by Kevin Sack
First published 2025
Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston stood in obscurity until June 17, 2015, when a white supremacist murdered nine worshippers during Bible study. Pulitzer Prize winner Kevin Sack uses this tragedy as a lens to examine two centuries of Black resilience in America's oldest AME congregation. The church broke from white denominations in 1817, survived the destruction that followed Denmark Vesey's failed rebellion, and weathered Civil War and Reconstruction. Sack profiles forgotten leaders like Rev. Richard Harvey Cain, who served both as pastor and Congressman, and Rev. Benjamin Glover, who led NAACP efforts in the 1960s. The narrative culminates with Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the state legislator whose 2015 murder prompted Barack Obama's "Amazing Grace" eulogy. Through one congregation's story, Sack traces how African Methodism emerged from slavery's brutality and how forgiveness became both religious practice and survival strategy. The book reveals Charleston as the entry point for nearly half of enslaved Africans and explores how faith sustained generations through violence and oppression.
Genres: biography, history, african-american, social-justice, church-history, american-history
Vibes: contemplative, emotional, inspiring, resilient, thought-provoking
Tropes: generational-resilience, historical-narrative, institutional-history
Setting: Charleston, South Carolina, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church
Period: 1817, 19th century, 20th century, 21st century, 2015, Civil War, Reconstruction, 1960s
480 pages · Paperback · Crown
Content warnings: murder, racism, slavery, violence