Charleston Marriott Doesn’t Want to Be Pictured With Massacre Church

Marriott-branded hotel in Charleston, South Carolina is asking social media users to not post pictures of their location with the Emanuel A.M.E. church.

A Twitter user who posted a picture of the Courtyard by Marriott Charleston Historic District alongside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church received a message back from the hotel asking not to link the two together. Gawker reports the hotel made the request shortly after the user posted a picture of a trip to the historic city on social media.

The request was made after Quintin Washington posted a picture of the church to his Twitter account on December 27. The picture featured both the Emanuel A.M.E. Church and the signage for the Courtyard by Marriott location.

“The Mother Emanuel Way Memorial District on a warm, Sunday afternoon in December,” Washington wrote in his tweet. He did not acknowledge or connect the hotel with the church in his caption.

One day later, Washington received a response from the hotel. Gawker reports the hotel directly requested not to be included in photos of the church.

“We respectfully ask you not to include the hotel in mother AME photos,” the tweet read. The hotel later removed their social media interaction with Washington.

The Emanuel A.M.E. church made headlines earlier this year when eight people were shot during a prayer meeting at the historic church. Although the attack had no connection to the Marriott, the reported tweets from the hotel did not specify if this was the reason they wanted to be removed.

While the property is affiliated with Marriott, the hotel is owned and operated by RLJ Lodging Trust, a national company that owns and operates hotels in 22 states. Management at the Courtyard by Marriott Charleston Historic District provided no comment to Gawker about the request.

[Photo: Quintin Washington]