep-dive into the community for more than a year after he was selected. Having lengthy conversations with members of the congregation and researching the church’s 200-year history was essential, he said, and while the 9/11 memorial was a bigger endeavor, this design wasn’t any less complex.
“My job as a designer was to allow people who visit the site to see and hear what was here all along,” he said.
“We understand who we are as Americans through stories like this, through our response.”
Established in 1818, Mother Emanuel was built by free and enslaved people. In the 20th century, the church became a place of resistance where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights figures spoke.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
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What a beautiful memorial. Thanks for sharing.✝️🙏
You’re welcome! 🕊️🙏
Beautiful church with amazing people.
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