Emanuel 9 memorial bench preview installed at Mother Emanuel

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A life-sized preview of the Emanuel Nine Memorial’s fellowship benches are installed at Mother Emanuel.

The bench, which is constructed of Vermont Danby Pearl marble, sits on the southeast side of the Calhoun Street entrance and includes signage describing the planned Memorial Courtyard.

It exceeds nine feet in height and will stay in its location until Phase 1 of the memorial’s construction is complete.

The memorial honors the nine victims and five survivors of the racially motivated Charleston Church Shooting which happened on June 17, 2015.

Organizers say Phase I of the memorial will be located adjacent to Emanuel AME Church and will feature a courtyard with two fellowship benches facing each other with high backs that arc up and around like sheltering wings.

The curves of the benches will encircle a marble fountain at the center of the courtyard where the names of the Emanuel Nine are carved around the fountain’s edge.

“This week’s temporary preview installation is a milestone in the design and construction of the Emanuel Nine Memorial,” said memorial architect Michael Arad. “We are thrilled to see it go up in front of the Church and hope that it will help communicate the scale, materiality and detail of the design of the fellowship benches that are at the heart of the memorial’s design.”  

Phase II of the memorial project includes a survivors’ garden, which will be accessed by a pathway from the courtyard. The garden will be surrounded by six stone benches and five trees, which honor the five survivors and a sixth signifying that the church is also a survivor.

“The Emanuel Nine Memorial is a monumental landmark that will permanently tribute those unjustly taken from us in a hate crime. It will symbolize remembrance and hope that we can overcome tragedy and dedicate our efforts to ensuring that future generations live in a peaceful and nurturing world,” said Rev. Eric S.C. Manning, pastor of the Mother Emanuel AME Church and co-chair of the Mother Emanuel Memorial Foundation. 

The memorial is currently on schedule for a groundbreaking this summer with an anticipated completion in winter 2025.