Heidi Beirich , the director of the Intelligence Project for the Southern Poverty Law Center , a non-profit that maintains an online list of its designated American hate groups , said the gunman 's reported self-declared motivation reflected a major topic on white supremacist websites , which are preoccupied with the idea that " whites are being hugely victimized by blacks and no one is paying attention . " In particular , the shooter 's reported claim that " you rape our women " ties into a long history of violence against blacks in the name of white womanhood ; Beirich said , " Black men sexually assaulting white women is probably the oldest racist trope we have in the U.S. " According to her , it was a particularly effective trope because of the way white femininity has historically been viewed and positioned . Lisa Lindquist-Dorr , associate professor at the University of Alabama , explained the myth of black rapists that dominated white , Southern culture , saying , " Sexual access to women is a trophy of power , white women embodied virtue and morality , they signified whiteness and white superiority , so sexual access to white women was possessing the ultimate privilege that white men held . It makes women trophies to be traded among men . " Jamelle Bouie wrote in '' Slate '' , " Make any list of anti-black terrorism in the United States , and you 'll also have a list of attacks justified by the specter of black rape . " The Tulsa race riot of 1921 , the Rosewood massacre of 1923 , and the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955 were cited as examples . Beirich said it was unclear at that point in the investigation whether the suspect had any connection to hate groups , but such groups have been growing over the past decade , and " for several years South Carolina has been the place with the highest density of hate groups . " At Morris Brown African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston , numerous people of different races and religions attended a ceremony commemorating the victims and they proclaimed that the attack would not divide the community . Another such ceremony occurred at the TD Arena in the College of Charleston . On June 21 , four days after the shooting , Emanuel AME Church reopened for its Sunday worship service . The Rev. Dr. Norvel Goff Sr. , Presiding Elder of Emanuel AME Church , delivered the sermon
Rosewood massacre
Rosewood massacre
Charleston church shooting