The - year-old church has played an important role in the history of South Carolina , including the slavery era , the civil rights movement , and Black Lives Matter . The church was founded in 1816 and it is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church in the South , often referred to as " Mother Emanuel " . It is the oldest historically black congregation south of Baltimore . When one of the church 's co-founders , Denmark Vesey , was suspected of planning a slave rebellion in Charleston in 1822 , 35 people , including Vesey , were hanged and the church was burned down . Charleston citizens accepted the claim that a slave rebellion was to begin at the stroke of midnight on June 16 , 1822 , and to erupt the following day ; the shooting in 2015 occurred on the 193rd anniversary of the thwarted uprising . The rebuilt church was formally shuttered with other all-black congregations by the city in 1834 , meeting in secret until 1865 when it was formally reorganized , acquired the name Emanuel ( " God with us " ) , and rebuilt upon a design by Denmark Vesey 's son . That structure was badly damaged in the 1886 Charleston earthquake . The current building dates from 1891
1886 Charleston earthquake
1886 Charleston earthquake
Charleston church shooting