Mother Emanuel Nine Memorial unveiled in Charleston International Airport
On April 15, 2017, a permanent memorial to honor the victims of the shooting in Mother Emanuel in Charleston, S.C. on June 17, 2015, was unveiled at the Charleston Airport. The Charleston County Aviation Authority Board begin plans for a memorial in Fall 2015. Board member Henry Fishburne said: “Our airport is the most used public building in our community. The Aviation Authority Board and staff believe this tribute is fitting because the attack on the church and its worshipers was also an attack on our whole community.”
The memorial is 400 square feet and contains two five-foot-high stained glass windows showing Mother Emanuel and nine white doves symbolizing the victims. There is also an oil painting donated by local artist Jonathan Green showing nine birds and a photography exhibit chronicling the community response to the Mother Emanuel massacre. In the center of the space is a Bible open to Mark 4:13-20, the scripture used during the Bible study before the shooting. Rev. Clementa Pinckney’s bible and one bible from another of the victims is also in the case.
Spearheaded by local architectural firm Mead and Hunt, two dozen local companies—including 17 small- and minority- businesses—contributed to the construction of the memorial.
Photo credits: Charleston Aviation Authority; Article features information from WJHL.com and the Charleston Post Courier
