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It took Alana Grant years to find the strength to set foot in the basement of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, where her grandfather, the Rev. Daniel Lee Simmons, attended his final Bible study.
Her fears have been replaced by gratitude and hope now that there is a completed memorial in a courtyard by the front door for the “Emanuel Nine,” the Black churchgoers killed by an avowed white supremacist in 2015.
The memorial provides a public space where “people can go and remember really what happened here,” Alana Grant said as she and her husband, state Rep. Hamilton Grant, got their first look.
On Saturday, the long-planned memorial at the South's oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church opens to the public.
Emphasizing remembrance and reflection, the marble memorial is anchored by a Fountain of Grace, symbolizing God's eternal love and mercy. Water flows from a shallow basin etched with the names of the six women and three men slain. Two Fellowship Benches with curved backs, sheltering anyone seated, flank the fountain. There is also a Cross of Hope, signifying redemption in the wake of suffering. A garden honoring the five survivors will come next.
