Charleston reporter to write book on Emanuel AME Church shootings

It's been a year since a mass shooting took the lives of nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, S.C. The event made national headlines and right there in the action was the local newspaper, The Post and Courier. But the full context of a story that hits a community that deeply can't be told through breaking news coverage. As the story unfolded over the next year, it became more complicated and complex, according to Mitch Pugh, Post and Courier executive editor.

"There is this forgiveness narrative out there that is very powerful and there is truth to that. The families were remarkable how they approached the situation," Pugh said. "When Mr. Roof (21-year-old Dylann Roof was later arrested as the gunman) was brought in that preliminary hearing, they all got up one after another and forgave him. The truth of that action was much more complex. It's one thing to stand up there in that moment and be able to say 'I forgive you,' it's another to live that."

To tell this narrative, The Post and Courier has partnered with St. Martin's Press to publish a book scheduled to be released in 2017. However, Pugh said that date could change based on what happens at Roof's trial. 

Read more from E&P.

Reader's Corner contains, from time to time, links that require registration on another site. Registration rules and requirements are established by the host site and participation by eBulletin readers is entirely voluntary. Articles cited here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SNPA or its Board of Directors. Links refer the reader to the source material.