Don’t confuse forgiveness in Charleston with forgiveness for racism

[struggle4progress]

BY ANDRA GILLESPIE
September 21, 2015 at 9:14 PM EDT

... I was certainly moved by the forgiveness that the families of the Charleston victims extended to the shooter at his arraignment ...

... I also understand the frustration of people like Willie Glee, a member of Mother Emanuel. We had a chance to talk in the green room before the taping. He told me that he was very concerned that the broader community was hiding behind the families’ forgiveness as a way to deflect dealing with centuries of racial division and hierarchy ...

... We have to come to grips with the fact that it took the savage murder of nine innocent people to jumpstart a symbolic policy debate that had stalled for decades. Don’t get me wrong — I am happy to see the Confederate flag leave the South Carolina State Capitol, and I am happy that nationally, people are much more conscious of the ways that memorializing Confederate sympathizers and segregationists is painful to many people. However, if the legacy of Charleston is that a few flags came down and few streets got renamed, then the Emanuel Nine died in vain ...

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/column-dont-confuse-forgiveness-charleston-forgiveness-racism/