The City of Charleston reports that, as of this morning, the Mother Emanuel Hope Fund, which goes toward funeral expenses and church projects, has brought in $926,389, and the Reverend Pinckney Fund, which benefits church initiatives, has collected $147,429. Source: City of Charleston
Funerals for four Mother Emanuel victims were held over the weekend and today: Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Rev. DePayne Middleton Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, and Myra Thompson
Vice President Joe Biden remained in the Charleston area over the weekend and attended Sunday church service at Emanuel AME Church. Source: P&C, NYT
A woman who climbed up and cut down the Confederate flag from its pole on Saturday morning before a pro-flag rally was arrested by state troopers and led away peacefully to be charged with defacing a monument. While descending the pole, the woman, a Charlotte resident named Bree Newsome who was hailed as a “black superhero”, decried the flag as a symbol of hate. The flag was replaced a short time later before the rally. Source: Charlotte Observer, Twitter
The New York Times dissects five days following the Mother Emanuel shootings during which support for the flag saw a “stunningly quick collapse,” with at least one rural lawmaker receiving the most messages about the flag’s removal than any other issue since he took office. Source: NYT
Piggybacking off of Jon Stewart’s monologue last week when he lamented S.C. roads named for Confederate generals who fought to preserve slavery, NYT’s Upshot analyzed the names of southern roadways. Source: NYT
The organist who backed up President Obama’s eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney on Friday said of the experience,“I was taking my cue from God, literally.” Source: P&C
Governor Nikki Haley has stayed in the spotlight since the Emanuel shootings, and along with President Obama’s commendation on Friday, is being hailed as “a leader of the New South” and “America’s unexpected civil rights champion.” Source: Politico
Three North Charleston students that saw their science experiments bound for space explode along with the SpaceX rocket they were on in October saw their hopes dashed once again over the weekend when another rocket broke up after take-off on Sunday morning. Source: AP
Police are investigating fires at six black churches across five states since the Emanuel AME Church shootings by a suspected white supremacist, the most recent at a Baptist church in Warrenville, S.C. Source: NPR, AP
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