Just a day after the massacre in the historic Emanuel AME Church of Charleston, the son of one of the victims, Sharonda Coleman Singleton, offered forgiveness to Dylann Roof. As more of the victimsâ?? family members emerged to publicly forgive Roof I found myself caught between the Christian imperative to forgive that had driven them to do so, and an emotion that was irreconcilable: anger.
I am not enraged, nor do I seek vengeance, but there is a clear and concise anger born of my inconsolable grief both for the tragedy itself and for the children forced into a position where forgiveness for such a wretched act was assumed. I am angry that these children were catapulted into the company of other survivors of inane violence against blacks, such as Mamie Till-Mobley whose response, as Cornel West frequently writes, was: I donâ??t have a minute to hate, Iâ??m gonna pursue justice for the rest of my life.
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