COLUMBIA, S.C. — As rallies continue across the state in protest of the death of George Floyd, South Carolina’s U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn said the fatal shooting of nine African American parishioners at a Charleston church nearly five years ago is where the unrest began.
During a press conference with makers of the documentary “Emanuel,” which examines the aftermath of the shooting at Charleston’s Mother Emanuel AME Church, Clyburn said the shooting, motivated by racism, ushered in “a reexamination of who and what we are as Americans.”
Wednesday is the fifth anniversary of the day that self-proclaimed white supremacist Dylann Roof joined a Bible study at the Emanuel church and opened fire on them, killing nine people, including the church’s pastor at the time, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney.
A recent viral video of a police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck for several minutes as he pleaded for air caused feelings that started after the Mother Emanuel shooting to boil over, the congressman said.
“That examination culminated three weeks ago when all of us tuned in and watched a horrific lynching taking place in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and what has followed has been one of the most interesting periods of American history,” the Democrat from Columbia said.
Clyburn, a former civil rights activist himself, said the cross-country movement in the wake of Floyd’s death was something he had never seen before. The officer who knelt on Floyd and three others face charges in Floyd’s death.
“I cannot think of any other time when this kind of reexamination has taken place,” Clyburn said. “Nothing that I can find in our history has been like this one, and it all started in the basement of Emanuel AME church.”
The Columbia Democrat says he has noticed several differences between this wave of protests and others that have come before. These protests have seen more participation from people of all color and from both Democrats and Republicans, he said.
He added that while people have been asking when the protests will dissipate, he thinks things will be different this time.
“The feeling was different. The expression was different,” Clyburn said. “This time there was a white pastor leading the prayer.”
Protests have wracked the nation and the state for going on three weeks. In Columbia, protesters have met nearly every day to speak about police brutality and demand change. Some protests have been violent, but most have remained peaceful.
After the shooting at Mother Emanuel, no legislation was passed to address the issues at hand, like gun laws or extending protections to the black community. This time, Clyburn, the third most powerful Democrat in the House, said he expects to see action from the House and the Senate.
Currently, both chambers are working on their own legislation to address policing. The House bill, which was released last week, is focused on deterring excessive use of force by police and holding officers accountable. Clyburn said the chamber will be able to handily pass that legislation.
“We believe this is a good bill,” Clyburn said. “The Senate is going to do what it’s going to do.”
Senate Republicans will release their bill this week, which will address police misconduct and create a reporting system to list officers’ actions that end in serious injury or death. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, a North Charleston Republican, has been instrumental in forming that bill.
“It is time for us to restructure things in such a way that this pursuit — life, liberty and happiness — will be a more pleasant one for everybody,” Clyburn said.
