SUMTER, S.C. — Unity in the community is the message Sumter residents are hearing on Monday. Chris Singleton is a former minor league baseball player who lost his mother in the 2015 Mother Emanuel AME Church Massacre in Charleston. Now, he's traveling the world to inspire others toward love and forgiveness.
"The message is all about love and unity for me," Singleton said.
It's the idea that he shares with the world after a tragedy. In 2015, a white supremacist shot and killed nine people at his church, including his mother, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton.
"Obviously losing my mom the way I did, I just think, man, if that message would have been pushed to the guy that did what he did to my church family, maybe my mom would still be here," Singleton said. "So that's why it's so important to me."
Singleton stopped in Sumter, giving three presentations — one at Sumter High School, the others at the Sumter Opera House — to people across the community like Shirley Blassingame.
"He's all about love and unity, and that's what the world needs today," Blassingame said. "A whole lot of love and a whole lot of unity."
Singleton said these values come from respecting people's differing opinions and loving them regardless, a message that attendee Travis Norton said was impactful.
"What hit me the most was that, you know, behind every stance is a story. And that really hit home because that is a message that makes us drive to understand others," Norton said. "It means a lot to me because listening to what other people say when they don't think the same as you, it's important for us to understand that so I love the idea of the message."
Sumter resident Gwen Cofield agrees.
"This young man has touched so many lives in everything that he has done and said. He is love. He is a true example of what love is all about," Cofield said. "It will impact this community greatly because if everybody could show as much love as this young man with all the things because there's so much happening out here right now, and you know it is. And especially the young people, we really need to have that type of example for the young folks. Chris is the epitome of what forgiveness is all about. We need to have everybody to be like Chris and we're so glad to have him."
It's a message Mayor David Merchant echoes, saying the city has been working to get Singleton to Sumter since this summer.
"That guy's going to come to Sumter. You know, we need his message in Sumter, we need it in the state, in the country, and we're so excited for people to hear what he's got to say," Merchant remembered thinking after hearing Singleton speak at a meeting. "It's who we are in Sumter. That's what we want to be…How do we how do we take care of people and take care of each other and encourage each other? Because in this day and age, so many people are so quick to judge and snap and just, you know, and be ugly and rude and so we just feel like the message of unity and compassion is one that we all need to hear."
It's one that Singleton said he's inspired to keep sharing.
"I think one of the things that motivates me to keep talking about it is I don't want it to get lost in history," Singleton said. "Unfortunately terrible things happen all the time. And selfishly I want people to remember my church family. They were beautiful people, 9 beautiful souls that are here no longer. So keeping their legacy alive and then just representing my last name the right way is my goal behind doing what I'm doing."
After the presentation, Singleton signed books for attendees and said that thanks to a sponsorship from Toys for Tots, he'll be dropping off free children's books in the stops he's making this month.
"Everywhere I'm going I'm trying to drop off hundreds of children's books everywhere I go," Singleton said. "So without Toys for Tots, a lot of kids wouldn't get the free books they're getting, so I definitely want to thank them for doing the work they do with me."