Charleston Currents – Andy Brack

Articles by: Andy Brack

REVIEW: The Secret Keeper 

Reviewed by Michel Hammes: The Secret Keeper, a novel by Kate Morton. The Secret Keeper is one of those hidden gems you can find when you peruse the library stacks.

by Andy Brack · 07/17/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Features, Reviews

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Some of the most welcoming places I’ve ever been are Southern black churches on Sunday mornings — halls of worship filled with bright eyes, toothy smiles and genuine warmth.

They have been places where the bonds of close-knit communities seem tangible, where voices lift to shake rafters and where a spirit of togetherness provides palpable strength to those in the room.

by Andy Brack · 07/17/2016 · 1 comment · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: South Carolina played critical role in American independence

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | While many visitors to South Carolina focus on its part in the Civil War, they might be surprised to realize that without the Palmetto State’s leading role in American independence, our nation might not have been formed at all.

Not only was South Carolina home to the first major patriot victory on June 28, 1776 at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, but South Carolina had more battles and skirmishes during the Revolutionary War — some 254 engagements — than any other state. From a tactical standpoint, all of those conflicts had a draining impact on the patriots’ foes, the British. They were forced to battle on two fronts — the South and the North — which extended supply lines and sapped strength.

by Andy Brack · 07/04/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

MYSTERY: What and where is this structure?

Right off the bat, we know this Mystery Photo may be a tough one. What and where is it? (HINT 1: It is not in downtown Charleston, but is somewhere in the three-county area. HINT 2: We have written about a project in the last three months that houses this structure.) First person to correctly guess where it is wins a pair of vouchers to a RiverDogs game. Send your guess to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com

by Andy Brack · 07/04/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Mystery Photo, Photos

BRACK: Start now to fix gerrymandering’s ills

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | A visitor argued during breakfast this week about how politics could change dramatically in the South if progressive politicians spread messages of economic populism to communicate how the current system is stacked against them.

Won’t work, I explained, until South Carolina and neighboring states deal with the scourge of gerrymandering — the intentional manipulation of electoral district lines for political advantage.

by Andy Brack · 06/27/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: The time to do nothing on guns has passed

By Andy Brack | The glut of guns solely made for killing people — handguns and assault rifles — is changing America into a country where fearful people feel they need more and bigger guns to protect themselves. They respond to patronizing rhetoric from groups like the National Rifle Association who taunt that the federal government is going to take away people’s guns. Throughout the seven years of President Obama’s term, we’ve heard such chants time and time again, yet Obama hasn’t taken away guns.

by Andy Brack · 06/20/2016 · 1 comment · Andy Brack, Views

PHOTO ESSAY: Mississippi Delta

A recent trip to the Mississippi Delta around Clarksdale, Miss., and neighboring Helena-West Helena, Ark., across the river offered an opportunity for some interesting pictures, such as the church with no name, above. It’s located in Quitman County about five miles east of Clarksdale. The church was nestled in a glen by a small river with a cemetery in a front side yard area. But the area seemed abandoned with no signs anywhere. Enjoy these photos below, all by publisher Andy Brack.

by Andy Brack · 06/20/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Photo Essay, Photos

Dozens of bouquets lined a sidewalk last year outside Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

BRACK: The remarkable story of forgiveness in Charleston

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | Almost a year later, the remarkable words of family members in pain still ring in our ears.

“I forgive you,” one said in a crowded courtroom. “May God have mercy on you,” another added. “Hate won’t win,” said a third.

One after another, five people squeezed by turmoil forgave an accused killer, who stood pancake-faced in shackles in a separate room and watched his bond hearing on a television screen.

by Andy Brack · 06/13/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

UPDATE: Where’s Waldo … err, Senn?

Commentary by Andy Brack | The crazy case of where GOP Senate District 41 candidate Sandy Senn actually lives has taken even more quirky turns.

Not only has a state judge issued an injunction postponing a hearing on a challenge to Senn’s residency, but a letter has turned up that seems to make it even more confusing about when she actually moved from a home outside the Senate district to a townhouse inside it.

It’s enough to make you do a triple take.

by Andy Brack · 06/09/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views

BRACK: Squishy residency law challenged in Senate District 41 race

Commentary by Andy Brack, editor and publisher | GOP District 41 Senate candidate Sandy Senn seems to have thinner skin than Donald Trump.

You may recall a May 16 commentary in which we called on the state legislature to fix squishy campaign residency laws so candidates couldn’t cherry-pick districts to move into near elections to try to win legislative office. In the column, we highlighted how Senn, a Charleston attorney, “lived in Folly Beach until the fall, when she took an in-district townhouse in West Ashley, now listed by candidacy records as her residence.” Property records show she owns a house in a gated Folly Beach community about four miles outside the Senate district.

The column went on to emphasize that Senn, who said she had been gerrymandered out of a district she had lived in for years, had done nothing wrong by changing residences. She faces three opponents in the June 14 GOP primary.

by Andy Brack · 06/06/2016 · Comments are Disabled · Andy Brack, Views