Overview
- The Emanuel Nine Memorial opened to the public on Nov. 14, 2026, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a dedication worship service planned for Nov. 15.
- Designed by Michael Arad, the 6,000-square-foot courtyard centers on a Fountain of Grace with a cross, the nine victims’ names etched around its basin, and large curved marble fellowship benches for reflection.
- The Mother Emanuel Memorial Foundation has raised roughly $25 million and spent about $21 million on land, consultants and the courtyard so far, leaving additional funds needed to complete a planned survivors’ garden and to support ongoing maintenance and programming.
- The memorial will be free and open daily with specified hours, and a nearby historic home is being prepared as a rotating museum of tributes though it has no official opening date yet.
- Families and survivors described the site as a place for healing that should move visitors from memory to action by confronting hate, supporting survivors and pressing for justice reforms tied to the 2015 racially motivated attack whose perpetrator remains on federal death row.