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Emanuel AME Church Plays A Significant Role In African-American History

College of Charleston
Bernard E. Powers, Jr., PhD, professor of history at the College of Charleston

On June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof shot and killed nine black parishioners at a bible study at Emanuel AME church in Charleston. Affectionately known as Mother Emanuel, the church has been a source of African-American pride and resilience since its founding nearly 200 years ago. It was the Southernmost church in the first black religious denomination in the U.S.

To find out more about the church’s importance in African-American history, WFAE’s Duncan McFadyen spoke with College of Charleston History Professor Bernard Powers. He studies the African Methodist Episcopal church and is a co-author of the book We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel.