"I stood up because I couldn't not." –Ammie Murray

For over a decade, South Carolinian Ammie Murray stood up against racial crimes as a local church was burnt, vandalized, and reconstructed twice.

Saddened by the condition of St. John Baptist Church, she led efforts to refurbish the church, and the community's racial divide began to heal. However, in the next nine years, almost 200 threats and incidents of violence were made on the church. Then in 1995, arsonists burned the church to the ground.

Ammie says, her feet wanted to leave but her heart wouldn't let her. Finding "strength in something greater than herself," Ammie, church members and the community began rebuilding the church once more. Part of her endurance came from donations, such as 100 bibles inscribed with the church's name, from New York Firefighter Pete Cristsamelios. In 1998, St. John Baptist Church was rededicated and reopened its doors.

"Somebody had to do it. I was the one there."

Ammie didn't know how to physically build a church from the ground up, but she knew how to make phone calls and raise money. Find out how you can learn to do the same!

Have you ever been through a similar experience? Share your story.

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