Black History

Emanuel, Produced by Stephen Curry and Viola Davis, Debuts on the 4th Anniversary of the Charleston, SC, Shooting

HOUSTON FORWARD TIMES — On the evening of June 17, 2015, 21-year-old white supremacist Dylann Roof marched into what was typically thought to be the purest form of sanctuary—a church—and terrorized a group of black worshippers. Nine people, including senior pastor and South Carolina State Senator Clementa C. Pinckney, Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel L. Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, and Myra Thompson were murdered that evening. Roof was convicted with 33 federal hate crimes and murder charges and subsequently sentenced to death in 2017.

Published

6 years ago

June 24, 2019

Chelsea Lenora White

By Chelsea Lenora White

On the evening of June 17, 2015, 21-year-old white supremacist Dylann Roof marched into what was typically thought to be the purest form of sanctuary—a church—and terrorized a group of black worshippers. Nine people, including senior pastor and South Carolina State Senator Clementa C. Pinckney, Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel L. Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, and Myra Thompson were murdered that evening. Roof was convicted with 33 federal hate crimes and murder charges and subsequently sentenced to death in 2017.

Four years later, the survivors and victims are sharing their respective voices in a new documentary, Emanuel.

From the official press release:

From executive producers Stephen Curry and Viola Davis, co-producer Mariska Hargitay, and director Brian Ivie (The Drop Box), Emanuel is a powerful documentary with a poignant story of justice and faith, love and hate, examining the healing power of forgiveness. Featuring intimate interviews with survivors and family members of the 2015 Charleston Emanuel AME Church shooting, Emanuel will be a Fathom limited event in movie theaters across the country for two nights only: June 17 and 19- the anniversaries of the shooting, and Dylann Roof’s first court appearance when he was forgiven by the survivors of his crime and the family members of his victims.

The film’s producers will be donating their share of profits from the film to the survivors of the shooting and the families of the victims.

“We, along with the country, grieved each family’s loss,” Executive Producers Davis and Julius Tennon of JuVee Productions said via press release. “Yet, miraculously, from this devastation we witnessed tremendous benchmarks of humanity. The survivors found courage to love in the face of hate.”

Emanuel, produced in direct partnership with the City of Charleston, S.C., will be in theaters on June 17 and June 19.

This article originally appeared in the Houston Forward Times.

Chelsea Lenora White

Posts by Chelsea Lenora White

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of March 5 – 11, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 5 – 11, 2025

Published

1 week ago

March 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Arts and Culture

Beverly Lorraine Greene: A Pioneering Architect and Symbol of Possibility and Progress

Greene graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1936 with a degree in Architecture — a remarkable accomplishment for an African American woman at the time. She was never discouraged by the racial and gender discrimination that saturated her field.

Published

2 weeks ago

March 3, 2025

Oakland Post

Beverly Lorraine Greene. Public domain photo.

By Tamara Shiloh

In the mid-20th century, Beverly Lorraine Greene was recognized as the first African American woman licensed to practice architecture in the United States.

Greene was born on Oct. 4, 1915, in Chicago during an era when opportunities for African Americans, particularly women, were severely limited.

Her parents, James and Vera Greene, were deeply invested in her education, instilling in her a belief in the power of intellect and perseverance. She grew up during the Great Migration that transformed Chicago starting in 1900.

Greene continued her education, earning a master’s degree in City Planning and Housing in 1937, also from the University of Illinois. Her ambition was not merely to design structures but to shape spaces that fostered equity and community. In 1942, she became the first African American woman licensed as an architect in the United States, obtaining her credentials in Illinois. This groundbreaking achievement, however, did not translate immediately into job opportunities.

Early in her career, she faced significant discrimination from firms unwilling to hire a Black woman. However, her determination never wavered. In 1945, Beverly moved to New York City, a place she believed could offer broader professional opportunities.

She joined the architectural department of the New York City Housing Authority, focusing on affordable housing projects. Her work during this time reflected her commitment to using architecture as a tool for social justice, ensuring that marginalized communities had access to well-designed, dignified living spaces.

Greene’s talents soon drew the attention of prominent firms. She was hired by Isadore Rosenfield, a respected architect known for designing hospitals. She contributed to the design of healthcare facilities, including the modernization of Harlem Hospital. Her portfolio expanded in collaboration with architectural personalities such as Marcel Breuer and Edward Durell Stone.

Notably, she worked on the prestigious UNESCO headquarters in Paris — a landmark project that brought her skills to an international stage. Her involvement underscored her ability to navigate the intricacies of large-scale, global projects, proving that her talents transcended the limitations society sought to impose.

Greene’s career was tragically cut short when she passed away unexpectedly in 1957 at the age of 41. Though her life was brief, her impact was profound. She shattered entrenched barriers, paving the way for future generations of Black architects and women in the field.