Mother Emanuel AME Church

Two days ago the youth visited Mother Emanuel AME Church. We were having them meet a person who was instrumental in my decision to cycle the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor back in November. The man is Dr. Herman Blake. As usual it was a long cycling day and we had a service project at Wings for Kids. A great nonprofit started by Ginney Deerin to give youth the tools to deal with life by using their “emotional intelligence” which is the ability to perceive, control and evaluate one’s emotions.

After the service project the youth attended a gathering at Mother Emanuel AME Church, which is now the famous site of the horrific slaughter by an individual groomed to hate because racism is never really and truthfully dealt with in this country and is allowed to fester. It was a somber moment and the youth took pictures to lock in the memory of their experience. But cross country touring with youth is a fast pace business and today was no different. We cycled to the church, I was being interviewed, the youth were being introduced to a great man that I highly respect who had very moving words for them and, truthfully, some needed bathroom breaks and to eat lunch because we had just cycled over the Ravenel Bridge to get into downtown Charleston, SC. Add the fact that we were cycling to camp outside of town during the height of rush hour which had to be very tightly controlled and coordinated. So, there was no opportunity for them to process what had just happened.

So, let me say to all that tonight, Friday July 17, 2015, was very special as we gathered as a team for a normal dinner out and camaraderie. Nothing special, we just went to get a late bite to eat at Sonic after an impromptu photo shoot as the sun was going down.

Toward the end I asked a simple question of a couple of the teens about how they felt after hearing you speak and leaving Mother Emanuel AME. It started light as when the first person lightly stated that her journal entry was "in her head" and another youth was speechless. To the youth who was speechless we gave finger snaps in a light hearted way to say the what he "didn't" say was profound.

Then I made my way around the table and asked each youth there to express how they felt. It was a very powerful sharing moment as they had not the opportunity before this evening to express themselves and reflect on what they had witnessed. Our pace is fast and it is filled with cycling, eating, sleeping and cycling more. Miles upon miles processing but not expressing to one another what they had experienced. It was tonight, after a week in each other's company that they felt safe enough to trust and bare their feelings and I stood back and let the moment happen only speaking to elucidate a point made or to ask the next person the very same question: "How did you feel as you left the grounds of Mother Emanuel AME?"

Some shared their view of the senselessness of the act, others how wrong it was for them to welcome him and he be the one who murdered them, others spoke of how they felt emotionally and was moved to tears of sorrow. Some were moved to write their names on the wall to mark that they want to be included in the company of people who stand against displays of hate and to say that this shall never happen again.

It was a great evening that allowed the kids to decompress and trust one another as they've trusted each other on the roads. Thank you Dr. Blake for your kind words that really made an impact on them.

I asked that they record their experience in their personal journals in order to crystalized and narrow their thoughts and if they cared to, share the entry with me so that others can experience the moment through their eyes. I hope that they will.

When it felt that it was time to end (10:40pm) I joked and said that this seemed like a perfect reason to have an "all hands in" moment as we do every morning with a word for the day. The kids were adamant that we do so. The word for this moment was family.

Additional photos can be seen at our website for this blog entry.