CHARLESTON, S.C. — Monday four years since a white supremacist gunned down nine people at a historically black church in Charleston.
One of the victims was the sister of former state senator Malcolm Graham who lives in Charlotte.
"Today is the day my sister and eight others were murdered at Emanual AME Church," he said.
Graham's sister, Cynthia Graham Hurd, was one of the Emanual 8.
"Here is a church of worship, the senior ministers and others invited him in to be with them and pray with them, and when their eyes were closed, heads bowed during benediction, killed them, and killed them because they were black," he said.
It’s been four years, and yet Graham said, sadly, not much has changed.
"I'm not sure we've learned anything, right? Pittsburgh synagogue, in suburb of San Diego, similar circumstances, Virginia beach just a few weeks ago," he said.
Graham said his family formed a foundation in his sister's name to honor both the way she lived and died. The foundation focuses on literacy; she was a librarian for 30 years.
It also focuses on civic engagement -- combatting racism and working towards gun control.
"We do both because Cynthia was more than just a librarian who cared about books and literacy she was also very involved in the community," Graham said.
This week, on the anniversary of her death and the week she should have celebrated her 59th birthday, they are trying to celebrate all that she loved.
"So today we focus on how they lived rather than how they died," Graham said.
The library in Charleston was re-named in her honor and the foundation in Charlotte has a book drive and a tennis tournament coming up.