Throughout my entire life, the church has been a constant theme. My mother is a preacher’s kid and she raised me up in my grandfather’s church, where he’s overseen his congregation for over 50 years. I’ve watched his congregation swell into the hundreds to the point where you had to get to church on time to be sure you had a seat. I’ve also watched his church population decrease to a small handful of devoted worshipers. Though small, his congregation’s devotion to the church has never wavered. They show up early, stay late and still hold a regular Wednesday night bible study. This is why when the news of the shooting at Emanuel AME church was revealed to me, time stopped.

That same Wednesday evening on June 17, 2015, my grandfather, my grandmother and their small devoted congregation were also practicing their faith and studying a lesson from the good book. The only difference between my grandfather’s church and Emanuel AME is that Dylann Roof wasn’t there. But what has been done a year later to prevent another Dylann Roof from showing up?

Since the tragic murders of Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance, Depayne Middleton, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Myra Thompson, and pastor and State Sen. Clementa Pinckney, more names have been added to the long list of lives lost due to mass shootings in this country. Guns continue to be bought and sold at record high numbers and the United Stated has held on to it’s record of obtaining the highest number of mass shootings over any other country. With 136 mass shootings taking place within the first half of this year, a call to action is well overdue.

On a political level, leaders on all sides must be stringent in their priorities to make gun laws more restrictive and safer for the people they are meant to protect. Limitations must be exercised in order to prevent large quantities of firearms to be purchased. We the people, must ring louder than the firearms to make our voices heard and our presence felt when it comes to this issue. We have to be the bodies that move and take action, for those that have been removed are now only reminders of what could happen if we don’t.

A year later, we’ve seen more lives lost than actions made to protect and make this place safer for everyone. We’ve listened to President Obama deliver far to many statements about yet another mass shooting. We’ve also watched as little to nothing be done about it. We’ve heard the details as these killers walk into rooms with names and faces attached to bullets that resemble our own. Our thoughts and prayers alone cannot shield us. We have to push the boundaries of our own action and move towards a place where we can have peace and protection. It’s time to act.

Rest in Peace: Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance, Depayne Middleton, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Myra Thompson, and pastor and state Sen. Clementa Pinckney.

emanuel ame

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