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In Honor Of The Black Excellence Of Mother Emmanuel AME Church


My heart is breaking much like so many other people in the wake of the horrible tragedy in Charlston.  Nine people died in the midst of prayer & reflection.  Died opening their hearts and doors to a very lost soul...
To The MEN 
who were the leaders and examples of excellence, The Honorable Rev. Clementa Pinckney (41)...Ashe Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr.(76)...Ashe - Tywanza Sanders (26)...Ashe.  
Thank you for showing us what it looks like to live an impeccable life.  Thank you for being the pride of the community. 

                                 To The WOMEN
The beautiful mama souls that were violently taken from us. Taking in the pictures, stories and words that loved ones have been sharing shows how these blessed women were the hugs, the love, the words of encouragement, the prayers, the glue, the sunday dinners, the only one who understood, the one who forgave, the consistency, the sustainers, the inspirers, the healing kisses, the love, the love, the love, the love, the love...  they have inspired me to be better, do better & definitely not give up.  I will be excellent because of you.  Thank you Sister Rev. Sharonda, Mother Cynthia, Mother Myra, Mother Ethel, Sister Rev. Depayne & Mother Susie

Sharonda Coleman-Singleton
A 45-year-old mother of three, reverend, and high school track coach, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton was killed while attending a prayer group at Emanuel AME Church.
Coleman-Singleton coached the girls track team at Goose Creek High School. The school remembered her Thursday with a post on its Facebook page.
Her cousin, Constance Kinder, told BuzzFeed News that Coleman-Singleton was a “beautiful spirit.”
“Sharonda was pretty on the outside and just as beautiful on the inside — the one thing I know for sure she loved the Lord so she was where she enjoyed being. She was only 45 years old, she still has three kids to raise.”
Kinder said that her Sharonda would always end a conversation or a text message with “love you cousin.”

In addition to her work with the high school, Coleman-Singleton was a reverend at Emanuel AME Church, according to their website.
Her son, Chris Singleton, posted on Twitter last night following the shooting


Cynthia Hurd

Cynthia Hurd, 54, worked at the public library for 31 years and was serving as the manager at St. Andrews Regional Library since 2011.
“Cynthia was a tireless servant of the community who spent her life helping residents, making sure they had every opportunity for an education and personal growth,” the CCPL said in a statement.
Elliott Summey, the chair of the Charleston County Council, said that the St. Andrews Regional Library would be named as the Cynthia Hurd Regional Library from this day as a “fitting honor” for someone who had spent 31 years there. “It’s the very least we can do for someone who was a true public servant,” he said at a press conference on Thursday.
The CCPL closed all 16 of its locations to honor Hurd and all the victims of the shooting.
“Her loss is incomprehensible,” the CCPL said.
Friends and co-workers described her as a “wonderful” and “lovely” person in comments on CCPL’s Facebook page.
Lee Ann Carter, who once volunteered at the library, wrote that Hurd “quickly became a friend and I am devastated to hear of her death.”
Her brother, Malcolm Graham, described her as “a woman of faith” in a statement Graham, a former state senator, told the Charlotte Observer that his sister would have turned 55 on Sunday.  
He said it was “typical” of her to be at the church on Sunday. He also fondly described her as a “nerd” who got a masters in library science from the University of South Carolina.
Hurd lived with her husband Steve in the east side of Charleston, the Charlotte Observer reported.   
Graham, who last saw his sister in May when she attended his daughter’s graduation, said she always acted like his mother. “She was the one who brought us closer,” Graham told the Charlotte Observer. “It’s so senseless. She didn’t deserve it.”

Myra Thompson

Myra Thompson, 59, was the wife of reverend Anthony Thomspon,  who is a vicar at Holy Trinity REC. 



Ethel Lee Lance

A 70-year-old sexton, who had worked at the church for more than 30 years.
“I’m lost, I’m lost,” her grandson Jon Quil Lance told the Post and Courier as he waited outside the trauma center of Medical University Hospital, where the victims were being treated. He said his granny was “the heart of the family.”
“She’s a Christian, hardworking; I could call my granny for anything. I don’t have anyone else like that,” he told the Post and Courier.


Rev. Depayne Middleton-Doctor

Depayne Middleton-Doctor, 49, was a minister was and mother of four daughters. She sang in the church’s choir and spoke at the pulpit with Rev. Pinckney, 






Susie Jackson


Susie Jackson, 87, was a member of the Eastern Light Chapter No. 360 Order of the Eastern Star, according to a community activist on Twitter.

"Her being at the church this late showed her commitment as far as being in a church environment," he said, adding that she was "very well-known around the church" and the neighborhood.

RIP...YOUR DEATH WILL NOT BE IN VAIN!

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