Reverend Clementa Carlos Pinckney (July 30, 1973 – June 17, 2015) was a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 45th District since 2000. He was previously a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1997 through 2000.[1]
Pinckney was a senior pastor at Mother Emanuel A.M.E. in Charleston.[2][3] On June 17, 2015, Pinckney was killed in a mass shooting at an evening Bible study at his church.[4][5][6]
Pinckney was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, the son of Theopia (née Brooms 1945-2005), an early childhood development educator, and John Pinckney.[7][8][9]
Pinckney began preaching at his church at age 13, and by age 18, he was appointed pastor.
He graduated with a B.A. from Allen University in 1995 and went on to obtain a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of South Carolina in 1999.[1][10] Rev. Pinckney was a student at Wesley Theological Seminary pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree in the Church Leadership Excellence tract.
Pinckney preached in Beaufort, Charleston, and Columbia, South Carolina.
Pinckney became pastor of Emanuel A.M.E Church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2010.[11]
He was among several South Carolina pastors to hold rallies after the shooting of Walter Scott in 2015, attracting some local controversy.[1]
Pinckney was first elected to the South Carolina General Assembly in 1996 at the age of 23, becoming the youngest African American elected as a South Carolina state legislator.[13] He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives until being elected to the South Carolina Senate in 2000.
As a state senator, Pinckney pushed for laws to require police and other law enforcement officials to wear body cameras after Walter Scott, an unarmed black man was shot eight times in the back by police in North Charleston.[1]
In 1999, Pinckney married Jennifer Benjamin in Augusta, Georgia, whom he met while he was at Allen University and she was at the University of South Carolina. [14] The couple, who lived in Ridgeland, South Carolina, has two children, daughters Eliana and Malana.[9]
Sen. Pinckney spent much of his last day, June 17, 2015, campaigning with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Charleston.[15] That evening, he led a Bible study and prayer session at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where he was senior pastor. A white gunman tentatively identified as Dylann Roof opened fire on the congregation, killing nine black church-goers. Pinckney was among the dead, as was his sister.[16] Officials were quick to term the shooting a hate crime.[17][1]