Emanuel A.M.E. Church

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for July 7, 2020, we bring you discussion about a new book on the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting, the latest on a Upstate shooting this weekend which killed two people and injured eight others, the challenges facing South Carolina hospitals, and more.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for June 18, 2020, we reflect on the Mother Emanuel AME massacre in Charleston five years later. We also examine the police reform bill proposed by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and other GOP lawmakers, look at the latest COVID-19 numbers in the hotspot of Greenville, and more.

Five years ago, Chris Singleton was a carefree college student dreaming of playing professional baseball when he got the call that changed his life.

"I'll never forget it," says Singleton.  "I was 18 years-old and I got a call from my mom's phone actually and the lady on the other end was saying 'Chris you got to get down here right now something bad happened.' "

  This week’s guests on Walter Edgar's Journal are the authors of the book We Are Charleston (2016 Thomas Nelson), a multi-layered exploration of the tragic events experienced by South Carolina’s famed Mother Emanuel in June of 2015.

It’s been three months since a lone white gunman killed nine worshipers at a Bible study at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church. Tonight (9/21) at 9 p.m., PBS and ETV will air “America After Charleston,” a town hall meeting taped this past Saturday at Charleston’s Circular Congregational Church. Moderator Gwen Ifill, co-anchor of PBS News Hour, and two of the town hall’s panelists, NAACP President Cornell Brooks and S.C. State Rep. Jenny Horne, offer thoughts on the discussion and the importance of coming together to listen to others.

Russ McKinney recaps an historic week at the South Carolina State House which culminated in the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the capitol grounds to the Confederate Relic Room and Millitary Museum.

  [Broadcast Friday, July 10, 2015] - This is breaking news coverage from South Carolina ETV Radio—South Carolina Public Radio: the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the State House. I’m Beryl Dakers with historian Dr. Walter Edgar. Yesterday afternoon, Gov. Nikki Haley signed into law a bill approved by the legislature to remove this symbol from a memorial to the Confederate dead and place it in the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum. Final passage of the bill came early Thursday morning.

Listen to archived report:

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s signed into law Thursday afternoon a bill that removes the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the State House.

With the shooting deaths of nine African-American worshipers in Charleston’s Emanuel A. M. E. Church on June 17th, and the discovery later that week that the accused gunman, Dylan Roof, now in custody, had posted on-line pictures of himself with the Confederate Battle Flag along with a racist “manifesto,” a growing, public opinion against the display of the flag at the State House memorial for the Confederate dead  resulted in Thursday afternoon’s event. The bill, approved by the South Carolina Legislature, removes the flag to the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum. Final passage of the bill came early Thursday morning.

The flag will be lowered Friday morning at 10:00 am.

Archived broadcast coverage of Haley's signing here...

  In an historic move, the South Carolina House of Representatives early Thursday morning followed the Senate’s vote with its own vote to take down the Confederate battle flag from the State House grounds. Several dozen people braved the noonday sun of the capital grounds Thursday to take pictures, be witnesses to history and soak up the atmosphere in anticipation of the flag’s removal. A number of them reflected on the flag and its meaning, and gave their opinions of the historic event.

  People from all walks of life lined up for hours on Friday, June 26 for the funeral of state Sen. Clementa Pinckney. The senator also was the beloved pastor of Charleston’s historic Emanuel AME Church, where the shooting of nine people at a Bible study the week before shocked the nation. Among those in the line was SCETV President and CEO Linda O’Bryon, who met and interviewed the Rev. Dr. Bill McGill, pastor of Imani Baptist Temple in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as they stood waiting to be admitted to the arena where the funeral was held. McGill shared his thoughts on the occasion, and why he felt its importance compelled him to make the long journey to be in attendance.