CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Seven years ago, Cynthia Graham Hurd was attending another church gathering on a normal Wednesday.
The 33-year Charleston library manager was a devout Bible study member and attended church regularly.
"She was a talker, she would go on and on about things she cared about," Malcolm Graham, Hurd's brother and a Charlotte city councilman, said with a grin.
Hurd was shot and killed on June 17, 2015 when a man entered the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston and murdered nine people in a racist attack aimed at African Americans.
The shooting was tied as the deadliest attack at a place of worship when it occurred. Dylan Roof, the shooter, was given a death sentence after being found guilty of 33 hate crimes and murder charges in federal court and another nine in state court.
Graham told WCNC in the aftermath of the shooting that he knew something was wrong when he tried contacting his sister hours after the attack and didn't receive a response.
In the seven years since the shooting, the Charleston community has honored Hurd in several ways.
The library she managed was renamed the Cynthia Graham Hurd St. Andrews Regional Library in 2015. Also in 2015, the Cynthia Graham Hurd Foundation for Reading and Civic Engagement was created to facilitate money for literacy and reading programs.
These honors are bittersweet to Graham, who appreciates the public taking notice of her work but wishes she was still here to enjoy life.
"If I had the choice between having a library named after Cynthia or having Cynthia here, I would obviously want her here with her family and friends," said Graham. "But the fact that the community has acknowledged her is definitely appreciated. But all those things are bittersweet."
Graham says his sister was a great, loving person to be around and noted she was dedicated to literacy.
Even though Hurd died in the Charleston church shooting, Graham looks at the anniversary as a way to honor and celebrate those that were lost that day.
"I always focus on how she lived versus how she died. Today we celebrate the contributions she made to Charleston," said Graham. "We think about the other families who lost loved ones."
Graham also tied the Charleston shooting to the deadly May shooting in Buffalo that featured a similar racist motive. The city councilman said more needs to be done to prevent shootings of this nature.
"We have to acknowledge that racism and hatred still exist," said Graham. "The perpetrator used a gun to commit a crime of hatred, racism, and discrimination. We have to be able to confront those issues. Whether it's at our kitchen table or in a public setting."
Graham has served as a Charlotte councilman for the city's second district in two separate stints. He was first elected in 1999 and served until 2005. Graham has now served in the position since 2019. In between his time on the city council, Graham was a member of the North Carolina Senate from 2005 to 2014.