as fearlessly as possible >> into an award winning career... from hell? >> it's thrilling when it's working.... >> every tuesday night. >> i lived that character. >> go one on one with america's movers and shakers. >> we will be able to see change. >> gripping. inspiring. entertaining. talk to al jazeera. >> this is al jazeera america live from new york city. i'm tony harris. a message against hate. victims' family members speak directly to the suspect in court court. hate crime laws, why there isn't one in south carolina. and the list of possible women who could break the paper ceiling.

>> we begin in charleston, south carolina, a city coming together in the wake of a horrific tragedy. hundreds of people have gathered to remember the nine victims of wednesday's church shootings. take a look at these live pictures from a college sports arena and you can see that hundreds of people have gathered to honor and pray for those who were killed and to send a message of unity. >> anger and grief just as god emmanuel just as god is with us let us also be with god. let us be on god's side. just as mother emmanuel is our sanctuary, let us be a sanctuary and refuge for each other. >> a vigil takes place hours after gunman dylann roof makes his first court appearance.

family members of the victims were in the courtroom. some spoke and forgave him for what he said. it was the statements from the families of the victims that left the biggest impact. robert ray joins us from south carolina. robert, i know this has been an emotional day for that city. >> absolutely, tony. you can see behind me the vigil in front of the church where the nine people were murdered less than 48 hours eagerlyier today in the courtroom. emotional, impactful and courageous words from the family members. >> it was the first time most of the country heard his voice. >> are you employed? >> no, sir. >> you're unemployed at this time? >> yes, sir. >> dylann roof, the man accused of one of the most heinous acts of hate in south carolina's

recent history. speaking to the court through video screen but the most gripping part of the hearing the victims' families, given a chance to speak directly to the man accused of gunning down her loved ones as she prayed. he could not see them but he could hear their words. >> the message of them were clear and repeated over and over over: we forgive you. >> i'll never be able to hold her again but i forgive you. and have mercy on your soul. you hurt me. you hurt a lot of people. may god forgive you and i forgive. >> but and hate will not win. >> i forgive you my family forgives you. but we will like to you take this opportunity to repent. do that, and you'll be better

off than you are right now. >> and from the woman who survived the attack by playing dead even as her son was killed. >> we welcomed you wednesday night in our bible studies with open arms. you have held some of the most beautiful people that i've known every fiber in my body hurts. >> judge james gostnal spoke as well taking the unusually step to make a statement before the proceedings began. >> we're going to reach out to everyone, all victims-- >> and told the court and victims' families that victims roof's families are victims too. >> his family are victims too. we must find it in our heart at some point in time not only to help those that are victims but to also help his family as well.

>> a $1 million bond was set for a separate gun charge. another judge will set bond at a later date. >> the interesting fact by judge james gossel who set bond today back in 2005 according to court's order if on a bench he used quote these words tony, there are four kinds of people in this world. black people, white people rednecks and then he said the n word. >> robert, what about the family of dylann roof. what are we hearing from them this evening? >> well, tony, the family put out an official statement today they wrote our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those killed this week. we have all been touched by the moving words from the victims'

families offering god's forgiveness, love in the face of such horrible suffering tony. now i spoke earlier today three separate times to the father of dylann roof, ben roof, first two times he did not want to speak. he hung up on me. the third time we did speak to him, and i asked him a couple of questions to clear things up about facts from his point of view. he said to me that the daughter and himself called the hotline on thursday morning to turn in his son. also he said that he, quote did not buy his son that gun. in fact, he used his own money. he said, i did not buy that gun. one other interesting thing that he noted to me over the phone just a couple of hours ago. do not believe anything that the uncle that we heard about in so many media reports says. that could show some insight into the family dynamic of this family. >> robert ray for us in

charleston, south carolina. thank you. dylann roof is from lexington south carolina. that's about 2 hours from charleston. we went there today to speak to some of roof's friends and to see how the community is reacting. here is gabriel elizondo. >> after one history historian called the worst hate crime committed in south carolina, who was dylann roof. he went to white knoll high school but never graduated. his friends said that he experimented with drugs and sometimes would tell racist jokes. one friend said that he wanted, quote, civil war with african-americans. >> i'm speechless. i don't really know. it hit me hard. seeing the best friend that you've known for seven years to do something like this. he wanted segregation.

he wanted white with white and black with black and that he didn't, he didn't believe in what the black race was doing to the white race. >> roof appeared to be to spend his time bounceing around. roof was not deeply involved in the community and didn't have a job. residents here remain in shock. >> you can't even imagine what could have been going on in somebody's head to do something like that. >> others say that roof was mentally ill. >> if he had some of the help he needed he may never have gotten there. >> i think he was mentally ill. so he's untreated mental health patient as far as i'm concerned. >> his facebook page had a photo of him that bore a jacket with flags of south africa. one study there are 19 active

hate groups in south carolina. eight of those specifically target african-americans. it's unclear if any of those had connections with any of the communities that the alleged shooter grew up in. nonetheless that's something that investigators are looking at closely in the meantime people in a town he frequented try to distance themselves from a young man they barely knew but now has brought unwanted attention to their community. gabriel elizondo lexington south carolina. >> ariva, you were with us earlier during the hearing, and it was stunning for a number of reasons. but can i spend a few minutes talking about the judge in this case. in his remarks during the bond hearing today he felt the need to call for understanding for the family of the young man accused of killing nine blacks

in a church prayer service. he felt the need to say that they had been victimized, too. i know i'm asking you a pretty loaded question, but have you ever seen anything quite like that? >> nothing like that, tony. and i think what is so stung and appalling by the judge's statement in this case, we have these conflicting statements about whether the father of roof bought him this gun. so given that has not been determined and the investigation by the state or the feds have not been completed, to make a statement asking the public or the community to have sympathy for the family that it may turn out that the father bought a gun that was give to his son without background check which would be in violation of federal law. it's an premature statement inappropriate statement and i don't see the purpose that it serve: but i think we get

insight going back from this judge agueroer using the n-word. this is an curious statement to make from the bench and the judge asking the community to mourn for the defendant's family is just outrageous. >> how do these proceedings usually play out? my understanding is that this kind of a person statement is not normally heard in a bond hearing. >> no. two things that happen in this bond hearing which are unusual. first it was the admonition given by this judge. then it was the statements even in the victim's families. as eloquent and as gracious as those family members were in those statements those are not typically given in a bond hearing. typically the judge is reviewing the charges trying to determine if there is grounds to grant some type of bond. what that bond should be, and then the questions becomes is this person a flight risk, and

is he a danger to the community. those are questions that are usually answered by the defense attorney and prosecutors. usually there is not all this testimony given today. so very unusual things happen in this bond hearing. >> reflecting as much on your last answers as this one let me follow up. i can--can i assume that this judge was in essence lectureing the families of the victims moments before they were set to make personal statements reflective of their loss. if so, if you agree with in a how intimidating might that have been for those families? >> i think he was not only lecturing those family members that he was going to allow to give statements, but he was lecturing the community. he was lecturing the viewing public. everyone who he knew what have access and would be able to hear his statements, he was telling all of us this is not just about

those victims' families. this is about this defendant's family as well. again, that makes that statement so outrageous and so unusual. >> roof is not due in court again until october 23rd for his first appearance. i don't know i'll ask you, why such a long time? and what normally happens in that first appearance, the one that will take place on october 23rd? >> there has to be arraignments. that's where he has to come and give answers to these charges and make a plea, enter a plea. guilty or not guilty. there is a considerable amount of time between today's appearance and the the appearance set for october. is this judge giving the defendant a chance to build a case. the federal government, the department of justice also has launched an investigation. they're investigating whether there should be charges brought

under federal eight crime statutes or. there is a lot going on that we don't know about this case, tony. >> thank you. i spoke with naacp president cornell william brooks about how charleston is dealing with this strategy. >> you praised charleston saying it has come together in a moment of crisis. you have pointed out within the climate of caring there is an atmosphere of hate. let me have you address both sides of the statement. the climate of caring and the atmosphere of hate. >> what we've seen over really a relative span of a few hours and a few days. as people come together all across the city. catholic and protestant, wrapping their arms around this city wrapping their arms around one another as they're trying to come to grips with something

that is morally incomprehensible incomprehensible. this deep love, a deep carrying, a deep sense of affection and a need if you will, to make clear that we're going to stand with one another. but there is also in this country an atmosphere of hate among some. in other words where you have a young man who wears a pre- pre-nelson mandela apartheid flag on his clothing. rhodesia flag on his clothing, and a confederate flag on his license plate on his car there is a contradiction here.

the attitudes that led to the crime. the inspiration of the crime took place over a longer period of time. that we have to be concerned about. this is not a matter of merely looking at a lone wolf or a self radicalized individual, we have to ask ourselves where does this ideology come from, where do these attitudes come from, and how can we stamp them out of our midst. >> you called this attack racial terrorism and they must be treated as such. speak to, if you would please, last question for you the torture narrative that struggles to call a crime like this committed by a white man against blackhawks domestic terrorism and the perpetrator a terrorist. >> well, i'll simply note

this:when someone with an anti-american ideology self radicalizes and carries out an attack as an individual, we have no problem denoting such an act as an act of terrorism. here when we have a shooter who enters a sanctuary tells the people that he's about to kill that he's doing so because they are african-american. the church in which he carries out these murders is called the emmanuel africaen methodist church. and he calls the pastor by name, and allows one individual to live so they might tell everybody else why he did what he did that is crime is not to exact violence. the act is designed to carry a

message. this feels like an act of racialized terror and a hate crime. >> you said we can rise up as an incarceration of love. what convinces you that this nation can overcome its racialized past. >> well, consider this, there was a bomb that was detonated in a church in birmingham, alabama 50 years ago. that bomb rendered four girls lifeless. that bomb also in a sense gave new life to the civil rights movement. people became more determined, more driven, more inspired to wrench from in country the very best that our constitutional and moral values suggested we have within our character as a

country. that act of racialized terrorism over50 years ago in birmingham, alabama inspired us as a nation. why then would we not assume that this brutal act of terror in our midst in a church in a city called the holy city would not so inspire us? we have ever reason to believe that we can rise above this. that we can bring about constructive policy reforms and that we can come together as communities. and as a country. >> mr. brooks, thank you. thank you very much for your time. >> good to talk to you. >> thank you. >> the charleston church shooting has reignited the controversial debate in the country over gun control. just a short time ago the president addressed the topic at a conference of mayors. >> you don't see murder on this kind of scale with this kind of frequency in any other advance

nation on earth. every country has violent hateful, mentally unstable people. the difference is that not every country is awash with easily accessible guns. >> while president obama adamant about stricter gun laws, he feels that politics are getting in the way of meaningful action. >> it's an all too familiar role after each mass murder president obama shows his rage and resolve resolve. after tucson. >> we cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. >> after aurora. >> such violence such evil is senseless. >> and after new town. >> we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this regardless of the politics. >> this time the rage was there. but instead of resolve there was resignation. >> i say that recognizing the politics in this town.

a lot of those avenues right now. >> the president all by conceded that gun control can't pass congress. thursday mr. obama made another point. >> at some point we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. >> in fact the yearly gun homicide rate is triple the rates seen in most of the developed world. in disease of 2012 came the unthinkable horror of new town. 26 people including 20 children massacred by a man with a semi semi autoic rifle. parents of the dead children walk the capital's halls pleading for action. but the there was push back. >> what if adam lance started

shooting his way into sandy hook elementary school last friday. he had been confronted by qualified armed security. >> the argument, gun-free school zones made the rampage possibly. in congress the push for new restrictions collapsed. now public opinion appears to be turning against more gun control. according to pew research for much of the last two decades most americans thought it was more important to control gun ownership than protect gun owner's rights. but in a poll last december that opinion flipped. now it was felt that it was more important to protect gun rights than gun control. despite the defeat in washington, the tide is turning at the state and local level. >> we've seen a lot of activity over the past few years

promoting good gun policy and defeating efforts to repeal the basic public safety laws we have in place. >> but even advocates like goddard admit despite what happened in charleston and horrific shootings new gun laws in congress are not going to be passed any time soon. >> south carolina is one of the handful of states with no hate crime laws. we'll look at the efforts to change that. but first the government's report on counterterrorism. what it says about fighting isil and how serious of a threat there is from al-qaeda. later poaching problems. ivory was destroyed in new york today. what wildlife officials are saying about the impact of poaching on elephants.

>> i asked if this is, in fact an act of terror. >> yes, it's terroristic in effect. this is a muslim guy who shut up a church what would the headlines be. because he looks like our next-door neighbor we'll cut him some slack. he was disturbed or something. the fbi definition of terrorism using violence and intimidation to intimidate a population or sub group for social objectives. >> jamel smith is with us. do you have thoughts on this whole i call it a tortured

debate where we're tying ourselves up in knots in some quarters to call it mental illness an act of to terrorism. >> i think when it's a white shooter there is a rush to explanations that are not terrorisms. i was calling the daily news this morning. >> yes, we had words on in a this morning. gentlemen go we need to stop looking at racism as a disease. we need to look at it as a social problem. but disease you try to medicate it and slowly try to make it better. but racism is not going to die like that. racism thrives on on the patients of its victims. >> you start with a stunning first sentence.

i read it and then it hit me, let me go back to the first sentence. he write a hated people need safe spaces but often find that they're scarce. can we dissect that a little bit? black people? hated people? >> indeed. i feel like--this is just the latest example. this is a violent very tearful example of what--how black people are hated in this country. >> hated? >> any marginalized people are hated. black people most of all. but certainly it's not a contest. you look at any marginalized people. lgbt latinos any marginalized people there are people actively trying to make their lives worse. when you see an incident like this this is a dramatic instance of that. we see it every day and that's

inarguable. >> there is a gallop survey, i think we've got data on it that we can put up on the screen as i read this where 13% of blacks that's up from last year feels there is racial issues in the country and for whites, it's 4%. how can you explain that disperty? entitlement, lack of awareness unconscious bias and the role it plays in our country? or is it a reflection of backs being willing to blame others for difficulties in their life? >> well, let me address the second one first. i think that you have--you have a common perception that blacks are willing to blame the man. >> yes. >> i don't think that's--i think that's a nice convenient excuse for when people point out

systemic and sometimes every day instances of racism. and so i think that we need to get a little bit past thinking that people are just blaming white people for their problems. in fact, we're pointing out things that have long needed to be addressed. you have people who simply don't view it as an every day topic. i mean, we need to understand that race--racial problems that the racial divide that persist in this country is a problem that we need to address on every level at every time. and i think that's something that may sound like it requires a lot of effort. it may sound very tiring. i think if we have people invest themselves in the problems of marginalized people of color on a daily basis they will understand the struggle a little bit closely. i think we've seen a lot of that in the last year. >> did you see the comments from jon stewart where he talked about this gaping wound and you

know, we try to cover it over but it never heels heals and here we are again and nothing will be done with it. >> i think that's true both in terms of race and in terms of guns, takerly in terms of guns. if a school of connecticut school children being shut up does not move-- >> if that does not move the need needle at all. >> people in a movie theater does not move the needle at all. kids being shot in chicago you saw the nra today putting the blame on the late reverend pinckney himself for voting against concealed carry. >> isn't that incredibly tone deaf at this moment. >> yes, and the nra specialize in that.

>> you mentioned in your piece that the ame church was born from struggle. >> indeed. >> explain that for a bit. >> i'm actually a member of the first ame church that ever existed. >> in philadelphia. >> yes. >> that's right. >> that is my church. that was founded by richard allen who started the free african society in 1887, and in reaction to discrimination discrime occurring. >> it was formed in response to discrimination. >> it was formed out of response in discrimination. you have people in a colored section in the back of the church. they decided to take this free african society and form their own church, and in 1873 mother bethel was started. that church inspired morris brown, he was part of that african free society was down in

charleston when they built a hearse house basically a hearse garage on top of the black burial ground in charleston. that provided impetus for them to split and form emmanuel ame. >> the president of the naacp says that we can over come this in love. he seems very optimistic. do you think we can over come our racial past. >> i think when we talk about race we talk about racism. talking about the differences we have is a good thing. i dentinely want to move don't don'tknow if i want to move past

racializing things, but i want to move past the racism thing. as you read in the article that i put in the new republic, they said that hate is not the answer. hate got us into this, hate is not going to get us out of it. >> you need to come back and visit us again. thank you. we take a look at pictures from south carolina. vigils for the victims of the shooting. thousands gathered at an arena in charleston. i think these are the live pictures that we're referring to now to remember the nine people who died at the emmanuel ame church. the vigil takes place after accused gunmen dylann roof makes his first court appearance. we want to take a moment now to learn more about the men and women who died on wednesday night.

[♪ singing ♪] >> they were drawn together by their faith. yet in the place where they felt safest their lives were cut short. the victims were ages 26 to 87. many of them parents and even grandparents. the pastor, reverend clementa pinckney. a man of god. he served in the senate, people described him as a man of character. >> clementa was a cousin but in some ways he was like a brother. >> cynthia hurd a member of ame for 31 years. she dedicated her life to service and improving the lives of other. ethel lance was 70 years old. she also gave her life to the church. she was the sexton.

her granddaughter said that lance took care of people. she would give her last to anyone. >> my mama's girlfriend, they were in the clear together. this is hurting a lot because this is a family church. >> she was susie jackson, a long-time church member who died at 87. tywanza sanders only 26 years old. a 2014 graduate of allen university's division of business administration in columbia, south carolina described as committed and a dedicated student. >> mercy on the families. >> myra thompson was the wife of reverend anthony thompson, the victor of holy trinity. she was 59 when she was killed in the attack. >> this community is going through our grieving and through

our heartbreak and through our love of those family members surviving we're going to show in mother emmanuel, and in this community, and in our state that we through love can rebuild lives. >> reverend simmons was a church regular. he made a point to be at ame church each sunday and for bible study every wednesday. reverend depayne middleton doctor was 49, the mother of four dollars. her friends and family say she loved god singing and most of all, her girls. reverend sharonda singleton, 45 years old was part of the staff at ame church as well as a speech therapist and girls track

and field coach. her son is grieving, but he had a poignant message for the community. >> love is stronger than hate. if we love the way my mom would then the hate won't be anywhere close to where the love is.

>> only on al jazeera america. >> dramatic picks out of indonesia of a volcanic eruption. authorities are monitoring the volcano. it has erupted periodically since 2010 but it has been much more active in recent days. thousands of people evacuate the area earlier this week to escape what authorities consider the danger zone. the epa and department of transportation are looking to improve greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards to medium and heavy duty trucks in the united states. ali velshi has more on the proposal to help the environment. >> these new fuel efficiency

standards apply to everything from garbage trucks, 18-wheelers and advance vans and buses and heavy duty pick up trucks. medium to heavy-duty vehicles account for 20% of the transit sector emissions. theythe environment problemsnal agency said that by 2027 the rules will reduce oil consumption by up to 1.8 billion barrels. this is key. they'll reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a billion metric tons. that's nearly equal by the transmissions produced by all u.s. homes in a single year. the trucking officials say that manufacturers need time to

develop solutions to meet the new standards. some are concerned that it will force truck tours buy technology that is not fully tested. but the industry has been supportive partly because the new rules will help cut fuel costs. >> we appreciate it. you can watch ali velshi on target at 10:30 eastern time and 7:30 pacific. one ton of illegal elephant ivory was crushed in times square. john terrett was there with more on this. >> 96 elephants are killed every day. thousand as year, which you're going to find out about now. although other ivory crushes have been staged around the country has been before, today's message to ivory traffickers was as clear as any neon sign there.

we're going crush you and your profits. >> a long line of tiny buddhist, small birds and hand-carved figurines making their way up to ivory heaven. it's illegal ivory. the symbolism lost on no one here. >> every day 96 elephants are killed. that's one every 15 minutes. that's 35,000 a year. and at this rate elephants will go extinct. >> an ivory crush in times square works because the city was once the center of the ivory trade. even today illegal ivory finds its way through new york city to destinations all over the country. >> this is what one ton of ivory looks and sounds like when it's crushed in times square. the people who tried to sell the ivory are now behind bars. >> tourists were all over the world the hope is they'll take

the message home with them. >> by being here today i'm showing that i stand for the elephants. i stand for animal rights, and i love them. they're incredible animals. >> they're a beautiful animal. they're a social animal, family animal tender, caring compassionate animal. >> the u.s. has taken steps to toughen laws. >> today's ivory crush will send a message through the world that we're not only crushing ivory we're crushing the bloody ivory market. >> creating laws is one thing and up holding them is another. there are loopholes in the law. trading ancient ivory is okay. >> at the end of the day we have to educate people when you buy that trinket you're killing an elephant. you're helping to destabilize africa and create heaviens for criminality. >> president obama has called for a national ban on ivory but so far no action has been taken.

new york has passed laws to ban sales of ivory products. a similar law looking to be passed in california is saying the same thing. >> elephants are being sacrificed for the short-term greedy profit motive. china and the u.s. are the two largest markets for ivory. beijing announced an intention to shut down it's domestic ivory trade. if that happens it could be a game changer for the elephants. >> fingers crossed on that one. have a grade weekend. john seigenthaler is here. >> tony, coming up tonight at 8:00 an unusual and painful day in charleston. the bond hearing for the alleged killer dylann roof. the emotional statements from the victims' families.

plus the comments from the judge that surprised some and others found inappropriate. you heard bits and pieces. at 8:00 we'll play it all for you. the massacre in charleston once again raising questions about flying the confederate flag. >> at this point we have no power when a young might guy 21 years old walked into our church and murdered nine african-americans and assassinated the pastor. this is a fundamental issue in america and we have to face it. >> we'll talk about the role racism played in this crime. all those stories coming up in six minutes. >> thank you. the $10 bill is getting a makeover. barbara, you had a hand in this. out with first treasury secretary alexander hamilton and in with the woman of your choice. who do you think it should be. barbara ortiz founder of the

women on the 20s campaign. how exciting is this. it's happening. >> it's a dream come true. >> when did you start this campaign? >> we only started it and rolled it out march 1st introducing it to the public. >> march 1st. >> we started our ten-week campaign. we produced 15 candidates after vetting over 100 women to be possible candidates. >> wait a minute, did you tap into a movement that was already bubbling just below the surface? that's a quick turn around, isn't it. >> i think it's fairly miraculous that we were able to bring out people over 600,000 people participated in voting in ten weeks. and it was robust. every day the story was being covered. and it was just lovely to see positivity that could come out

of it. i think it was a long-time coming. people said we don't have women represented in our cultural institutions and we need that. >> what do you think was the argument? maybe you just shared a bit of it. what was the argument, you think, that made common sense that galvanized and turned into a movement that has proven successful here? what is the central argument that you put forward? >> we pointed out the simple omission of women from our currency. >> for how long? >> well, they only appear on paper currency once. in the 18 hundreds. then we had them on the dollar coin susan b. anthony which was often confused with a quarter. and sack so pointing it out and people recognizing that women should be represented.

>> i have to tell you that we did a poll in the newsroom. the newsroom decided that harriet tub man should be on the $10 bill. >> we had three candidates that emerged. harriet tub manman, rosa parks. and we added

. >> john seigenthaler is up next in just a couple of moments.

>> hi, every, this is al jazeera america. i'm john seigenthaler. >> prayers for the nine victims and extraordinary court appearance for the suspect. >> charleston is a very strong community. >> a bond hearing becomes something much more with a personal statement from the judge. >> there are victims on this young man's side of the family. >> an emotional words from relatives of those who were killed.