A year ago, on June 17, 2015, the Charleston community suffered a tragedy when nine members of the Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church were killed while attending a weeknight Bible study class, only a few blocks away from the College of Charleston campus. Shock waves were sent across the City of Charleston, the U.S., and the world; but instead of succumbing to this terrible act, people were united and inspired to give back.
Just a few weeks after the Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church shooting, and the death of local resident Walter Scott by a police officer in April 2015, the College of Charleston received a grant from Google to launch the Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI). The mission of RSJI is to promote public awareness and dialogue about race and social justice issues in the local Charleston area, the state of South Carolina, and beyond. The initiative is led by the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, Addlestone Library, the African American Studies Program, and the LowCountry Digital History Initiative. The RSJI collaborates with numerous partners to host and facilitate public lectures and events, faculty seminars, film screenings and projects that promote awareness of the history and going struggles of racial injustice in Charleston, and throughout the United States.
“We are approaching the first anniversaries of two violent shooting events in the cities of Charleston and North Charleston, South Carolina … Both made national headlines,” said Patricia Williams-Lessane, Executive Director of Avery Research Center. “These shootings intensified an already fever-pitch national debate about police brutality and race in America. We are most grateful to our partners and sponsors for providing the resources to make these crucial conversations happen.”
Michael Bennett, founder of locally owned, real estate company Bennett Hospitality, was inspired to support his community after seeing such a tragedy so close to home and his heart. Bennett, who attended the College but dropped out his junior year, started his career by buying and fixing up properties around Charleston, including ones on campus. “The College taught me what I needed to know to be successful. The irony is, I got my education from working there, not going there,” observes Bennett. “I got so much from my experience with that crew on Glebe Street. I owe a lot to them”, says Bennett.
Upon hearing about the Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church shooting, he committed $50,000 to create the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church Endowed Scholarship at the College to honor the nine victims.
“It was pretty spontaneous. It was purely emotional. I was so overwhelmed by the grace, the forgiveness, with which the community handled it; it blew my mind. This was my reaction to those beautiful, forgiving people. I didn’t want just to write a check. That just felt impersonal for a tragedy that was so close to home,” shares Bennett.
For him, initiating a scholarship at the College meant more than just giving monetary funds. Some of the men he worked with at the College all those years ago lived close to Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church, and most likely were among those that regularly attended services there. “The idea of helping the people of Emanuel A.M.E. is moving to me. And I think it’d be especially moving if it helps a relative of the people who I used to work with at the College all those years ago. I think that would be a beautiful thing,” says Bennett.
“For me, it’s come completely full circle, because I’m giving back to the people who educated me so well and launched my career,” shares Bennett. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for them. They are the ones who prompted me down my life’s path – they got me going.”
The scholarship will be awarded for the first time in fall 2016 and is open to any minority Mother Emanuel A.M.E.Church member and/or minority student from the Charleston peninsula in need of financial aid.
For more information about new events and projects facilitated by the Race and Social Justice Initiative, visit their website.
For more information about the Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church Scholarship, or to contribute, contact College of Charleston Associate Vice President of Development Cathy Mahon at 843-953-5432.
(Photos and adaptation taken from The College Today)