Church Shooting Leads To Message Of Love Over Hate
Church Shooting Leads To Message Of Love Over Hate
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Dan Spalding-dspalding@timesuniononline.com
Church Shooting Leads To Message Of Love Over HateWINONA LAKE – At the age of 18, Chris Singleton learned his mother was one of nine people killed in 2015 at a Charleston, S.C., church by a young man named Dylann Roof.
Within hours, as news of the racially motivated killings reverberated across the country, and as Singleton dealt with grief and questions of how he would care for his two younger siblings, he met with his baseball teammates at Charleston Southern University and told them the unthinkable:
He had forgiven Roof, saying, simply, love was stronger than hate.
Stories of the speech and word of his calm, confident faith-based demeanor spread like wildfire, and Singleton soon found himself receiving awards and requests to share his message that emerged after his mother’s death.
While somewhat nervous about delivering talks, a standing ovation at one event left an impact on the minor league baseball player.
“Before, I just wanted to hit home runs at Yankee stadium,” Singleton said. “When that happened ... a different mission in my life became evident when my mom was taken away from me because I really wanted to inspire others to change people’s minds so it doesn’t happen again.”
Less than three years later, Singleton now finds himself focusing on a two-track career goal. Last year, he spent the summer with the Chicago Cubs minor league affiliate in South Bend while also establishing himself as an inspirational speaker.
On Monday, Singleton, now 22, was the guest speaker at the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Luncheon at Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center on the campus of Grace College.
He started his talk by asking everyone to stand up, share a hug and express love for that person. While that might initially might have felt gimmicky, it segued into discussion about his outlook and King’s legacy.
A simple hug and a simple “I love you” can change somebody’s mind about people who don’t look like you, he told an estimated 600 people in attendance at the 31st annual event.
Those kinds of simple, small gestures, he said, can do great things.
“If I had been able to give my mom’s killer, Dylann Roof, a hug and look in his face like I’m looking at your faces, and say ‘I?love you man’ ... there’s no way he could do what he did to my mom and to eight others,” Singleton said.
His delivery – without notes – included perfectly placed pauses, a small dose of repetition and several light-hearted moments.
He said he was humbled at the chance to talk about King, and noted that he and King had a few things in common – they’re both well-spoken and good-looking black men.
But more importantly, they both had to overcome unthinkable adversity. “We both ascribe to bring people of all different colors together. And we’re both on a mission to unite this nation,” he said.
While he avoided any talk of politics, he said he could go on for hours about that subject. Instead, he offered a strategy to solve the nation’s deep divisions and “crazy” politics.
“I think our cities will be united when we teach ... when we teach our peers and our youth to love one another – not based on race, religion or skin color,” he said.
“It’s up to each and everyone of us, not the people at the top – to unite our cities,” Singleton said.
He offered up a few anecdotes about race and hate and a story about his opportunity of free housing in South Bend last summer at a retirement home where he met a resident named Esther.
The elderly woman showed him pictures of her grandchildren, one of whom is white and the other black.
The black child had been adopted and the woman said she nicknamed them Chocolate and Vanilla.
Singleton said he was taken aback.
“She said I wanted them to know that although they’re different flavors – different colors on the outside – on the inside, where it counts, they’re just as sweet.”
“When she said that to me, I almost cried,”Singleton said.
Afterward, in a short question-and-answer session with Dr. David Hoffert, superintendent of Warsaw Community Schools Corp., Singleton was asked what his own dream might be.
He said he hopes to motivate and change people.
“I don’t think we’re doing enough sometimes to stop those things from happening,” he said. “I guess my legacy would be to save lives.”
Singleton has his own website, chrissingleton.com, where he shares his message and sells T-shirts that include the message “Love Is Stronger Than Hate.”
Last year, he delivered 22 speeches and said he hopes to double that this year.
He’s now the father of a 1-year-old.
In a few weeks, Singleton will return to his focus on baseball and is unsure if he’ll be reassigned to the South Bend Cubs.
He and his fiance will be married in what he said will be a live broadcast on Lifetime Network on Feb. 19.
He credits his fiance for taking care of his brother and their son.
“She’s really the reason I’m able to chase my dream and make an impact,” he said.
