Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Bishop Talbert W. Swan, II gathered with Reverend Mark Baymon, Reverend Paul Stearns, members of the Bethel A.M.E. Church and residents for a moment of silence to remember the nine victims of the shooting at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, SC on this day last year.
Mayor Sarno said, “It is important that we not only mark this tragic event, but more importantly commend the extraordinary resiliency, strength and forgiveness exhibited by the people of Charleston, SC.”
Bishop Talbert Swan, II stated, “One year ago, nine families, the Emanuel A.M.E. Church, the City of Charleston, the nation and the world suffered an unspeakable tragedy. Nine innocent lives were snuffed out in a hateful act of racial violence fostered in an atmosphere of callous bigotry. We remember the Emanuel nine as we continue to fight against the current climate of hate. Sadly, as we remember those lost in Charleston, we must simultaneously pray for the families of the victims in the heinous Orlando shooting and hope for a day when sanctity of life is valued us all and peace will abide in a nation long plagued by its culture of violence.”
