Chris Singleton ‘Changed His Mission’ When A White Supremacist Killed His Mother In Charleston Church Shooting

Chris Singleton remembers exactly where he was June 17, 2015. He was playing baseball about 45 minutes from his church, Emanuel AME in Charleston, South Carolina. But his mother Sharonda Coleman-Singleton was at the church for Bible Study where a young white supremacist opened fire, killing Coleman-Singleton and eight others.

“Later on that evening, I found out the worst of the worst had happened to my mother and eight other people at my church,” Singleton – now a husband, father and motivational speaker – recalled.

The massacre devastated Chris and his siblings along with the other family and friends who lost loved ones in the murderous rampage. It sent shockwaves through Black America and the rest of the country and became a tragic example of an increase in hate crimes targeting African Americans.

“Unfortunately, over the last six, seven years, people have come out with their true colors. Whereas, before you might think certain things about people, but you wouldn’t come out and say them,” Singleton explains.

In the years since the shooting, Singleton’s focus has changed. He was a rising baseball star who became the guardian for his two younger siblings after his mother and father died within months of each other.

“Living with it has changed my mission in life. Before any of this happened to me, all I cared about was becoming a Big League baseball player … when my mom was killed, my thought process kinda changed. How could I stop this from happening in the future,” he said.

Chris and his wife are raising their two young sons “I just wish that she would be here to meet her grandsons.”

Buffalo Mass Shooting

A month ago, another young white man with an assault rifle and a hatred for Blacks shot and killed 10 shoppers at Tops grocery in a historically African American area in Buffalo, New York.

Zeneta Everhart’s son worked at the store. He survived the shooting but was shot multiple times and his bullet fragments in his body. Everhart testified earlier this week at a Congressional hearing.

“I have a message,” she said. “These problems literally knocked on my front door. These are issues as a country we do not like to openly discuss. Domestic terrorism exists in this country for three reasons. America is inherently violent. This is who we are as a nation. The very existence of this country was founded on violence, hate and racism with the near annihilation of my native brothers and sisters.

The 18-year-old suspect Payton Gendron has been charged with federal hate crimes and could face the death penalty.

In the days after the shooting Singleton, who had some “sleepless nights” after the massacred, traveled to Buffalo to talk his experience and help loved ones of victims in the store mass shooting begin to heal.

Singleton said, “I think the biggest thing I wanted to do in Buffalo is to show people that even after the worst of the worst has happened to you, you can still move forward in your life. You may move on from certain things, but you can move forward. The mission for me is still to spread love and unity.”

He gave away some of the children’s books he has written and will commemorate his mother’s life by releasing another book this week.

But talk of bipartisan efforts to enact more stringent gun laws are encouraging.

“Unfortunately, it takes terrible things happening over and over again before people take action.”

Until Congress and the nation find a way to address the mass shootings, Singleton works to spread a message of hope and healing.

He said, “Personally, I think my mom would still be here if we had people who were constantly preaching love … that’s the goal. But it’s tough.”