Students process emotions after Charleston shooting

At a vigil on Friday in the Pit, students lit candles representing the nine victims of the Charleston shooting, which occurred in Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

For senior Ishmael Bishop, the shooting reminded him of the 1963 church bombing in Alabama that killed four young women. Bishop read excerpts from Martin Luther King Jr.’s eulogy for those four women.

“I read through his words, and I understood how vicious it was to come into a space as sacred as a church and to take the lives of four young women who were at the start of their lives, and then it happens again with the lives of nine beautiful people,” Bishop said.

Charity Lackey, who organized the vigil with Frank Tillman III, said she wanted black UNC students to have a space to heal.

“I wanted to offer this space a place for people to hear that it’s OK to have rage; it’s OK to be angry; it’s OK to be sad. But it’s also OK to search deep and find forgiveness and compassion,” Lackey said.

Chancellor Carol Folt reached out the Lackey and asked if she could attend the vigil, but Lackey wanted the focus to remain on students.

“Chapel Hill is extremely politically correct,” Lackey said. “I wanted people to have a safe space to speak their mind and not have to censor themselves.”

Lackey and Tillman opened the floor for people to speak about how they were handling the shooting and the other acts of violence this past year.

Students expressed their exhaustion after a year filled with acts of violence against people of color. Lackey said she felt numb and initially tried to repress her emotions in order to cope.

“You have to find those feelings of love and forgiveness, but it takes time to get there, and you’re going to have to work through the rage ,and that’s difficult,” she said. “We as a community, not only black communities but also white communities, are still trying to heal.”

Bishop said it is an emotional burden to have to explain to people why the shootings are so troubling for him.

“I will be given a reputation as the person who always has to speak about black people, black issues, and I have to now be that person to my friends who do not understand why I feel uncomfortable,” he said.

Renisha Harris, a sociology major, said she sensed people were afraid to express their true feelings in the wake of the shooting.

“I understand that everyone is coming up here with this joyous outlook — love and forgiveness— and that’s great,” Harris said. “But I am angry. I am sad. I am pissed off. I am tired.”

Harris said that some people may try to hide their anger in order to avoid playing into stereotypes.

“We’re afraid that if we express how we truly feel about nine members of our community being gunned down for no good reason, we’ll be labeled as angry and irrational,” she said. “I’m saying it for all the people who are too afraid to say it. I’m angry.”

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