The president called the 2015 mass shooting of nine Black parishioners at Emanual AME Church a remnant of the “poison of white supremacy” that has “haunted” the nation for too long.
President Joe Biden denounced white supremacy and Republican attempts to rewrite America’s racial history as he made his pitch to Black voters, vowing to continue having their backs, during a visit to South Carolina ahead of the first Democratic primary of the 2024 election.
On Monday, Biden delivered remarks at the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, where nine Black parishioners, including the church’s pastor, State Senator Clementa C. Pinckney, were tragically murdered by a white supremacist gunman in 2015.
The president said the racist mass shooting had “no place in America” and is a remnant of the “poison of white supremacy” that has “haunted” the nation for too long.
As vice president at the time, Biden accompanied former President Barack Obama as he eulogized the victims of the 2015 massacre, known as the Emanuel Nine.
On Monday, the president commended the families of the Emanuel Nine for their “act of forgiveness” and “grace” following the racist attack and warned that the darkness of that day continues to be a threat to Black communities and American democracy as Republican lawmakers and leaders aim to “whitewash history” through lies, hate and political violence.
Though he did not mention any specific names, Biden appeared to call out Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, whose administration severely altered or outright banned the teaching of aspects of Black history in public schools. Biden also called out presidential candidate Nikki Haley without naming her, referencing the former governor of South Carolina’s recent flub in failing to say slavery was the cause of the U.S. Civil War.
Source: An emotional Biden calls out white supremacy, slams Trump and Haley at Black S.C. church
