Alana Simmons tells DiversityInc how her organization and Dr. Bernice A. King will commemorate the deaths of the Emanuel 9.
By Sheryl Estrada
Alana_Simmons Alana Simmons
“When I spoke to [Dylann] Roof in the bond hearing a few days after the massacre I said to him, ‘Although my grandfather died at the hands of hate, he lived in love and he preached love so his legacy will be love and hate won’t win,’” Alana Simmons told DiversityInc on Thursday.
Simmons, 26, founder of Hate Won’t Win Movement, Inc., is the granddaughter of Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr. He was one of the nine Black church members murdered by Dylann Roof during a Bible study at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, 2015.
The U.S. Department of Justice, which deemed Roof’s actions a hate crime, announced in May that it will seek the death penalty. In addition, he faces the death penalty in state court, with a trial scheduled to begin in January.
Simmons said that after she confronted Roof, she and others started using the hashtag #HateWontWin on social media.
Alana Simmons tells DiversityInc how her organization and Dr. Bernice A. King will commemorate the deaths of the Emanuel 9.
By Sheryl Estrada
Alana_Simmons Alana Simmons
“When I spoke to [Dylann] Roof in the bond hearing a few days after the massacre I said to him, ‘Although my grandfather died at the hands of hate, he lived in love and he preached love so his legacy will be love and hate won’t win,’” Alana Simmons told DiversityInc on Thursday.
Simmons, 26, founder of Hate Won’t Win Movement, Inc., is the granddaughter of Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr. He was one of the nine Black church members murdered by Dylann Roof during a Bible study at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, 2015.
The U.S. Department of Justice, which deemed Roof’s actions a hate crime, announced in May that it will seek the death penalty. In addition, he faces the death penalty in state court, with a trial scheduled to begin in January.
Simmons said that after she confronted Roof, she and others started using the hashtag #HateWontWin on social media.
That ain't only the truth...it's an understatement.... ....This (OPP) has been an opportunity to confirm what I always thought about the right. Hateful and possesses the same mentality as their parents and grandparents generations......Kevyn once posted a statement about the unique opportunity OPP offers...it was profound indeed.