CHARLOTTE, N.C. — June 17 will mark nine years since a gunman killed nine parishioners at a South Carolina church. 

What You Need To Know

  • On Monday,  President Joe Biden visited Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina 

  • The church was the site of a deadly mass shooting in 2015 

  • The gunman was a white supremacist

  • A North Carolina councilman says it's time for people to call out racism when they see it 

The mass shooting occurred at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. 

The gunman was a white supremacist.

On Monday, President Joe Biden visited the church, condemning white supremacy. 

“The word of God was pierced by bullets and hate, rage, propelled by not just gunpowder but by a poison,” the president said. “What is that poison? White supremacy. This has no place in America. Not today, tomorrow or ever."

In attendance was Charlotte City Council member Malcolm Graham. 

Graham's sister Cynthia Graham Hurd was one of the victims in the mass shooting. 

"She always been my biggest cheerleader," Graham said. "She was my best friend. "[I] focus on how she lived, and not how she died." 

Growing up, Graham says his sister helped him to flourish in the world of tennis by ensuring he had transportation to the tournaments. 

"Cynthia had her driver's license before I did, so she was responsible for taking me to various tennis tournaments across South Carolina," Graham said. 

Graham has dedicated his time to honoring Cynthia Graham Hurd's legacy, so her memory is never forgotten. 

Graham and his siblings founded the Cynthia Graham Hurd Center for Literacy and Civic Engagement to honor Cynthia's legacy. He also started the Charlotte Amateur Tennis Tournament in her honor. 

But nearly nine years since the Charleston shooting, Graham says hatred and discrimination continue to plague the country.

"Racism still is our nation's Achilles' heel," Graham said. "Remember a year and a half ago, there was a mass shooting in Buffalo under the same circumstances where a white nationalist went to a Black neighborhood community and killed [10] folks. We have to confront what's in front of us." 

Biden spoke before Graham and other family members of those killed during the mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Monday, denouncing white supremacy. 

Graham says he also had a opportunity to speak directly with the president at AME. 

Graham says Biden speaking at the church was an opportunity for leaders to keep a spotlight on what happened at Mother Emanuel AME, while also discussing effective ways to combat racism. 

"Set the stage for a meaningful dialogue to continue. There's no other place to do it than Charleston at Emanuel AME Church," Graham said. 

Graham hopes the president's visit motivates others to step up to the plate and join the fight to stop racism. 

"We have to call racism and discrimination out when we see it," Graham said. "We have to create this environment of healthy tension where we can talk about these issues without attacking one another. We all are in this together."

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