Emanuel Nine Memorial

Project Details

Project Description

FROM THE ARCHITECTS:

The inspiration for the memorial design is drawn from reflecting upon the lives and the sacrifices of the Emanuel Nine: Reverend Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Mrs. Cynthia Graham Hurd, Mrs. Susie J. Jackson, Mrs. Ethel Lee Lance, Reverend DePayne Vontrease Middleton, The Honorable Reverend Clementa Pinckney, Mr. Tywanza Kibwe Diop Sanders, Reverend Daniel Lee Simmons, Sr., and Mrs. Myra Singleton Quarles Thompson, AME Licentiate.

When a 21-year-old white supremacist murdered clergy and church members while praying during the June 17, 2015 Bible study at the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, nine extraordinary individuals were taken from this world in a horrific act of hatred.

Family members of survivors, Mrs. Jennifer Pinckney, Malana Pinckney, Mrs. Polly Sheppard, Mrs. Felicia Sanders and her granddaughter, and families of the Emanuel Nine spoke with architect Michael Arad to share their thoughts and remembrances. Daniel Simmons, Jr., son of Reverend Daniel Simmons, Sr. noted that, “The church’s rich history is ever present, and the Emanuel Nine’s lives reflected it.” Mabel Washington, representing Tywanza and Felicia Sanders added, “The Nine were like brothers and sisters, together all of the time.” Melvin Graham, brother of Cynthia Graham Hurd, hoped to “Show unity, and hope, and light in the circle.”

The memorial design reflects the powerful and inspiring way in which the Emanuel Nine family members relied on the bedrock of their faith to reverse the spread of hate with a message of unyielding love and forgiveness. “Because of this, people are still coming together. We will forever feel motivated to live our lives as our loved ones would want us to live,” said Walter Jackson, Jr., son of Susie Jackson.

Michael Arad began the design process by reframing the church grounds to create a sacred space for a memorial and a garden space to honor the survivors. A Memorial courtyard was designed in honor of the spirit and fellowship of the Emanuel 9. The Emanuel Nine Memorial will be a place for the congregation and the community. It encourages people of all backgrounds and walks of life to come together to realize positive change, while also creating a space to reflect in quiet contemplation.

This coming together is encouraged through the creation of two fellowship benches facing each other. An opening between the two benches widens towards the entrance, welcoming strangers to enter and join in community. The high backs of the benches arc up and around, like sheltering wings. They provide a sense of enclosure, and like a pair of arms, cradling visitors inside this space.

At the center of the Memorial, the curve of the stone benches encircle a marble fountain. The names of the Emanuel Nine are carved around the fountain’s edge. Water emanates from a cross-shaped source, filling the basin and gently spilling over the names of the Emanuel Nine.

The opening between the fellowship benches toward the back of the Memorial Courtyard reveals a cross above a simple altar, offering visitors a quiet place to linger in thought and prayer.

From there, a pathway leads to a new Survivors’ Garden dedicated to life and resiliency. A newly landscaped church yard will enhance the daily life of the Church and its members. A lawn surrounded by six stone benches and five trees is dedicated to the five survivors of the attack, and the congregation.

The Mother Emanuel AME Church is situated between the forthcoming International African American Museum to the east and the John C. Calhoun Monument at Marion Square to the west.

The Emanuel Nine Memorial design draws the grounds of the church into this larger context, inviting “a dialogue between visitor and place, its past and present,” architect Michael Arad explains.

Family members of the Emanuel Nine say they hope the Memorial will bring people together to resolve their differences, reverse hate, end gun violence and work toward justice with unyielding love and compassion.