Trillmonga Presents: Movie Review: Emanuel

I have a strong connection to Charleston, SC. Of course, if you are black reading this, you probably have some connection to the area as well as it’s estimated that about 40% of Africans passed through the port city during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. My ties, however; are still there. My mother was born and raised in Charleston, and after spending 30 plus years in New York where I was born, has since returned and probably won’t ever leave again. Her entire family still resides there and also have no plans of changing that. I went to school in Charleston, SC between 7th and 12th grade graduating high school there. Hailing from New York; I experienced a huge culture shock; I could not understand the Geechie lull in my relatives’ voices, and the culture was all around strange. After graduating high school, I left immediately to go back up North for college. I didn’t fully appreciate the beauty and history of Charleston until I returned sometime during my early collegiate career with my best friend and took her around the city. I visited Emanuel AME Church once, I’m not sure if it was in High school with my band, or if it was with a friend who’s family were members. It’s beautiful; breathtaking even. I wasn’t aware of its deep history at the time. I hate that I had to learn the history of this monumental church after such a tragic event.

June 17, 2019, marked the 4-year anniversary of the day Dylan Roof murdered 9 unsuspecting worshippers in Mother Emanuel. On June 17, 2015, Dylan Roof was accepted into Bible Study at Emanuel AME Church, specifically asked for the pastor, sat next to Reverend Clementa Pinckney, sat through the entire session and waited for them to close their eyes to pray before opening fire on the trusting group. The following churchgoers were slain in the attack by Roof:

• Reverend Clementa Pinckney (41)- Senior Pastor at Emanuel AME Church and State Senator

• Tywanza Sanders (26)- 2014 graduate of Allen University, shot while trying to save his Aunt Susie. His mother and niece survived by pretending to be dead

• Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd (54)- 31-year Library Manager

• Susie Jackson (87)- Devoted parishioner of Emanuel AME Church and Ethel Lance’s cousin

• Ethel Lee Lance (70)- Devoted Parishioner of Emanuel AME Church for most of her life

• Depayne Middleton-Doctor (49)- Mother of 4, Choir member at Emanuel AME Church, Admissions Coordinator at Southern Wesleyan University

• Reverend Daniel L. Simmons (74)- Survived initial attack, and died in the operating room at the hospital

• Reverend Sharonda Coleman-Singleton (45)- Pastor at Emanuel, Speech Therapist & Track Coach at Goose Creek High School)

• Myra Thompson (Wife of Rev. Anthony Thompson, the vicar of Holy Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church in Charleston)

 Felicia Sanders (Tywanza Sanders’ mother) her granddaughter, and Polly Sheppard survived the shooting.

Directed by Brian Ivie; Executive Produced by Stephen Curry and Viola Davis, and co-produced by Law and Order SVU’s Mariska Hargitay; Emanuel is the untold story of the victims and survivors of the Charleston Church shooting. There were no previews to open the movie, and I was wondering how they would possibly find any appropriate trailers to air. Instead, the time that would normally be taken for previews was filled with quotes from survivors and family members. The filmmakers are donating all proceeds from the movie to the survivors and their families.

The movie began with an opening monologue from the former ‘Daily Show with Jon Stewart’. In his monologue; Jon explains his daily process for creating his show content, and how he and his team come up with the jokes for the day. Because of the horrific news of the shooting, he explains that he has nothing. The movie gives an in-depth of Charleston’s storied past dealing with slavery, it’s racist history, and it’s still segregated present. A historian actually referred to it as a Confederate Disney Land. Sidebar: I could have done without the slave re-enactments, but I completely understand why they were used. There needed to be a visual context for the amount of history being provided. The director made sure to capture the true aesthetic of Charleston. It was beautifully shot, and the water looked utterly serene, even though those waters have proven to be a gateway to hell for the Africans transported through it. The new Cooper River Bridge was captured beautifully as well.

Nadine Lance-Collier, (daughter of Ethel Lance), gave a heart-wrenching account of her story the night of the shooting. She explained her incredulity that her mother was one of the deceased because her name wasn’t initially reported as such. She told of arriving at the church and the police not answering any of her questions, she recounted then getting a phone call from her niece confirming that her mother had indeed been killed and arriving at the coroner’s office only to be told that she would not be allowed to see her mother. Nadine finally reveals that she was unable to see her mother again until her funeral.

The first reporters to arrive on the scene noted the excessive amount of deputy coroners that responded, which indicated the severity of what had actually happened in the basement of the church. Polly Sheppard (a survivor) described Dylan Roof’s eyes like dark pools while he was shooting her fellow churchgoers. Roof asked Polly if he had shot her already when she told him he had not, he responded that he wasn’t going to. That he would leave her to tell the story. Dylan Roof was arrested 14hrs later in Shelby, NC on a traffic stop. Here is where I thought of Ava DuVernay’s recent Netflix limited series ‘When They See Us’ and the contrast of the accusatory interrogations of CHILDREN being framed for rape, and the very polite arrest and interrogation of this white ADULT male that had killed 8 people and injured others 14 hours earlier. This monster was handled with kid gloves and treated to a meal at Burger King. Initially, Roof was unable or unwilling to admit to the murders. He said he went to the church and “did it”. When asked what he did, he said “the shooting”. Per Roof’s journals, he didn’t have any racist feelings until the Trayvon Martin murder, which he didn’t see a problem with. According to South Carolina law, you are entitled to a bond hearing within 24 hours, and Dylan’s was 48 hours later. Surprisingly, the judge invited the families of the murdered to speak during Roof’s bond hearing. Ethel Lance’s daughter (Nadine) immediately forgave Roof. Anthony Thompson also forgave him and asked that he repent. Felicia Sanders; (Shooting survivor and mother of Tywanza Sanders); said: “May God have mercy on you”. While she spoke to Roof, she held the blood-stained bible that she had at Bible study the night she watched her son take his last breath. Understandably so, some families of the victims did not instantly express their forgiveness of Roof. They are now left to live lives without their family members because of him, and forgiveness will take time. It may also never come.

While ‘Emanuel’ aimed to tell the untold story of the victims and survivors of the shooting, everything revealed was information that was already available. The message I received was the strength of the families left behind and their power of forgiveness. The movie was a limited release through Fathom Events and I don’t know if the producers have any intention of re-releasing it in theaters or to streaming services at a later time, but if they do; I would recommend that you go see it.

T.Nicole