CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On Wednesday, the Black Men United March and Rally gathered at Marshall Park in Charlotte to remember the nine lives lost in the Emanuel AME Church shooting. The day marked 5 years since it happened.
The Charleston churchgoers had no idea the stranger they let in to have bible study with them was a white supremacist, and he opened fire on the people inside.
“Nine individuals lost their lives, including my sister Cynthia Graham Hurd,” said Charlotte city councilman Malcolm Graham.
Cynthia Hurd was killed at the Emanuel AME Church four days before her 55th birthday.
“Racism and hatred is still part of the fabric of this country, it’s been here for over 400 years,” Graham said.
Since the day Graham violently lost his sister to it, he says he hoped things would change for the better.
“You would’ve thought that five years ago people would say that was it, but things have actually gotten worse,” Graham said.
In the just the past month we’ve seen our country filled with weeks worth of protests, that at times have ended in fires, injuries, tear gas and destruction as protesters screamed that black people’s lives matter.
The protests stemmed from an incident in Minneapolis where an officer was videotaped kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes as he laid on the ground in handcuffs.
“What’s happening throughout the country in terms of marching and demonstrations not only are they protesting George Floyd, but they’re protesting racism, hatred, and discrimination,” Graham said.
One thing South Carolina Representative James Clyburn says has changed is the diversity of the protests he’s seen.
“The feeling was different, the expressions were different, the prayers were different,” Rep. Clyburn said. “This time there was a white pastor leading the prayer.”
Graham says while it may not happen overnight, unity is what it’ll take to change things.
“Racism and discrimination is not a sprint, it’s been with us for 400 years so it’s a marathon,” Graham said.