Organizers have announced the date for the annual fundraiser honoring the youngest victim of the 2015 Emanuel AME Church shooting.
The eighth annual 5K Doughnut Dash: Race 4 Wanza will be held April 15, 2023, remembering Tywanza Sanders, who was 26 when he was killed alongside eight others by a white supremacist during Bible study.
The event raises money for college scholarships for minority high school seniors. Registration is available online at race4wanza2023.eventbrite.com.
Last year, the nonprofit gave away $4,000 in scholarships — the most money given away in the event's history.
"We are only seeing 2023 being bigger," said Dominique Gray, co-founder of nonprofit Race 4 Achievement Inc., organizer of the race.
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Nearly seven years after the tragedy, Gray reflected on Sanders' legacy. Gray recalled Sanders' had a bright personality. The two were close friends.
"I miss getting hugs from him," Gray said. "His motor was always running. He was always happy. Always enthusiastic."
The event is sponsored by Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Guests can participate both in person and virtually.
Registration will take place 7:30-8:30 a.m. at the rear parking lot of the South Windermere Center, 61 Folly Road Blvd. in West Ashley. Participants will run or walk down the West Ashley Greenway to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts at 1491 Savannah Highway, then return to the Windermere Center using the same route.
Money raised will be used to award several scholarships for graduating seniors at James Island Charter High School, West Ashley High, Burke High and the Charleston County School of the Arts. An additional scholarship will be given to a minority graduating senior enrolling at The Citadel, and The Daniel Stern Citadel Scholarship is given annually to a minority graduating senior in the Charleston area who will be enrolling at The Citadel.
This month will mark the seventh anniversary of the massacre, and other events honoring the victims of the 2015 tragedy will be taking place next week.
Faith groups across the country will mark the seventh anniversary by participating in a commemorative Bible study event on June 17, which will kick off a weekend of events that will include Juneteenth. The day's events will begin at 2 p.m. with a press conference.
Political dignitaries slated to attend include U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, Sen. Tim Scott and Mayor John Tecklenburg. Faith leaders at the event will include the Rev. James A. Forbes Jr., senior minister emeritus of The Riverside Church of New York, The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, and several others.
The Bible study will focus around the biblical passage in Mark 4:1-20, where Jesus tells a parable of a sower who planted seeds on different types of soil, discovering only the seeds that were thrown upon good soil produced a harvest. The same passage was the topic of the 2015 Bible study at Emanuel when the victims were killed.
Organizers believe the seventh anniversary of the tragedy presents a chance to ask "Within the nexus of race, history, and politics for this critical time: “What kind of soil are we? What kind of soil is God calling us to become? What is God saying to America about its spiritual dilemma?”
"We are looking forward to this self-examination that individuals can do and hopefully walk away with a better understanding that we’re all part of collective humanity," said the Rev. Eric Manning, pastor of Emanuel AME.
