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Statement

MomsRising Reacts to the Racially-Motivated Shooting at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston

June 19, 2015
Gun Control, Maternal Health

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

On the evening of Wednesday, June 17th, nine men and women - mothers, fathers and grandparents - were shot and killed inside the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, an iconic African-American house of worship known for centuries of human and civil rights activism. 
 
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director and CEO of MomsRising.org, released the following statement in response to the tragic shooting:
 
“What happened in Charleston is a tragedy for which we all must take responsibility. It was brought about by generations of unchecked racism and decades of almost non-existent gun safety laws. Worse, this tragic combination is not just limited to Charleston. It’s woven into the fabric of our nation. 
 
"It doesn’t have to be this way. We must do better for our children, our families, and our country. We must build a world where Black and Brown people can walk down the street unmolested by the police or vigilantes, as well as worship without the threat of racially-motivated terrorism, and where all people are treated with fairness, justice, and equality.
 
"We must ‪#‎StandUpSpeakOut that all #BlackLivesMatter.”
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.