Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church
by Kevin Sack
Buy on AmazonThere was great symbolism when a white supremacist targeted Charleston’s Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, killing nine Black worshippers as a means to ignite a race war. As we learn in this deeply researched history, the congregation has been involved in the struggle for racial justice ever since it was founded in an “act of bold subversion” by enslaved and free African Americans in the 1800s. I am struck by the stories of clergy and members who fought against seemingly insurmountable odds at nearly every turn of history, truly living out their faith and believing in a better America.
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"There was great symbolism when a white supremacist targeted Charleston’s Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, killing nine Black worshippers as a means to ignite a race war. As we learn in this deeply researched history, the congregation has been involved in the struggle for racial justice ever since it was founded in an “act of bold subversion” by enslaved and free African Americans in the 1800s. I am struck by the stories of clergy and members who fought against seemingly insurmountable odds at nearly every turn of history, truly living out their faith and believing in a better America."
NPR Books We Love — 2025 · apps.npr.org
"William DeMeritt’s commanding performance is the perfect complement to Kevin Sack’s tenth anniversary tribute to the 9 slaughtered members of Charleston’s Mother Emanuel AME Church. This work is also a tribute to the rich and inspiring story of the Black church in America—a story laden with hope and hardship. This masterful history of endurance is brought forth by DeMeritt with somber resonance and emotional intensity. (15 horus)"
The Best History & Nonfiction Audiobooks of 2025 · fivebooks.com