On June 17, 2015, nine African American worshipers were murdered at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. Dylann Roof, having been invited to worship in the church, sat in on the bible study for an extended period of time, then began to open fire on those who had welcomed him into the church. Later in the day, Roof was caught by police in Shelby, North Carolina. Just days ago, on January 10, 2016, Roof, 22, was sentenced to death for his crimes in a U.S. District Court in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Charleston Nine was certainly not the first mass shooting I had seen. Sandy Hook, Pulse, and even Ft. Lauderdale most recently had all affected me to an extent. My heart hurt for the victims and their families, and I spent hours in bed asking myself how something so horrific could happen. None of these tragedies affected me as personally as the Charleston Nine, however.
Since I was a child, my family and I have spent the majority of our summers and holidays in Charleston. At a time, I considered Charleston my second home. Even Shelby, where Dylann Roof was caught, is only 25 minutes from my current house. Before June of 2015, I would have never expected to see such a tragedy occur so close to my home. I thought those were the types of things that only happened across the country, not in the place that I felt most safe.
While this event brings fear and sadness into my heart because it took place in an area I know so well, I can only imagine how people of color have been affected by this tragedy. I fully understand that Roof was motivated by racism and his radical white supremacist beliefs. However, understanding his motives is all I can do. To understand the true effects of this tragedy, I would have to be a person of color. As a white man, it is impossible for me to experience the fear that has become a part of the daily lives of African Americans. For my friends of color, they must now worry that they will also fall victim to a hate crime, and that is something I will never have to feel. My privilege as a white male keeps me from having to experience what people of color around the country are now experiencing. I can walk down the street or worship freely without even considering that I could be targeted because of my race. The systematic oppression of black people in America works in my favor. I receive the benefit of the doubt whereas people of color are stereotyped instantly. This is why I can never fully understand what it means to be a person of color in a world following the Charleston shooting.
I have asked my friends of color if they feel any better about the situation now that Dylann Roof has been sentenced to death. One expressed that she disagreed with the jury’s choice of the death penalty, feeling that it was not an appropriate form of punishment. “The church that Roof terrorized doesn’t support the death penalty. Also, Roof does not regret his actions whatsoever, and to end his life and give him the celebrity that comes with it is only fulfilling his wishes. He deserves to be forgotten in a prison cell.” Another friend of mine felt differently, describing how “no amount of time can make Dylann Roof regret his decisions.” She continued saying “Although capital punishment is the more costly alternative, he doesn’t deserve life when he has taken so many.” Both agreed that while Dylann Roof has faced some sort of justice, there is still work to be done to repair the black community.
The death of Roof does nothing to heal the hearts of the victim's families. It does nothing to calm the fearful hearts of African Americans across the country. While Roof's actions seem too radical to have been fostered by our current society, we allowed him to kindle his hatred. We as a country allow people in the media to spread racist ideologies without being challenged. Racism is not an inarguable preference, it is an opinion that is a menace to society. By failing to acknowledge that we as a society have more to accomplish to solve this situation than dealing with the murderer, we leave room for a similar act of terror to take place. Dylan Roof is not an outlier. He is one among many who was bold enough to act upon his convictions, and we must do something to address the part of our culture that breeds this extreme intolerance.
