A Tribute to the Mother Emanuel Church

Exhibit Splash Image

Responses

Attendees singing at the Morris Brown AME Church Community Prayer Vigil the day after the shooting, photograph by Mike Ledford, June 18, 2015, Charleston, South Carolina.
President Barack Obama giving the eulogy at Reverend Clementa Pinckney's funeral service, June 26, 2015, Charleston, South Carolina, courtesy of the College of Charleston.
People gathered for a vigil organized by the Overpass Light Brigade, June 19, 2015, Madison, Wisconsin, courtesy of Light Brigade.
John C. Calhoun statue in Marion Square spray-painted with the words "slavery" and "racist" following the mass shooting at the Mother Emanuel Church, Instagram photograph by Ashley Edge, June 23, 2015, Charleston, South Carolina. John C. Calhoun (1782-1850) was an influential American politician who strongly supported slavery and secession for the South. This statue was unveiled in 1896, at a time when Jim Crow segregation laws were becoming entrenched throughout the U.S. South.

In the days and weeks following the shooting at Mother Emanuel, various individuals and organizations in Charleston, throughout South Carolina, and across the nation participated in community prayer vigils, marches, and rallies to honor the victims, promote unity, and galvanize awareness of racial injustice in South Carolina and beyond. In addition, the Emanuel AME Church oversaw homegoing services for the nine victims, including Reverend Pinckney’s funeral at the College of Charleston’s TD Arena, where President Barack Obama delivered the eulogy to an audience of over five thousand people. The following images document many of the local and national events that occurred in response to the shooting. Please see the Interactive Timeline for a more detailed chronology of events.