Funeral set in Charleston for slain member of black church

Less than six months later, the 49-year-old pastor and mother of four who led Wednesday night bible study will be memorialized Sunday in the historic African-American church in South Carolina where she was killed 12 days ago after a gunman entered the church and fatally shot nine people — all African Americans.

Remembering the 54-year-old Hurd as a young girl who worked serving people ice cream during the summer, Riley said she went on "to leading them to knowledge," as a librarian for almost 30 years.

Obama sang a hymn of hope and spoke with the fervor of a preacher as he eulogized Pinckney, and minced no words in calling for an end to racial injustice and gun violence in the United States.

The nation's first black president called for gun control and efforts to eliminate poverty and job discrimination, and said the Confederate battle flag — long a symbol of Southern pride — must be removed from places of honor.

Dylann Storm Roof, now charged with nine murders, embraced Confederate symbols before the attack, posing with the rebel battle flag and burning the U.S. flag in photos.