Forgiveness as Resistance

In moments of national tragedy, we often look for answers in anger. But sometimes the most radical response is forgiveness.

On June 17, 2015, white supremacist Dylann Roof killed nine people attending a Bible study at the historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. This was the tragedy where President Obama delivered his eulogy on race in America, closing his remarks by singing “Amazing Grace.” Ten years later, the events that followed are still being studied—and still feel deeply relevant.

Earlier this week, I attended a talk with New York Times journalist Kevin Sack, hosted by Trinity Church in downtown Manhattan. Sack recently published Mother Emanuel: Two Centuries of Race, Resistance, and Forgiveness in One Charleston Church, which traces the history of the South’s oldest African Methodist Episcopal congregation and the tragedy it endured in 2015.

One of the book’s central themes is forgiveness. Immediately after the shooting, family members of the victims spoke directly to Roof at his bond hearing. In the midst of grief and anger, they offered words of forgiveness. Their responses were extraordinary.

Sack emphasized two important truths about these acts of forgiveness:

First, forgiveness frees us. Holding onto anger and pain ultimately consumes us. Without forgiveness—whether of others or of ourselves—we remain stuck, powerless, and unable to move forward. In interviewing the victims’ family members who spoke to Roof, they concluded that forgiving him was God relieving them.

Second, forgiveness can be an act of resistance. For the Black community, whose relationship with America has been marked by discrimination, systemic injustice, and centuries of stolen dignity, forgiveness is not passive. It is empowering. Rights can be stripped away. Votes can be suppressed. Opportunities can be denied. But the right to forgive belongs to the individual alone. In that way, forgiveness becomes a profound form of resistance against hatred.

We can learn a lot from the forgiveness extended to Roof in the immediate aftermath of the hate he unleashed. Forgiveness, at its core, is both a tool for healing and a tool of empowerment.

You can watch Kevin’s full talk at St. Pauls church here.