The dangers of a short memory in recognizing — and fighting — hate

June 17, 2015.

Though it wasn’t that long ago, far too many Americans only dimly recall what happened on that date, when a racist murderer sat down to pray with parishioners at the historically Black Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., then pulled out a .45-caliber handgun and started shooting. He killed nine people who had welcomed him and did it without — not then nor in the years since — a shred of remorse.

Maybe some have had memories tweaked with the recent news that the Justice Department has agreed to pay the victims’ families and the survivors $88 million to compensate for a background check failure.

But those families needed no reminder and would give anything to have their loved ones back on this earth.

The Rev. Clementa Pinckney, Cynthia Graham Hurd, the Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Tywanza Sanders, Ethel Lance, Susie Jackson, the Rev. Depayne Middleton-Doctor, the Rev. Daniel Simmons, Myra Thompson — they were caring community leaders and so much more than names scrolling across the bottom of a TV screen, as Hurd’s younger brother Malcolm Graham said in a 2015 Washington Post column about his sister.

She was a librarian, who surely would have helped high school dropout Dylann Roof with his educational challenges. Instead, the white supremacist, schooled by online bile, turned to violence toward African Americans. That I mention Hurd is no coincidence. I did not know her well, but we had met. And I do know her brother Malcolm, a former North Carolina state senator and current Charlotte city council member, who established the Cynthia Graham Hurd Foundation for Reading and Civic Engagement to continue her work and legacy.

Does it take a connection for Americans to feel?

Charlotte Talks Friday News Roundup: Eclipse Recap; Mayoral Debate; Confederate Monuments In NC

We all turned our eyes (protected, of course) to the skies to watch the solar eclipse on Monday. We’ll talk about local reaction to what we saw, especially in the prime viewing areas.

Most of Charlotte’s candidates for mayor participated in a Tuesday night debate—we’ll break down where they came down on issues like the I-77 tolls, and more.

Redistricting is in the news once again as new legislative district maps are released around the state to comply with a Supreme Court order that found that many North Carolina legislative districts were illegal racial gerrymanders. We’ll get a reaction from around the state.

Following the clash in Charlottesville, events continued around the nation, and here in Charlotte and around the state organized by a variety of different groups. In addition to those events, the president continued to defend his initial comments on the violence that happened in Charlottesville when he attended a rally in Phoenix.

And Wells Fargo employees in Charlotte and elsewhere are bracing for more negative headlines amid the account scandal review- we’ll update you on that.

Guests:

Tom BullockWFAE reporter.

Mary C. Curtis, columnist at Roll Call and a contributor to other publications including WCCB News Rising and NBCBLK.

Erik Spanberg, senior staff writer at the Charlotte Business Journal.

Ann Doss Helms, reporter for The Charlotte Observer.

Opinion: Saying ‘Not Trump’ Is Not Enough for GOP

When Donald Trump is the bad cop, everybody can be the good cop.

President Trump Blames Charlottesville Violence on ‘Both Sides’

NEW YORK (AP) – President Donald Trump is defiantly blaming “both sides” for the weekend violence between white supremacists and counter-demonstrators in Virginia and rebuffing the widespread criticism of his handling of the emotionally-charged protests.

Trump addressed reporters Tuesday in New York.

In his remarks, he showed sympathy for the fringe group’s efforts to preserve Confederate monuments.

In doing so, Trump used the bullhorn of the presidency to give voice to the grievances of white nationalists, and aired some of his own. His remarks amounted to a rejection of the Republicans, business leaders and White House advisers who earlier this week had pushed the president to more forcefully and specifically condemn the KKK members, neo-Nazis and white supremacists who took to the streets of Charlottesville.

Mary C. Curtis, political contributor, weighs in.