NEWBERRY — Erase racism, that is what Felicia Sanders, Emanuel A.M.E. Church massacre survivor stressed during her keynote address to the students at Boundary Street Elementary Friday afternoon.
Sanders’ son, Tywanza Kibwe Diop Sanders, was one of the nine victims killed after gunman, Dylann Roof, opened fire during a Bible study on June 17, 2015.
“The night after the murderer left and I realized what happened I pleaded to God to give me strength. The next day I found out the killer was a white supremacist,” Sanders said. “My son Tywanza showed so much courage that night even after he had already been shot, he got the murderer to admit why he killed all of the beautiful people, he also sent a picture on Snapchat of the murderer, he was brave.”
Sanders added that racism is an ugly thing and while we come in all colors it is better to love than hate because love conquers all. She said despite all she has been through, it is important to feel your feelings.
“I still hurt, I still sometimes cry. I can’t hear balloons pop or firecrackers go off, but every day I wake up and put my best foot forward and I try to make today better than yesterday,” she said. “My message is to erase racism, when you allow the devil to take control of your mind and you cannot help yourself but to come in the house of God and kill nine beautiful people then something is wrong. I believe the more educated we make our kids the better they will be, there will be less violence.”
After the shooting, Sanders said one of the biggest questions she asked was why God took her son.
“I still ask, but I don’t ask as much as I used to ask. I don’t understand why you would take mine. My son was healthy, my son was educated, my son was in The Word (the Bible), my son was with me, how could you take mine? I understand now, there is a message in the madness and my job is not to get out here and criticize any color or anything. I just want to love everybody and I also want to keep myself up so I can look like God is doing something in my life,” she said.
Now, almost four years later, Sanders said there are certain things that will trigger her, she also said she has become more aware of her surroundings since the shooting.
“If I came here today and they had balloons everywhere I wouldn’t be able to come in here, if I came in here and a lot of people had fanny packs on I wouldn’t have been able to come in here. Sometimes I can fish my way through and sometimes I would just break out crying out of nowhere not because I don’t want to be here, but because I’m afraid,” she said. “I’m not as fun-going as I used to be, I’m more reserved and serious-minded now. It just makes me more aware, I don’t close my eyes to pray anymore, I want to, but I can’t so I am more aware of my surroundings. I used to be a sucker for a sad story, but I’m no longer that, I evaluate everything now.”
Sanders encouraged the students to love one another and to break down the walls of division.
“Please everyone, come out of your comfort zone, take time to talk to the person next to you, if you don’t you’re missing out on good people,” she said.
Since the shooting, Sanders and her family have worked to turn tragedy into triumph by organizing the Tywanza Sanders Legacy Foundation where the mission is to help youth pursue their education and entrepreneurial dreams.
Visit tywanzasanderslegacyfoundation.com to learn more about the foundation.
