JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Charleston, South Carolina, is remembering one of the nation's most heinous hate crimes. Today marks 10 years since a white supremacist killed nine Black worshippers during Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. NPR's Debbie Elliott returned to Charleston to hear how people are reflecting a decade later.
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DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE: That's a familiar and somber sound in downtown Charleston as Emanuel AME's gothic bell tower rings out daily at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.
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ELLIOTT: There's a chime for each of the victims, known as the Emanuel 9.
WILLIAM DUDLEY GREGORIE: It seems like yesterday. It's still fresh in many of our minds and in our hearts.
ELLIOTT: That's Charleston City Councilman William Dudley Gregorie, part of the Emanuel congregation.
GREGORIE: Our family has been a member of that church for - probably in the 1800s - way, way back. I can remember, you know, sitting on that fifth row with my mother. I mean, I grew up in that church.
ELLIOTT: Known as Mother Emanuel for its role in establishing the AME faith, the church is the oldest Black congregation in the South, dating to slavery. So there was no mistaking the symbolism when, in 2015, white supremacist Dylann Roof, intent on stoking a race war, pulled out a gun after being welcomed into Wednesday night Bible study. He shot and killed nine worshippers as they bowed their heads in prayer. Among them was the church's pastor, the Reverend Clementa Pinckney, who was a South Carolina state senator. Five others survived. Roof is now on federal death row. Gregorie says his plan backfired.
GREGORIE: The city of Charleston is the seat of the Confederacy. For that to happen in this city, a very hateful person planning a race riot to divide - didn't happen in this city. In fact, I think it brought us, as a people, closer together.
ELLIOTT: Over the last 10 years, the city of Charleston has taken steps toward racial reconciliation, issuing a formal apology for slavery in what was one of the busiest ports of the slave trade and establishing a commission to promote equity and inclusion. Gregorie says the city is getting there, but the work is not done. He says African Americans have long suffered and sacrificed to bring about racial progress in America.
GREGORIE: It's not minorities or African Americans that have to change. It's white people. White people have to change. They control the narrative, the dialogue.
ELLIOTT: The Emanuel congregation has long been a part of the story of race in America. The church was destroyed, and more than 30 members were executed in the 1820s for planning a slave rebellion. The racist attack 10 years ago is yet another tragedy that Emanuel has to overcome, says current pastor Eric Manning.
ERIC MANNING: We, as the church, still experience trauma.
ELLIOTT: Manning has been the pastor here since the year after the massacre, and it's been a difficult journey for the congregation.
MANNING: We have the motto - we are a light in the pathway of darkness. And we embrace that. But in this season, at the same token, we have to remember that Mother Emanuel is resilient - gone through a lot, continue to go through a lot. But the church continues to move forward.
ELLIOTT: Part of that is creating a new space for reflection.
MANNING: Watch your step.
ELLIOTT: Reverend Manning leads me out a side door of the church basement, where the killings occurred.
MANNING: As you come in, this is the memorial courtyard area.
ELLIOTT: It's flanked by two elongated white marble benches. A water fountain is being installed in the middle that will be inscribed with the names of the Emanuel 9. It's designed by Michael Arad, architect of the September 11 Memorial in New York. Manning says the idea is to present a crossroads where people can consider the stakes if hate is allowed to thrive.
MANNING: And if we think of ourselves as travelers, there are certain key things that we should always try to embrace. One is the acknowledgment of racism, acknowledging the hatred therein, and then working towards a path of reconciliation.
ELLIOTT: There's a theme you hear time and time again from people touched by the Emanuel massacre.
SHARON RISHER: There is transformation out of tragedy.
ELLIOTT: That's the Reverend Sharon Risher, whose mother, Ethel Lee Lance, was among those killed. Risher says her mom was known for a lot of things.
RISHER: Real perky, snazzy dresser, big smile, always wanting to help.
ELLIOTT: Risher says she went down a dark hole after the slayings, carrying anger and bitterness that she has now channeled into activism.
RISHER: This ministry, I call now, of politics, this ministry of social justice is something that have grown out of that tremendous pain.
ELLIOTT: Ten years later, she's still pushing South Carolina to pass a hate crime law and lobbying Congress to close the background check loophole that allowed the shooter to buy a gun despite previous drug arrests. Risher says she would have expected to see more progress by now.
RISHER: Being Black in America is just a challenge anyway. And the whole thing behind what happened was hate. And we continue to deal with this.
ELLIOTT: Other family members also find solace in speaking out against hate.
MELVIN L GRAHAM JR: My name is Melvin L. Graham Jr. I'm the brother of Cynthia Graham Hurd. When she was executed, I made a promise to be her voice.
ELLIOTT: Cynthia Hurd, a librarian, was at the church that night working on a poster outlining Emanuel's rich history when a friend asked her to stick around for Bible study. Melvin Graham says the root of the tragedy has been a problem throughout history - not being able to see others as human.
GRAHAM: They're not people. They're different. They're expendable.
ELLIOTT: He sees that kind of thinking in today's debate over immigration and calls it a vicious cycle.
GRAHAM: In the past, it was Blacks and African Americans that was the cause of all the problems. Now it's Hispanics that are the cause of all the problems. Who's next? And that's what scares me the most.
ELLIOTT: Back at Emanuel, Reverend Manning is readying for a busy week of memorial events at the church. The congregation is in the world spotlight now. Worship services draw celebrities, international visitors and tour groups. He wants them to leave Charleston with this message...
MANNING: Love is stronger than hate, and we are not going to let hate have the final say.
ELLIOTT: Manning says 10 years after June 17, 2015, is a time to both reflect and find a way to ensure this kind of tragedy never happens again. Debbie Elliott, NPR News, Charleston.
(SOUNDBITE OF KENDRICK LAMAR SONG, "SING ABOUT ME, I'M DYING OF THIRST") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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