Clementa Carlos Pinckney

Front: Clementa Carlos Pinckney (1973-2015) answered the call to preach at the age of 13 here at St. John AME Church and received his first appointment to pastor at the age of 18. As a pastor, he served innumerable parishioners in many S.C. churches, including Youngs Chapel AME, Mt. Horr AME, and Campbell Chapel AME. His last appointment was as pastor at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. Reverse: Pinckney was elected to the S.C. House of Representatives in 1996 at the age of 23, becoming the youngest African American elected to the S.C. legislature. In 2000 he was elected to the S.C. Senate. Sen. Pinckney was killed on June 17, 2015 along with 8 of his parishioners at Emanuel AME. A public viewing was held here at St. John AME. President Barack Obama delivered the eulogy at his funeral.