Alleged Racist Manifesto, Photos of Charleston Shooter Surfaces
The aftermath of the tragic shooting at a historic Black church in Charleston, South Carolina has exposed the dark side of race relations in the Southern state. Now, a racist manifesto posted on a website alongside photos of the shooter Dylann Storm Roof gives us the clearest look yet inside the mind of the mass murderer.
Though it has not been confirmed who wrote the words or created the website (the domain name was, however, registered under the name Dylann Roof in February, the New York Times reports), the manifesto, entitled "An Explanation," is written in Roof's voice and details the reason for the attack.
“I have no choice,’’ it reads. “I am not in the position to, alone, go into the ghetto and fight. I chose Charleston because it is most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to Whites in the country. We have no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the internet. Well someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world, and I guess that has to be me.”
The reasoning includes that white culture "has been adopted by everyone in the world," which, "makes us feel as though our culture isnt special or unique [sic];" that “Negroes” have lower I.Q.s and low-impulse control; that, "Just like n***ers, most jews are always thinking about the fact that they are jewish;" and that there are "good" Hispanics who have "respect" for white beauty, but are still enemies.
The pictures of Roof accompanying the manifesto show him posing with weapons, burning an American flag and even posing with wax figures of slaves at what appears to be a slave plantation in Sullivan Island, South Carolina, and at the Museum and Library of Confederate History.
Roof, 21, was taken into custody on Monday after shooting and killing nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, one of the oldest and most historic Black churches in the country.
Following his arrest, the judge presiding over Roof's hearings, James B. Gosnell, was revealed to have used racially-charged language in the past, even referring to a Black defendant as a "n****r" on one occasion, a comment which led the court to take disciplinary action against Gosnell.
The judge also expressed his sympathies for Roof's family, saying that they too are victims of the atrocity, in a statement that shocked many with its inappropriate nature. Gosnell set Roof's bail at $1 million for the weapons charges, but added that he did not have the authority to grant bail for the 9 counts of murder.
Meanwhile, the families of the victims stood up in court to address Roof, many of them offering their forgiveness for his seemingly unforgivable actions, even as a Confederate flag still flies over the Charleston state house.
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(Photo: Courtesy of Dylann Roof via LastRhodesian.com)
