Impact Detroit Magazine Impact Detroit Magazine Summer Issue 2015 | Page 3

IN MEMORY OF
CLEMENTA PINCKNEY

Clementa Pinckney, 41, was the beloved pastor of Emanuel African
Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the country’s oldest black churches,
and had been a state legislator for 19 years.
Just one year after graduating from Allen University in 1995, Pinckney
became, at 23, the youngest African-American elected to the South
Carolina Legislature. In 2000, he was elected to the state Senate. He
earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University
of South Carolina in 1999 and studied at the Lutheran Theological
Southern Seminary. A native of Beaufort, Pinckney began preaching at
age 13 and was first appointed pastor at 18. He was named pastor of
Mother Emanuel AME Church in 2010, according to the state Democratic Party. ‘‘He had a core not many of
us have,’’ said Sen. Vincent Sheheen, who sat beside him in Senate chambers. ‘‘I think of the irony that the
most gentle of the 46 of us — the best of the 46 of us in this chamber — is the one who lost his life.’’ He is
survived by his wife and two children.

SHARONDA COLEMAN-SINGLETON
JEFFREY COLLINS/AP

Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 45, was a part-time minister at Emanuel AME Church
and worked as a speech pathologist at Goose Creek High School, where she was also
the girls track coach. Principal Jimmy Huskey said she was so dedicated she was at
work before 8 a.m. and typically didn’t leave until 8 p.m. ‘‘She had a big smile,’’
Huskey said. ‘‘Her No. 1 concern was always the students. She made a difference in
the lives of children. She cannot be replaced here at this school.’’ The mother of three
had run track herself as a student at South Carolina State University, helping lead her
team to a conference championship.
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Rev. Dr. DANIEL SIMMONS SR.
DIANA OZEMEBHOYA EROMOSELE

Like the Rev. Pinckney, the Rev. Dr. Daniel Simmons Sr., 74, was also a pastor at the
Emanuel AME Church. Simmons was a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity—one of
the historically black Greek fraternities. Simmons attended Allen University and
graduated in 1966. Simmons is the only victim who did not die immediately at the
church. He was taken to a local hospital and died in the operating room.