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Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘A powerful legacy': Mother Emanuel's impact on Charleston stretches from past to present
'The legacy of African history and the African presence here in Charleston is extensive. It's expansive, it's resilient. You know, for for most of Charleston's history, and for that matter, for the state of South Carolina, the black population was the majority population here,' says Dr. Bernard Powers. Powers has studied and written about Charleston's history and the church firmly rooted in the city's downtown. He knows all about the history of Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. 'It was simply known as the African church in 1818, and these people wanted to control their own religious destiny, and they wanted to control their own religious heritage,' Powers told Channel 9's Ken Lemon. 'This is tremendous, when you think about it, because these are people who were mainly enslaved in Charleston, the center of slavery, and so they create the African church.' Powers says the early years of Mother Emanuel were rife with threats. 'So this is a powerful legacy of these people's bid for freedom in the midst of slavery in Charleston. So that's one thing about it. Now, the church was persecuted here by the white authorities because they were afraid that this congregation would become the seedbed for insurrection and rebellion,' Powers said. 'The police and other officials, came in. They arrested members of the Church, jailed them, fined them. Some were whipped, but their spirit of religious determination could not be broken and they would continue to meet, that's powerful.' This was at a time when Mother Emanuel's congregation had very little control over any other portion of their lives. 'That's right, absolutely, and people who were themselves considered to be property in the law,' Powers said. Over time, Emanuel AME Church became a centerpiece of Charleston and the heartbeat of the Black community. The church became a home base for civil rights leaders. Booker T. Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are among the national and local leaders to speak to members about inequality. Hundreds of people met at the church and organized support for striking hospital workers. And it was still a driving force in the city in 1963, when future Charlotte city councilman Malcolm Graham was born there. 'Emanuel is home. Every morning, every Sunday morning, around 5:30, my mom would yell, Malcolm, Jackie, Cynthia, get up, we're going to church. And that meant we were going to Emanuel AME church right here on Calhoun Street. And my grandmother went here. My mother went here and sung in the choir, obviously, as a kid, Cynthia, Jackie and my siblings, we all went here, Sunday school, Easter speeches, Sunday choir,' Graham told Ken Lemon. 'It's comfortable, right? It's a familiar space. It's where I first met the Lord and joined the church. It's where I kind of got my morals and my ethics and my work habits, a sense of history of Charleston and the African American community.' Graham played tennis at the courts not far from home, and his relationship with the game took him to Charlotte, where he played at Johnson C. Smith University. After college, Graham stayed in Charlotte; his sister, Cynthia Hurd, remained in Charleston. 'Cynthia was personable, she was sharp, she was candid. She was the first in our family to go to a four year college and university, Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, the first to pledge a fraternity or sorority. Alpha Kappa, alpha, smart as a whip. Penmanship was immaculate, very rich in history and in research. Just loved to read. She was a book nerd. Loved the written word, a librarians, librarian, right?' Graham said. She stayed close to the church, and it was a constant stable in her life, as it had been for generations of family members before. Rev. DePayne Middleton Doctor was a newcomer in 2015, but she quickly became a welcome face and adored her new church family at Mother Emanuel. Her daughter, Kaylin Doctor-Stancil, now lives in Rock Hill, and she recalled the joy her mother had in the church. 'They accepted her with open arms. And I think she really wanted to make it a point that this is going to be my new family. This is where I'm going to be at and establish, you know, who she was there. And I think that's why she wanted to become a reverend there,' Doctor-Stancil said. She and her sisters usually went to bible study with their mother. On the night of June 17, 2015, the siblings didn't want to go. 'I was still on a high from graduating. I was supposed to go get my license that day with her, so me and her were like texting back and forth about what time she was going to come home. You know, it's just like a typical, normal day,' Doctor-Stancil. Graham said he had a phone conversation with his sister just before the shooting, and they were concerned about another sibling. 'It was really about focusing on my other sister, Jackie. Jackie just recently got diagnosed with a breast cancer, and we were making plans for Cynthia to travel from Charleston to Charlotte, jump in the car with me, and that we would ride to Virginia to check when Jackie heard first doctor's appointment, just kind of getting her ready for facing the battle that that she was dealing with,' Graham told Lemon. 'Did you ever get to make that visit?' Lemon asked. 'No, a day later, watching the news, breaking news, shooting at Emmanuel AME Church,' Graham said. Cynthia and DePayne lost their lives in the shooting, along with seven other victims. They're now known as 'The Emanuel Nine.' (VIDEO: North Charleston nonprofit sends response team to assist earthquake survivors in Morocco)
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Healing & Hope: Charleston, 10 Years Later
June 17, 2015, was like most Wednesday nights at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church -- it was bible study night. But nine of the people who showed up that fateful night didn't leave alive. Ten years after a deadly shooting at the church, many would come to regard those in attendance as saints -- blessed by God, agitated by evil, elevated by grace. Like any good teacher, the Wednesday bible study at Mother Emanuel is still sharing new lessons and asking what have we truly learned. Channel 9's Ken Lemon is examining the history of Mother Emanuel and what has taken place since the tragedy. >>Watch Healing & Hope: Charleston 10 Years Later only on Channel 9 at 7 p.m. (VIDEO: Progress underway on memorial for victims of Charleston church shooting)
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
Man accused of killing wife changes story, claims she killed herself
A man who told police he shot and killed his wife with Alzheimer's Disease is now changing his story, telling a judge that his wife shot herself. Channel 9 Gaston County Reporter Ken Lemon was in court as Rickey Holdsclaw took the stand and made a stunning reversal of his original story. On Monday, prosecutors played an interview between Holdsclaw and police in 2021, after Holdsclaw's wife was shot and killed in their Gaston County home. In that interview, Holdsclaw explained that his wife, Judy Helms, didn't want to be in a nursing home and so he shot her instead. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Gastonia man, 71, charged with first-degree murder after wife shot to death Trial begins for man who says he killed wife because she asked him to On Tuesday, Holdsclaw said he was in the bathroom when he heard a gunshot. Holdsclaw, 75, cried during much of his testimony, then he calmly explained that his wife knew he kept a gun hanging on a holster in their bedroom closer. 'The safety is off, if you need it, all you have to do is pull the trigger. She knew that,' Holdsclaw testified in court on Tuesday. He said when he went to the bathroom on the morning of March 4, 2021, he heard a pop. Then he went to the bedroom to ask his wife, who had been living with Alzheimer's, if she heard it. 'I could see the gun,' Holdsclaw said while crying. He said his wife's memory lapses were so intense that she became uncontrollable, got the gun, got into bed, and shot herself. Holdsclaw told the judge he didn't want her to be known as someone who took her own life, so he told a 911 dispatcher he shot her and confessed during a police interview. 'I made up the quickest and best story I could when I talked to detectives,' Holdsclaw testified. He told the judge his health was already failing. 'Hell, I'm going to die anyway, I might as well take the blame. No one will ever know. I was the only one there,' Holdsclaw said. He said after spending weeks in jail on the initial murder charge, a life-saving surgery, and two days in a coma, he woke up feeling the best he's felt in a long time. He said that changed his perspective. 'And your honor, I knew right then and there I wanted to be a free man again, and I wanted to live,' Holdsclaw said. 'But I also knew I made my own coffin and I went in too deep over my head.' So he decided to speak out publicly on the stand despite previous concerns for his wife's image. 'Nobody would hold her responsible for having Alzheimer's and shooting herself,' Holdsclaw said. He said he later decided no one would blame his wife for how she died. His decision to speak publicly came after prosecutors decided to seek a charge of voluntary manslaughter instead of murder. The trial is on recess so the judge could speak with attorneys in the case. If convicted, Holdsclaw faces a minimum of three years in prison. (VIDEO: Unborn baby killed in shooting at Gaston County hotel, police say)
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UNC system approves policy on campus protests
The UNC Board of Governors approved a new policy Thursday for students who want to protest on any of its campuses. They'll have to reserve space to protest, and they can't camp out. They can't interfere with classes. Any protester who gets in trouble at one state campus can be punished at their home campus. Students hold pro-Palestine protests at UNC Charlotte Some students at UNC Charlotte told Channel 9′s Ken Lemon it's a violation of free speech. One student called the new rules dangerous and unconstitutional. 'I think that's a very bad look and approaching unconstitutional,' said student Harrison Hill. Hill didn't protest but said unrestricted protests protects the voices of marginalized people. 'I think it's a very dangerous direction to be headed in,' Hill said. Most students worry it will take away the strongest leverage they have to be heard. However, others said the new policy is a welcome change. Last year, campus protests across the state got contentious. Rallies like the one in spring 2024 at UNC Charlotte won't happen if each campus adopts the new policy. There were students sleeping on campus and marching to the chancellor's home. Student Rachel Sellers didn't take part in the protests but still has concerns. 'It concerns me that there might be people who can say that you can't protest,' Sellers said. Chad Brown is chairman of the Gaston County Board of Commissioners and parent of a freshman at UNC Chapel Hill. He said last semester his daughter texted him that a protester ran into her classroom and several others. 'Can you imagine if something did break out. Someone's loved one got hurt?' Brown said. He said the regulations will keep everyone safe. The regulations are expected to be adopted on each campus by Aug. 1. First Amendment regulations are often challenged in court so their may be some pushback. VIDEO: Students hold pro-Palestine protests at UNC Charlotte
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Violates the constitution' Shelby student sues school board for shutting down LGBTQ+ game
A student is suing her school board after she said she tried to host a game for her club that highlighted the LGBTQ+ community. She said the board ultimately shut the game down and called it inappropriate. Channel 9′s Ken Lemon spoke with that student's attorney about why they are taking this issue to court. The 17-year-old student explained that she presented the game created on PowerPoint last spring and said it has '. . . no depiction of sex, violence, illegal drug use, or anything else that could possibly justify its censorship.' ALSO READ: United Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy However, the principal opposed the game at the time and then again in the fall. According to the lawsuit, the liaison to the school board told the student's father that the game violated the North Carolina Parents Bill of Rights law, which '. . . prohibits instruction on sexuality, sex activity, and gender identity in school.' The family said they were then later told that '. . . it was determined that the suggested game was indecent based on community standards.' The student's attorney, Ivy Johnson, said keeping the game out of school violates the constitution. 'To suggest that a quiz game that acknowledges LGBTQ+ people and their contributions to society is indecent is dangerous and is a violation of this student's First Amendment rights,' said Johnson. ALSO READ: Trump signs executive order intended to bar transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports Lifelong Shelby resident Mike Willis said he agreed with the school board, stating, 'I don't think it ought to be in the school.' However, Shelby High School student Dennis McClain disagreed with that sentiment, saying he believed the student who was suing had the right to create an educational game for students in the Activism Club. 'I think they deserve to do it. It's only a club thing. It has nothing to do with the whole school,' McClain explained. Channel 9 has reached out to the school's superintendent, as well as the school's attorney for comment but has not heard back. The suit, filed in Asheville, just seeks to follow the student to play the game on campus. VIDEO: United Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy
