{"id":45,"featured":0,"modified":"2025-01-24 20:36:45","latitude":32.787511050000006207483238540589809417724609375,"longitude":-79.933114568486416828818619251251220703125,"title":"Mother Emanuel AME, 103 Calhoun","address":"110 Calhoun street, Charleston SC 29401","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/bae0ee4fe2fae501bb86e1dc14e596c2.jpg","creator":["Mills Pennebaker"],"description":"

The history of Charleston\u2019s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is a history of activism, resistance, community, and perseverance. Like other notable African American churches in Charleston, Emanuel AME, founded in 1816 by a group of free and enslaved Black Charlestonians, served many functions. The church, originally located near Hanover and Amherst Streets and named Hampstead Church, was not just a site of worship, but was also an important center of community. As the oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church in the South it is commonly referred to as \u201cMother Emanuel,\u201d but did not gain this title until Mt. Zion AME broke off from Emanuel in 1882 to accommodate a growing congregation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The ruling class<\/span> of antebellum-era Charleston was entirely focused on preserving the institution of chattel slavery<\/span>, which oppressed both enslaved and free and people of col<\/span>or. During this time, some churches provided a place where people of African descent could at least briefly escape some of the restrictions placed upon them by Charleston\u2019s society. Charleston\u2019s Emanuel AME Church became one of those places where communities were formed, African traditions were modified and preserved, knowledge was shared, and the flames of resistance were ignited.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Richard Allen founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia in 1816. The AME Church, which is the oldest organized African American church, rapidly gained traction and support in Black communities in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and South Carolina, reaching the city of Charleston by the 1820s. Th<\/span>e Charleston AME Church\u2019<\/span>s original founder\u2014Morris Brown\u2014was instrumental in making the church a center of religion, activism, and resistance towards slavery. Vesey especially is remembered for his sermons that revolved around ideas of liberation. Not long after the AME church opened, Denmark Vesey attempted to organize a slave revolt in 1822. Vesey was arrested before he could carry out his plans for the liberation of enslaved Charlestonians and was executed along with over thirty other alleged participants. Following the executions, a white mob attacked and destroyed the AME church because of its relationship to Vesey. A new church was constructed but did not stay open for very long; white anxieties regarding slave revolts and the power of Black churches heightened following Vesey\u2019s attempt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Continuing to face resistance from white Charlestonians, the AME church officially closed in 1834. The congregation continued to meet secretly, most likely holding smaller gatherings in congregation members\u2019 homes throughout the Antebellum era and during the American Civil War. When US troops entered Charleston in 1865, the AME church was able to formally reopen its doors with a congregation of 3,000 people.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the church reopened, it was called Emanuel, or \u201cGod is with us,\u201d and continued to be a site of religion, community, and resistance. Notably, the church was recognized as a center of political activity and activism immediately following the American Civil War. African Americans persuaded South Carolina Governor Orr to visit the church, where, according to historian Bernard Powers, Governor Orr \u201cpledged to use the power of the state to protect the freedmen\u2019s rights and safety.\u201d The governor\u2019s promises would not last as white hostility increased, culminating in violence during the 1870s as the South transitioned from the promises of the Reconstruction era into segregation and discrimination that characterized the Jim Crow era.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Emanuel AME\u2019s congregation found themselves resisting slavery\u2019s legacies of segregation, racial discrimination, and inequality throughout the twentieth century. Having social injustices pushed upon them by a new generation of white supremacists, members of Emanuel AME utilized their church in a similar fashion as the founders. The church\u2019s function as a center for more than religious services encouraged discussions of politics, education, and social justice inside and outside the pews.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Emanuel AME\u2019s continued relevance made the church an important site for demonstrations and rallies during Charleston\u2019s long civil rights movement. Notable African American leaders including Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Septima Clark visited and spoke at Emanuel AME to advocate for issues ranging from economic advancement to social justice. In the twenty-first century, Mother Emanuel continues to be a center of activism. In the spring of 2015, the late Reverend Clementa Pinckney organized demonstrations and rallies following the shooting of Walter Scott by a North Charleston police officer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2015, Emanuel AME\u2019s congregation faced the legacies of slavery once again. A white terrorist targeted Mother Emanuel AME in his attempts to start a \u201crace war\u201d in Charleston. He attended a small group\u2019s Bible study on Wednesday, June 17<\/span>th<\/span> before fatally shooting nine of the twelve members of the group. The victims\u2019 names are Clementa Pinckney, Cythia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel L. Simmons, Sr., Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, and Myra Thompson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The white supremacist intentionally chose Mother Emanuel because of the church\u2019s historical significance, Black congregation, and its past and present connections to activism, resistance, and strong communities. Despite carrying out this brutal act of racial terrorism, the white supremacist was not successful in inciting a \u201crace war\u201d in Charleston. In the weeks following the attack on Mother Emanuel, communities across the country held memorials. Vigils and peaceful demonstrations organized across the city of Charleston. President Barack Obama delivered Reverend Pinckney\u2019s eulogy, connecting the act of terrorism to slavery and its violent legacies. Obama stated that the attack on Mother Emanuel \u201cdrew on a long history of bombs and arson and shots fired at churches, not random[ly], but as a means of control, a way to terrorize and oppress\u2026 An act that [the killer] presumed would deepen divisions that trace back to our nation\u2019s original sin.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mother Emanuel demonstrates all too clearly that the legacies of slavery continue into the twenty-first century in the form of violent acts of terrorism, institutionalized racism, and other forms of discrimination. Mother Emanuel\u2019s congregation also represents an important piece of the puzzle; from the 1800s to today, Mother Emanuel\u2019s community is a network of perseverance, support, and resistance to racial injustices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","sponsor":null,"subtitle":null,"accessinfo":null,"lede":"The history of Charleston\u2019s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is a history of activism, resistance, community, and perseverance.","website":null,"related_resources":["

A Tribute to the Mother Emanuel Church<\/span><\/i><\/a>, <\/span><\/i>co-curated by Lowcountry Africana, the Lowcountry Digital History Initiative, and the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture in partnership with the Mother Emanuel Church, published May 2016.<\/span><\/p>","

Barack Obama, \u201c<\/span>Remarks by the President in Eulogy for the Honorable Reverend Clementa Pinckney<\/span><\/a>,\u201d College of Charleston, June 26, 2015, Charleston, SC, transcript.<\/span><\/p>","

Bernard Edward Powers, <\/span>Black Charlestonians: A Social History, 1822-1885<\/span><\/i>. (Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1994).<\/span><\/p>","

\u201c<\/span>Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church,<\/span><\/a>\u201d United States Civil Rights Trail.<\/span><\/p>","

\u201c<\/span>Emanuel A.M.E. Church,<\/span><\/a>\u201d National Park Service.<\/span><\/p>","

\u201c<\/span>History<\/span><\/a>\u201d Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church<\/span><\/p>","

Inventory of the Mt. Zion AME Church, 1884-1949, Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, Charleston, SC; Alexis Simmons, \u201c<\/span>Mt. Zion AME Church celebrates 133 years of ministry<\/span><\/a>,\u201d <\/span>Live 5 News, <\/span><\/i>September 13, 2015.<\/span><\/p>","

Jaeah Lee, \u201c<\/span>Murdered State Senator Clementa Pinckney made this Haunting Speech about Walter Scott<\/span><\/a>,\u201d <\/span>Mother Jones, <\/span><\/i>June 18, 2015.<\/span><\/p>","

\"<\/span>This Far by Faith: Denmark Vesey<\/span><\/a>,\u201d PBS.<\/span><\/p>"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/bae0ee4fe2fae501bb86e1dc14e596c2.jpg":{"id":411,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","title":"Emanuel A.M.E. Church circa 1910","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/bae0ee4fe2fae501bb86e1dc14e596c2.jpg","description":"This image depicts Mother Emanuel in 1910, before the construction of its modern staircase was built. Courtesy of Historic Charleston Foundation Archives. "},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/4fbdb1e66b44cce744bfaec84f496d86.jpg":{"id":384,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","title":"Emanuel A.M.E. Church ","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/4fbdb1e66b44cce744bfaec84f496d86.jpg","description":"This program featuring the Church\u2019s pulpit is courtesy of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture. "},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/5943f234a249862101eaf30ce6401b21.jpg":{"id":385,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","title":"News and Courier, Jan. 26, 1981","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/5943f234a249862101eaf30ce6401b21.jpg","description":"Article from the News and Courier <\/em>dated Jan. 26, 1981. Courtesy of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture."},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/2edb9aafae89e0122ec622ef8b3761f1.jpg":{"id":410,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","title":"Mother Emanuel A.M.E. circa 1940","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/2edb9aafae89e0122ec622ef8b3761f1.jpg","description":"Photograph by Benjamin Frazier, courtesy of Herb Frazier and Historic Charleston Foundation Archives."},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/cf432035f5a74ec6358e5a8a5f66fd71.jpg":{"id":422,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","title":"Reverend H.W.B. Bennett, AD Pastor","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/cf432035f5a74ec6358e5a8a5f66fd71.jpg","description":"Image of Reverend H.W.B. Bennett, AD Pastor. Courtesy of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, USA."},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/713861ef42a533bd7aeb8a2db488fb04.jpg":{"id":429,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","title":"Mother Emanuel A.M.E","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/713861ef42a533bd7aeb8a2db488fb04.jpg","description":"This image is a street view of present-day Mother Emanuel. Photograph courtesy of Noah Dubois."}}}