For Charleston: Here Are Their Names.

It's been one week since the devastating event that was the #AMEShooting in Charleston, North Carolina. One week since nine lives were abruptingly taken away and one week since the U.S. has been thrown into a state of violent and uncertain flux, one that we are all too familiar with.

Are we to blame? Are we too tolerant of how people negatively speak about the Black community? Are our country's gun policies to blame? Or is it our tolerance of certain symbols like the Confederate flag- a symbol that harks to an earlier and more divided time, one quite similar to today's political climate, in fact. Or perhaps, is it all of the above? That's something to ponder over.

I wish I had some point of comic relief or a way to soothe the hearts of those mourning, but right now, I just don't. Instead, I want to take this time to remember the nine lives that were taken away. Their names are not said enough.

Reverand Clementa Pickney, 41

Cynthia Hurd, 44

Sharonda Coleman Singleton, 45

Twanza Sanders, 26

Myra Thompson, 59

Ethel Lee Lance, 70

Susie Jackson, 87

Daniel L. Simmons, 74

Depayne Middleton Doctor, 49

Here is to hoping that one day we will live in a country where we can accept one another for our differences, but not use it as a way to divide us, and impede one another. 

Photos Courtesy of CNN, NPR, and Post Courier