"Dylann Roof extended his right arm, just as he had practiced in the backyard of his mother's boyfriend's house in Eastover, near Columbia. He watched the red sighting laser dance across Clementa Pinckney's suitcoat and fired. As the pastor reeled, Roof fired again and again and again and again, the barrel recoiling with each touch of the trigger."
When Roof, a virulent white supremacist, seeking to start a race war, stopped shooting the beloved pastor of Mother Emanuel (Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church) and eight faithful church members lay dead and dying. They had been participating in a Bible study and had welcomed the stranger among them.
When the news reached central Maine I was horrified. I imagine those of you old enough to remember it were too. I didn't, however, comprehend the extent of the tragedy until I read Kevin Sack's Mother Emanuel, a thoroughly researched masterpiece that took a decade to complete.
Sack provides readers with centuries of history going back to the arrival of captured Africans in what would become South Carolina and their cruel enslavement by whites. He tells how the Bible was perverted by white clergymen preaching very selectively to keep enslaved people from getting any ideas about running or rebellion and at the same time was used by the enslaved people as inspiration for self liberation. He discusses the complex role of the church in the lives of emancipated but still oppressed Blacks after the Civil War. He illuminates the founding of Mother Emanuel and her evolution into the Twenty-first century.
He also explores the aftermath of the tragedy--how the church became the focus of international attention and curiosity even as they needed space to grieve and try to heal.
I have never seen a tragedy so masterfully contextualized. I recommend Mother Emanuel to anyone who wants a deeper understanding than you'll find in today's news media.
On a purrrsonal note, yesterday was a whirlwind for me. When I wasn't being paparazzi for the hugely popular SWell bouquet making event I was running around doing last minute publicity for the drag show. It was warm enough that I could advertise outside on the mall. So many people were flashing signs, telling me they'll be there. I believe we'll have a sizeable and enthusiastic audience. I'm charging my laptop to get in some last minute practice.
A great big shout out goes out to all who will attend and participate in the magical Grand Finale of UMaine's Pride Week: the Drag Show.
Jules Hathaway
Sent from my Galaxy
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