Friend,
Today is the sixth anniversary of the horrific massacre at "Mother
Emanuel" African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South
Carolina. The nine people who tragically and senselessly lost their
lives must not be forgotten. We remember them and grieve for them,
their families and their loved ones.
Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor
Cynthia Graham Hurd
Susie J. Jackson
Ethel Lee Lance
Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney
Tywanza Kibwe Diop Sanders
Rev. Daniel Lee Simmons Sr.
Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton
Myra Singleton Quarles Thompson
These nine people, along with five others who survived, welcomed a new
visitor with open arms. They couldn't have known that he had
spent months spying on the church and would open fire as the group
shared a final prayer.
They also could not have known that their murders would become a
flashpoint in the nation's ongoing struggle with racism and hate
violence. Their killer embraced white supremacist propaganda and
admired South Africa's apartheid. He represented the modern face
of domestic terrorism: an extremist who acts after being
radicalized online.
Online radicalization is a growing problem that affects each of our
communities. The SPLC's 2020 Year in Hate and Extremism report
found that many extremists are not formal members of any organization.
Instead, they use online platforms to form connections with hate and
antigovernment groups or other extremists. Despite the lack of formal
affiliation, these individuals still take real-world actions.
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The growing popularity of extremist spaces and content online has
created new and powerful avenues for radicalization, especially for
young people who are often the targets of radical-right propaganda. In
partnership with American University's Polarization and
Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL), we released a guide to
help parents, caregivers and educators understand how extremists
exploit times of unrest and target children and young adults. You can
read and share the guide for free here.
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To end hate, we must dismantle white supremacy and oppression in all
its forms. We are challenging hate through our work by vigilantly
monitoring more than 800 hate groups in the country and urging
lawmakers to take the threat of online extremism seriously through our
congressional testimony.
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We owe it to the Emanuel Nine, and to all who have lost their
lives to white supremacy and racism, to continue onward.
In solidarity,
Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center
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