Groundbreaking ceremony held for Emanuel 9 memorial

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)- Eight years after a deadly tragedy took the lives of nine church members, Charleston is remembering their lives through a new memorial on the church’s grounds.

Worship, remembrance and honor were at the center of Saturday’s groundbreaking.

“We are immensely grateful god has allowed us to get to this point and we are excited about breaking ground for the Emanuel 9 memorial today,” Pastor of Emanuel AME, Rev. Eric Manning said.

Worshiping God, remembering the lives of the 9 lives lost in the 2015 shooting and honoring those who survived.

It’s a day that leaders say is a milestone for the city of Charleston and something that’s been years in the making.

“The vision that we cast over 7 years ago has now come to complete fruition,” Rev. Manning said.

The first phase of the project will include fellowship benches around a marble fountain where the names of the Emanuel 9 are carved.

The second phase will include a memorial garden.

The architect who created the memorial, has done other big projects in the past.

“First we had to go through the design phase, we had a small group of people come together to work on the design and then of course selected an architect. We selected Michael Lerod, he is also the architect of the 9/11 memorial in New York,” Rev. Manning said.

Leaders say they hope when people see this memorial, they will be reminded of the power of love being stronger than hate.

Rev. Manning, “My sincere prayer will be that they are all connected on the basis of our humanity. Everyone has a right to the various tenants of life and we all must understand that if our communities are going to grow stronger, we must continue to celebrate each other.”