Brittany Anders and Patrick Cook

 

Background Information

The Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church also known as “Mother Emmanuel” was founded as the Hamsted Church between 1815-1818 in South Carolina. The church was destroyed and rebuilt many times, for different reasons. It was burned to the ground in 1822 after alleged plans of a slave revolt were exposed.  Denmark Vessey, a former slave who had been able to purchase his freedom, was accused of plotting to overthrow and kill slaveholders in the town. Vessey was accused of meeting and recruiting members of Emmanuel AME Church. He was tried in a secret trial, found guilty and hanged. City officials ordered the congregation to disband and the church to be burned down. The congregation met in secret until the end of the Civil War and between 1865 and 1872 they built a new church. In 1886 the church was again destroyed, this time in an earthquake. The church was rebuilt in 1891.

More recently, in the evening of July 17, 2015, a mass shooting occurred at the church, killing nine people.  The shooting was confirmed to be a hate crime, and was committed by a 21 year-old, self-professed white supremacist named Dylann Roof.  He has been tried, found guilty and sentenced to death.

In the aftermath of the shootings people of different races publicly grieved together. A decision was made to permanently remove the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds. The leaders of the AME church shared the message “Our Doors Are Open” with their congregations.

 

The artists feel that racial violence is an extremely offensive and hurtful act, and this piece shows how powerful it is by showing how two acts of racial violence have affected the same place in two different time periods.  In this piece the artists are trying to show that the history of the church repeated itself, and are hoping to open the world’s eyes to these things. We need to work together to make sure history doesn't repeat itself anymore by spreading the message of acceptance that was displayed by the congregation of Mother Emmanuel after the most recent violence against it.