Racial tension in this country became the focal point of discussion last week with the killing of nine African-Americans in Charleston, South Carolina.
The accused 21-year-old killer, Dylann Roof, was apprehended in Shelby, North Carolina, the very next day. It appears this likely will be tried as a hate crime as it should be.
When you are brazen and bold enough to go into a Wednesday night prayer service and Bible study, sit through most of it and then open fire, hate is the word that characterizes your actions.
The city of Charleston has come together to condemn this act of violence. The descendants of slaves and slave owners joined hands as prayer vigils were held all day into the evening.
The mayor and the governor of South Carolina have asked for prayer and peace for the citizens of the city and the state. Nikki Haley, governor of the state, said, “The heart and soul of South Carolina was broken.”
President Obama offered his condolences to the families, in particular to Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor of Emanuel AME Church where the shooting took place. Pinckney was one of the nine people killed.
I listened to the breaking news in shock and disbelief. Didn’t America learn anything from the Birmingham Alabama church bombing that killed four little Black girls 52 years ago during the Civil Rights era?
