Hate will not sink a city that loves

As the founders of The Southern Coterie, Whitney and I have grown to truly love Charleston and its people.   Our first spring Summit drew an incredible group of Charlestonians to Jekyll Island which led to our idea to take it to Charleston the following spring.  Over the last two years, we have hosted The Southern C Summit in the Holy City and we will return there in spring of 2016.  The Southern Coterie is always embraced by Charleston and its encouraging spirit when we gather creative lifestyle entrepreneurs there for the Summit.

Charleston is a welcoming and hospitable city and we couldn’t be more proud of how the community is handling the tragic shootings at Mother Emanuel Hope Church.  It comes as no surprise to us that its people would come together in love and hope.

We were so moved by our Summit presenter Craig Evans’ creation of Y’allsome’s Charleston Heart.  When we shared it on our social media, an Arkansas attendee Jamie Darling stated, “Charleston is especially precious to us Southern C ladies because of you all at The Southern C.”  It’s true the Southern C comes to Charleston in the spring to fuel our creative spirits and the city and its people do so with no bounds.

So we are now rallying around and praying for our beloved Charleston during this time of sadness and we agree with Y’allsome’s sentiment.  “The design is meant to be a message of optimism and hope to the city of Charleston, that if we come together and show love, we can overcome this horrible tragedy and become stronger,” said Evans.  “Through love, this act of hate will not be able to tear us apart, which was its intention.”

Evan’s hope is that the design might offer a small sense of comfort to those who need it, and might also serve as something that emboldens people that we can overcome this incomprehensible act.

Tee shirts, prints, and stickers with the design will be available for pre-sale on the site starting Wednesday, June 24th with all proceeds going to the Mother Emanuel Hope Fund.

Craig Shares the Backstory (how a creative expresses his support through art):

This design was created in the middle of the night in a hotel room while I was traveling for work. I couldn’t sleep because I kept thinking about all that had transpired, the sadness I felt for the victims, the senselessness of the act, and how Charleston as a city would respond. I also felt helpless and powerless as I was not in Charleston, so this was my way of connecting to what was happening and offering up my support.

I got up, went to my computer, and started designing and eventually sent it out on social media through Y’allsome. I actually did a few other rough designs before I landed on this one. I wanted to do something that portrayed a positive message for the people of the city. A message that offered hope and optimism that we could overcome this and not allow it to tear us apart if we exhibited the exact opposite of that what the killer did, which is if we showed love.

The design itself includes the Charleston skyline, featuring simplified versions of Charleston’s churches – including Mother Emanuel – as well as the Ravenel Bridge.

The skyline forms the very top of a heart, which is staying above the sea below, because of ‘love’, hence the words “Hate will not sink a city that loves.”

I also wanted to show the interesting coincidence that the word “Charleston” became “Charlestrong” – a unique take on the “Charleston Strong” by simply adding the letters “R” and “G”.

About Y’allsome:   (website: www.yallsome.com)

Less than a year ago Craig and his wife Megan started a Southern brand called Y’allsome in their garage in LA. They had been living away from the South for over a decade and missed it. So, Y’allsome became their way of expressing their love for their home, a way to ‘give back’, and a way to help foster kids whose cause they are passionate about. It consists of shirts, hats and prints that they design. The products are made using Southern businesses and 15% of their net profits go to help Southern Foster kids find permanent homes via Adoption Discovery.

LINKS TO MORE features capturing the spirit of Charleston:

• VIDEO via The Post and Courier

• News feature via The Post and Courier: Emanuel AME Church reopens with display of faith, hope and unity