A South Carolina plantation has cancelled a civil war reenactment in the wake of the gruesome slaying of black parishioners in a Charleston church. The reenactment cancellation was announced by various news media in South Carolina and would mark a rare gap in the annual event.
Boone Hall Plantation from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, has announced it would not go on with their reenactment of the Battle of Secessionville. The reenactment was slated for November.
Marketing Director for the plantation said the reenactment came too close to the Emmanuel AME Church slayings. He said the move would accord the grieving families and the community enough time to heal.
In a statement on Tuesday, Benthall said, “It was a difficult decision as Boone Hall’s association with this event has been long standing, but one we made and think is best on behalf of Boone Hall and the Charleston community at this time.”
The June 17th slayings involved the shooting of nine black parishioners by 21-year-old Dylaan Roof. During a service dedicated to prayer at the Emmanuel AME Church, Roof killed nine parishioners, including state senator Clementa Pinckney and injured one person. Roof was arrested and confessed to shooting the deceased persons so as to ignite a race war.
Roof had posed for pictures with the confederate flag prior to the attack. In fact, in one picture, he was in a slave cabin located in Boone Hall.
President of the NAACP Charleston Branch Dot Scott welcomed the news of the cancellation saying it was appropriate in regard to the recent shootings.
Scott said, “We are grateful. We think that it’s appropriate in terms of not following through with the re-enactment, particularly in light of what we’ve been dealing with for the last couple of months.”
The battle of Secessionville was a historic battle fought in 1862 at James Island. It involved the Confederate forces fighting back a Union attempt to take control of Charleston.
The event’s chairman Randy Burbage said the November event would have marked the 25th anniversary of the battle. The three day event draws hundreds of persons from across the country. It is sponsored by the Confederate Heritage Trust Inc.
The Charleston shootings were one of the worst racial violence incidents in over a decade. The cancellation of the event marks an appropriate move to let the Charleston community grieve in peace and heal from the brutal slayings.
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