A couple weeks ago, a terrorist attended a Bible study at Emanuel AME church in downtown Charleston, SC. After an hour of study, the young man stood up to speak and declared that black men rape white women and therefore do not deserve to live. He opened fire and ultimately killed 9 people: 3 men and 6 women.

I have lived in Charleston for nearly 2 years, and it is a place that has become very dear to me and that I consider my home. I, as well as countless others, have cried and prayed over the church, the families, and the city. I’ve seen my city broken and united. There was a sense of pride when we adopted #CharlestonStrong as our motto. We made a definitive choice to not let evil win.

As I watched my city gather itself and band together, I also saw support come from around the world through the Internet as people offered condolences. But more than that, there was general — albeit justified — outrage toward the man who committed the heinous crime. “Death is too good for him” is the phrase that I can’t erase from my mind.

At the trial, family members stood to tell him that God forgave him and so would they. Countless media outlets have called this act a miracle. As my pastor pointed out this past Sunday, it seems like a bit of a misnomer to call it a “miracle” when Christians behave the way they believe Christians should behave. And although we might not call it a miracle, I call it brave. I call it selfless. I would certainly call it more than he deserves and everything he needs.

I’m astonished, honestly, to see the world ready to jump to Charleston’s defense, to the defense of the black community — because let’s not forget that this is indeed a racial issue — and yet all I’ve seen from Charleston itself is love and grace. I’m amazed and proud. I know that in the face of adversity, it can be so hard to remember everything we’ve been taught, but Charleston did not seem to have that problem.

As I understand it, a 5-year-old boy was at the church that day, and when he heard gunshots, he fell to the ground and pretended to be dead so the shooter would move past him. As a 5-year-old, I can’t imagine that I would have had any clue what to do in this situation because it would have seemed so other-worldly; and, it breaks my heart to know that there are children who are this prepared for man-made disaster. I have a hard time coming to the realization that there is so much hate in this world directed toward specific groups of people that defensive acts are passed down like family recipes. I absolutely hate knowing that that’s a necessity.

But Charleston forgave the man who killed and turned their thoughts to those who were killed:

Reverend Clementa Pinckney. Cynthia Hurd. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton. Tywanza Sanders. Myra Thompson. Ethel Lee Lance. Susie Jackson. Daniel L. Simmons. Depayne Middleton-Doctor. Beloved.

These were 9 loved people who were victimized because of their race. I understand that race is an issue that so many of us desperately want to believe we’ve left behind; but, clearly, we haven’t. We cannot simply focus on other aspects of this shooting because we want to believe that it’s not true. Ignoring what this is really about furthers the harm rather than fixing it. When we turn a blind eye to what we don’t want to recognize, we allow those problems to flourish. We must not be afraid to speak out against crime and hate and injustice.

Hate will never cure hate. Ignoring ignorance will only increase it, by definition. Only love and forgiveness and awareness will take us in the direction we need to be — and that’s not easy by any means. I consider it a privilege to be a part of a city that has been such a great example of what that looks like. It is indeed an act of true strength.

Chuck Town, I love you, and I stand by you. I have learned so much from you, and I hope that I can forever embody what it means to be Charleston Strong.