Steph Curry is opening up about how the forgiveness from victims of the Emanuel AME Church tragedy inspired him.

The Golden State Warriors point guard and his Unanimous Media production company are co-executive producing the project “Emmanuel” along with Emmy Award winning actress Viola Davis and her husband Julius Tennon of JuVee Productions. Curry recently told NBC why he chose to take part in producing the documentary.

The NBA star explained how much he was inspired by the victims whose family were killed by a white supremacist in the Charleston, South Carolina church during a 2015 shooting.

“I heard about the specifics of the story and how, you know, the families of the victims of Emanuel Church chose forgiveness over hate and anger,” Curry said. “That was something everybody needs to hear. I don’t know if I would have the strength to do the exact same thing in that situation, but I wanted people to hear their point of view on why they decided to do that.”

The documentary is called Emanuel and will tell the story of what took place on June 17, 2015 when 21-year-old white supremacist Dylann Roof walked into the church to kill members who were engaging in a Bible study. The city of Charleston has come together with the 10 families that were affected by the tragedy for what producers referred to as “a poignant story of justice and faith, love and hate, and the healing power of forgiveness.”

Curry also released a statement about how honored he was to take part in the film that features an important message.

“‘Emanuel’ is an incredibly powerful film and we’re honored to come on board as executive producers. The documentary highlights how a horrible tragedy can bring a community together, and spreads an important message about the power of forgiveness,” he said. “Stories like this are the reason we created Unanimous and entered the entertainment space. I hope the film inspires others like it does me.”

 

(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)