A month after the Charleston church shooting tragedy, people continue to drop off flowers and memorials outside Emanuel AME Church. This July 17 photo by Cynthia Bledsoe illustrates how deeply the deaths of nine worshippers continues to affect people from Charleston and beyond. Special to Charleston Currents.
IN THIS ISSUE
PHOTO: A month later
FOCUS: Thoughtful, considerate action for unity
BRACK: Some news not fit to print
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Titan Termite & Pest Control
GOOD NEWS: Community raises concerns about carriage horses
FEEDBACK: Letters on Horne, mayor’s race
CALENDAR: Library sale, shaking a leg, more
REVIEW: It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War
MYSTERY: Pink flowers may stump you
S.C. ENCYCLOPEDIA: Marshall Tucker Band
TODAY’S FOCUS
Thoughtful, considerate action should bring sustainable unity
By Maurice Washington, candidate for mayor
JULY 20, 2015 | The tragedies of last month will forever be in our memories. Our hearts are with the families of the nine worshippers whose lives were taken in a premeditated rage. In spite of this horrific crime of hate, love has overcome these horrible moments, and, once again, the Charleston community has shown the world how a God-loving community can and should act under the most awful circumstances.
Washington
The families of the victims, choosing to forgive rather than condemn, demonstrated the very essence of Christianity. The way in which they, Mayor Riley, Chief Mullins, Governor Haley, and the African Methodist Episcopal leadership have dealt with the tragic loss of their loved ones, have given us all reasons to be proud of them and thankful of the role that they are playing in helping our community, state, and country heal. So, for now, let us continue to keep the main focus on:
- Our fellow citizens who have lost their lives while rendering service to God;
- Their families, friends, and the citizens of Charleston who are still trying to deal with the horror of their tragic deaths; and
- Initiatives that unite us rather than divide us.
While the healing process has begun, we are also reminded that unless actions are taken to eradicate the attitudes, beliefs, and practices that allow hate to fester in our community, we may have a repeat of such senseless acts of hate. As Charlestonians, we cannot allow the continued racism embedded in the ways we treat people; we cannot return to polite, benign neglect and avoidance of the sometimes difficult actions necessary for true change.
Instead, as Charlestonians, we need to abandon the processes that isolate people from equal access to the things that allow them to actualize their fullest potential. Specifically, we need to seize this incredible display of unity as an opportunity to begin discussing ways to:
- Create an economy that provides opportunities for all of our citizens;
- Ensure that every child receives a first class education;
- Strengthen the ties that bind our neighborhoods;
- Provide affordable housing within the various neighborhoods so that families have an opportunity to live together in peace and harmony;
- Redefine gentrification to be inclusive of all people of diverse economic and racial backgrounds; and
- Remove, by way of inclusive and respectful dialogue, the Confederate Flag from the Statehouse grounds to really show solidarity as a state.
As Charlestonians, let us not lose the momentum of “oneness.” Let us commit to treating all people with mutual respect, a sense of fair play, and equal access to all people. Let us show the now and next generations that diversity and inclusion are strengths… not weaknesses. Let us remember the words of James Weldon Johnson in the Negro Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing”:
“… Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; facing the rising sun of our new day begun, let us march on till victory is won.“
Let us instead focus on actions, which will influence the future quality of life for all citizens of our beloved city. How will you spend the next several months? What will you do to move forward the equity issues of economics, shared power, and inclusion in planning the future? To avoid such discussions may imply that we lack faith and confidence in one another as Charlestonians.
Maurice G. Washington, president and CEO of Trust Management LLC, is running for mayor of Charleston. He is a former city councilman and former chair of the board of S.C. State University. More info: Washington4Mayor.com
EDITOR’S NOTE: Charleston Currents is offering this space to each of the mayoral candidates to share their views with readers. Candidates are able to pick their publication date on a first-come, first-serve basis through the end of September. Three candidates have reserved space in September. Two candidates published their thoughts earlier (more). One candidate has not responded.
COMMENTARYSome news is not fit to print
By Andy Brack | So now come some members of the generally milquetoast South Carolina media who are pawing and whining about a state trial judge. They complain he’s keeping them from hearing 911 phone calls or seeing graphic photos of the Emanuel AME Church shooting that left nine dead.
Ninth Circuit Judge J.C. Nicholson should stand his ground and keep a gag order in place so images and sounds don’t spread throughout the world in an Internet flash. If they become public, that’s what will happen in about two seconds. Almost as fast: More pain and horror for the victims’ families and the Charleston community.
These images and sounds eventually will be heard — during a trial. Until then, the court, prosecutors and defense lawyers should insist they remain private to keep from inflaming public opinion.
Why? First, it’s the right thing to do. As healing continues, it is not time to pour salt on fresh wounds, despite any moaning by self-important editors and reporters about their rights to have the information.
Second, the media zealots who want the information to be released are conveniently forgetting to tell the full story. Yes, they have a pretty good argument that they have a constitutional right to get access to photos or tapes of phone calls.
But in a rush to sell more newspapers or grab more Internet eyeballs, they’re not sharing the other side. They seem to forget that in American jurisprudence, anyone who is accused of a crime has a right to a fair trial — no matter how much people may not like that for one reason or another.
If these photos or phone calls from the Emanuel church shooting scene hit the Internet because of a media more interested in their own bottom line than in doing what is best for the city and state, then there’s almost no guarantee potential jurors won’t be prejudiced against the accused shooter.
Even worse, think about what hate groups would do with these pictures or sounds. Home-grown haters would use them to brag about their impact and try to recruit more haters. Even worse are overseas terrorists who hate the United States — they would use them to promote anti-Americanism to recruit more haters.
So this is where a judge comes in. In our society, judges have a heavy responsibility to balance rights of the media with the rights of the accused. Judges must ensure trials don’t become circuses. They can do things during a trial, such as sequestering jurors or having strong voir dire processes (interviews) with potential jurors to make sure they’ll be fair. But those things are months away. There’s a duty now to keep from tainting people with information and images that could be highly prejudicial.
Fortunately, there’s a U.S. Supreme Court case that suggests what should happen. In a 1966 opinion involving the 1954 murder conviction of Ohio Dr. Sam Sheppard, the court held 8-1 to return the case to a lower court and release the doctor unless he was charged again in a reasonable time.
In the opinion, the court found publicity about the case created a “carnival atmosphere.” The high court noted the state judge could have done some things to control the media, such as insulating witnesses or curbing the “release of leads, information and gossip to the press by police officers, witnesses, and counsel for both sides.”
Ultimately, the trial judge “did not fulfill his duty to protect Sheppard from the inherently prejudicial publicity which saturated the community and to control disruptive influences in the courtroom.”
See the parallel? And that was almost 50 years ago when there were three national networks and no cable, Internet or smartphones. Since then, media have oozed into every corner of our lives. To suggest that it will be less pervasive today is simply laughable.
Today’s media that are trying to get any bloody photos or 911 tapes need to stop being petulant, spoiled brats. They need to remember the tag line for The New York Times is “All the news that’s fit to print.” The operative word is “fit.” Right now, this information isn’t fit to be printed just because salacious media want it.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Charleston Currents and Statehouse Report. You can reach him at: editor@charlestoncurrents.com
IN THE SPOTLIGHTTitan Termite & Pest Control
Titan Termite & Pest Control, headquarte
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- Free estimate: 888-794-5603.
- Contact Titan online.
Community raises concerns about carriage horses in heat
Thousands now say horses should not be used in Charleston to pull wagons, according to a News2 poll started Friday. As of 7 a.m. today, more than three in four votes said carriage horses shouldn’t be used, compared to 1,394 (21.4 percent) that approved of the practice.
The poll came Friday after a carriage horse collapsed on a Charleston street after apparently spooked by a cement mixer. More attention is now being focused on the wisdom of carriage animals operating in Charleston’s hot, humid days.
“We are calling for an independent review of today’s accident,” said Joe Elmore, chief executive officer of the Charleston Animal Society. “We have an ongoing concern for the health and welfare of, not only this horse, but all of the horses that are pulling wagons downtown. We are equally concerned about the safety of both residents and visitors in our city when they are walking the streets and riding in the wagons. We hope that the horse recovers, but the horse nor the citizens and tourists, should have been placed in harm’s way in the first place.”
Publisher Andy Brack was more pointed in April 2009 in a column pushing for better carriage rules: “”Charleston City Council needs to revisit rules that govern the carriage industry and try to ignore all but certain shrill complaints by the industry…. Our city’s leaders should craft more conservative and transparent regulations that take the animals’ welfare into account more than the pocketbooks of their owners.” Another commentary.
Activists are calling on those concerned about the plight of carriage horses to phone the office of Charleston Mayor Joe Riley (843.577.6970) to ask for a complete, transparent review of the accident.
Week of baseball is ahead. The Charleston RiverDogs will offer a week full of minor league baseball starting Wednesday with a 7:05 p.m. game with the Delmarva Shorebirds, an affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. After other games on Thursday and Friday, the RiverDogs open a four-game series Saturday with the Greenville Drive, an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. More info: www.RiverDogs.com
Help sought for pedestrian, bike mapping project. A county-wide bike and pedestrian improvements plan in development since 2012 is now moving into its final phase. At this stage, area residents are encouraged to submit input towards an existing facilities satisfaction survey as well as a web-based wiki-mapping survey that will highlight potential bike/pedestrian routes. Provide input here by July 31: www.surveymonkey.com/r/people2parks.
Hats off to restaurateurs. Charleston area restaurateurs raised almost $600,000 last week through the “A Community United” event on July 9 that was profiled here. “The event was one of the proudest moments of my career. as you saw people of all walks of life, all faiths and all colors stand together under a “blanket of love” as Reverend Novell Goff said that evening,” organizer Mickey Bakst wrote.
FEEDBACKHurrah for Jenny Horne
To the editor:
Interestingly, I had always heard the upstate of S.C. was considered the “Bible Belt.” The representatives from that area obviously don’t believe in “love your fellow man as yourself” as they don’t seem to be able to see what the African Americans have had endure under the Confederate flag.
Hurrah for [state Rep.] Jenny Horne! She expressed the frustration what many of us white South Carolinians descended from slave owners felt about the flag flying on the Statehouse grounds. We are able, unlike those representatives who voted to keep the flag flying, to feel the pain our African American sisters and brothers have felt living under what has become a symbol of hate.
I am afraid if the murder of nine people didn’t change them, nothing will and more time will be wasted in the Statehouse arguing about this issue instead of moving South Carolina forward. They continue to deny their motives are racial but as the old saying goes, “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.”
– Katharine D. Beard, Camden, S.C.
Were pots of money really “good news?”
To the editor I was astonished to read under a headline of “Good News” in the July 13th edition of Charleston Currents a listing of the amount of funds already raised by candidates for Charleston mayor. And I wonder why the publisher chose to consider that bit of information as good news? I think it is a sad commentary on our current circumstances when money has become so important in determining the election of a city mayor. It is already a national disgrace that the presidential election has become a “pay to win” process. Is this just more of the same on the local level?
— Freida F. McDuffie, Charleston, S.C.
Dear Freida: Thanks for your letter. We see it as good news that thousands of people are involved in the political process by giving money. Yes, it’s surprising that so much money is being raised, but it would be sadder if nobody was involved. — Andy Brack, publisher
Rant. Rave. Tell us what you really think. If you have an opinion on something we’ve offered or on a subject related to the Lowcountry, please send your letters of 150 words or less to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com. Our feedback policy.
CALENDARBook Sale, shaking a leg, more
Book sale: July 24-25, John’s Island Regional Library, 3531 Maybank Highway, John’s Island. Prices start at 50 cents for fiction, non-fiction, children’s books and more with proceeds to benefit the Charleston County Public Library. Two-day event plus special member event. More.
Shaking a leg. The Folly Beach Pier is set to have more Moonlight Mixers throughout the summer starting at 7 p.m. A DJ will spin great old tunes to keep your feet moving. Dates are July 24, Aug. 21 and Sept. 18. In Mount Pleasant, the Shaggin’ on the Cooper series will be held July 18, Aug. 15 and Sept. 12. Click here for more.
(NEW) Charleston Sprint Triathlon races: July 26, with the championship race to be Aug. 9, James Island County Park. The five-race series, which started in May, is celebrating its 25th year. More: CharlestonCountyParks.com/CSTS
(NEW) Back to School Bash and Basketball Showcase: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Aug. 8, Schroder Community Center, Hollywood. Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission and The Parklands Foundation will host the free event for families with kids up to grade 12 who are going back to school. Lots of activities. More: 843.795.4386.
Natural history exhibit: Through Aug. 10, 2015. “From Land to Sea: 35 Million Years of Whale Evolution” will be featured in The Charleston Museum’s lobby gallery with displays of whale fossils from millions of years ago. There’s limited availability for an overview by Natural History Curator Matthew Gibson on opening night. Learn more.
(NEW) Back to School Bash: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Aug. 13, Haut Gap Middle School, Johns Island. Parents and children returning to school can meet county parks and recreation staff at this event to get ready for school. Lots of activities. More: 843.795.4386.
Bird walks: 8:30 a.m. to noon, every Wednesday and Saturday. This is the time of year that a great variety of migrating birds fly through the Lowcountry so what better time to take part in one of the regular early morning bird walks at Caw Caw Interpretive Center in Ravenel. Pre-registration is suggested. Cost is $5. Walks also are conducted on James Island and Folly Beach. Learn more online.
If you have an event to list on our calendar, please send it to editor@charlestoncurrents.com for consideration. The calendar is updated weekly on Mondays.
REVIEWIt’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War
By Lynsey Addario
In It’s What I Do, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario takes readers on assignment to refugee camps in Darfur, to the rugged hills of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and through her terrifying kidnapping in Libya. In frank, relatable prose sprinkled with her own photographs, Addario describes decades of travel, work, and her struggle to blend these with her personal life. At the core of the book lies the question Addario asks herself: “Why do you do this work?” (15)—or, perhaps more aptly, how can you do this dangerous, demanding, and psychologically challenging work and still live a good, happy life? Addario’s struggle to find the answer, told through anecdotes set around the world, will make you marvel at both her personal resilience and the vast breadth of human experience.
— Sarah Burriss, Main Library, Charleston, S.C.
Find this and similar titles from Charleston County Public Library. This item available as a book. To learn more or place a hold, visit www.ccpl.org or call 843-805-6930.
MYSTERY PHOTOPink flowers may stump you
This shouldn’t be too hard for native Southerners, but who knows? What’s this pink flower? Please send your guess to editor@CharlestonCurrents.com and be sure to include your mailing address and contact information. Fourth correct guess wins tickets to a RiverDogs game or Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.
Hats off to Andy Solomon of Charleston who correctly identified last issue’s “Great Dane” photo as The Dane theater in Denmark, S.C. “I spent many Saturday afternoons in that theatre,” he wrote. Others who correctly identified the theater, which now operates as a community playhouse, were Judy Carberry of Charleston and Chris Brooks of Mount Pleasant. Sarah Dwyer of Charleston wrote that the photo reminded her of the old King Street Palace where she saw Ray Charles with the Rayettes.
- If you have a picture with which you’d like to stump our readers, send it along to editor@charlestoncurrents.com.
Marshall Tucker Band
S.C. Encyclopedia | Formed in 1971, the Marshall Tucker Band (MTB) laced its rock and roll with doses of country, blues, and jazz, selling millions of albums in the 1970s and 1980s and influencing acts such as Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Jr., Charlie Daniels, and Kid Rock.
Named for a blind South Carolinian who tuned pianos, the group kept Spartanburg as a home base, a fact that allowed the upstate town to share the band’s limelight. The original MTB included lead guitarist and chief songwriter Toy Caldwell, bass player Tommy Caldwell, lead singer Doug Gray, drummer Paul Riddle, rhythm guitarist George McCorkle, and flutist/saxophone player Jerry Eubanks.
Signed to Capricorn Records, MTB released its self-titled debut album in 1973. That album contained a Toy Caldwell composition called “Can’t You See,” a song that would later be covered by Hank Williams, Jr., Waylon Jennings, and others. The band’s most successful album was Searchin’ for a Rainbow (1975), which included the McCorkle-penned “Fire on the Mountain,” a song whose lyrics are displayed at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame. Other notable MTB songs include “Take the Highway,” “Long Hard Ride,” and the Top-Twenty single “Heard It in a Love Song.” Each of the band’s six albums with Capricorn sold at least 100,000 copies, with two selling more than one million. A late 1970s shift to Warner Brothers Records proved less fruitful.
Tommy Caldwell died in 1980 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Former Toy Factory bassist Franklin Wilkie then joined the band, which soon added keyboardist Ronnie Godfrey. Toy Caldwell, McCorkle, and Riddle left the group in 1984, with Caldwell going on to record a solo album in 1992. Caldwell passed away after a heart attack in 1993 at age forty-five. Gray and Eubanks carried on the MTB name, utilizing various supporting musicians, until Eubanks departed in 1996 and left Gray as MTB’s only remaining original member.
– Excerpted from the entry by Peter Cooper. To read more about this or 2,000 other entries about South Carolina, check out The South Carolina Encyclopedia by USC Press. (Information used by permission.)
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Charleston Currents is provided to you twice a week by:
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