Mother Emanuel AME Church

Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina has stood at the heart of the Black community for more than 200 years. Founded in 1816, it is the oldest AME church in the South — and one of the oldest Black churches in the entire United States. Its members have always called it 'Mother Emanuel,' a name that honors its role as a spiritual home, a gathering place, and a sanctuary. The church was founded by Morris Brown and other members of Charleston's free Black community — at a time when Black people gathering together was considered dangerous and often illegal. Denmark Vesey, a formerly enslaved man who had purchased his freedom, became one of the church's most prominent leaders. In 1822, Vesey organized a major planned resistance against slavery. When authorities discovered the plan, the church was destroyed and Black religious gatherings were banned. But the congregation refused to give up. They continued meeting in secret, and after the Civil War, they rebuilt their church and worshipped openly once again. For two centuries, Mother Emanuel survived threats, destruction, and darkness — and always came back stronger. It has been a place where leaders were formed, voices were raised in song and prayer, and community was held together through the hardest of times. On June 17, 2015, a white supremacist came to a Bible study at Mother Emanuel and committed an act of terrible violence, taking the lives of nine beloved members of the congregation. The nation mourned. But in the days that followed, something powerful happened: the church community responded with grace, resilience, and a determination to hold tight to hope. Mother Emanuel reopened. Services continued. The congregation kept going — because that is what Mother Emanuel has always done.