COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Family and friends of a South Carolina state senator slain at the Charleston church he pastored have set up a foundation in his honor.
The Honorable Reverend Clementa C. Pinckney Foundation is being launched Thursday on what would have been Pinckney's 42nd birthday. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for all South Carolina citizens by backing religious, educational and charitable causes Pinckney supported.
Pinckney's widow, Jennifer, is chairing the foundation. She says in a news release that she's "answering God's call to continue my husband's work."
State Sen. Gerald Malloy and Rev. Kylon Jerome Middleton are helping get the foundation set up.
Pinckney was among nine people killed June 17 at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. The suspect, Dylann Roof, is due in court Friday on federal charges.
Online: www.senatorpinckney.org