En español
“It would be a betrayal of everything Reverend Pinckney stood for, I believe, if we allowed ourselves to slip into a comfortable silence again”—President Barack Obama (6/26/15)
In recent weeks, the Mother Emanuel AME Church community and the family of Walter Scott have shown the world the radical possibilities of resilience, love, and forgiveness. However, as the President reminded us at Senator Pinckney’s funeral, real healing will take hard work.
Guns inflicted the fatal wounds of April and June, but racism, poverty and the politics of rancor and discord have long inflicted grave wounds on the state’s poor and most vulnerable people. This Labor Day weekend, people of faith and conscience will come together in Charleston to remember our fallen friends and to reflect on the racism and hatred that lay at the root of their deaths, as well as the violence that tears away at the fabric of our communities.
Specifically, the gathering will call for an end to racist violence and the transformation of our commemorative landscape—our monuments, markers, and historic sites—to fully reflect South Carolina’s traditions of diversity and democracy. We will also come together to honor Clementa Pinckney and to affirm the moral principles that he stood for as pastor and public servant. These include:
An end to discriminatory policing
Expanded voting rights
A living wage and collective bargaining rights for all working people
Affordable healthcare and Medicaid expansion
Quality education as a basic human right
An end to gun violence
Out of this mass gathering and a one-day strategy conference, we will build on the efforts of many grassroots organizations who have worked tirelessly and often thanklessly over the years to bring about a better South Carolina.
If you believe that an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and if you understand that what happened at Emanuel AME has implications far beyond Charleston, and if you believe that we can build a movement together to save South Carolina’s soul and the soul of the nation, then join us as we proclaim "Forward Together, Not One Step Back!"
Issued by: International Longshoremen’s Association, Local 1422
