Rose Simmons

Rose Simmons South Carolina Department of Education

Rose Simmons is the daughter of the late Rev. Daniel Simmons, Sr. She is the curator of the Daniel Simmons Exhibit in the South Carolina Tobacco Museum (opening in Summer 2025). She is also the director and executive producer of a forthcoming documentary “One Last Breath,” which details her father’s life, accomplishments, and love for the Church as a fourth-generation pastor.

What do you wish everyone knew about your father? How have you sought to continue his legacy?

I want them to know how smart he was. He was always at the top of every class, was so diligent, and had such a superior work ethic. As a highly focused person, he completed all his tasks and was very responsible. Even more paramount was his love for the AME Church. I see myself as picking up the blood-stained banner and carrying on the work that was so important to him. I want people to be aware he walked on this planet, and I can do that by immortalizing him with a statue we’re unveiling in his hometown of Mullins, opening a museum exhibit about his life and death, and supporting a scholarship fund to allow recipients educational opportunities. Even after his death, he continues to be a help and a voice in the life of strangers. I will always make sure his grandkids know him, and the great grandkids will have something to remember him by even when I’m gone.

While being confronted with evil and immense loss, you have accomplished great feats. Tell us about your personal journey of growth in the decade after June 17, 2015.

It took some time for me. Honestly, it took years for me to get to a place where I could actually grieve. I think I was five years in before I could lose myself in my own grief. When you suffer a traumatic loss like this, especially in front of the media, there is no time to grieve if you want to maintain the strength you show to the public so your voice can be heard. So, it took about five years to be able to sit down, take a moment, look back, and just miss my dad. I was 50 years old when he was killed, and he was 74. We had both lived a good part of our lives by the time he passed. I’m still learning and thinking about him every day, especially involved in all these projects. I go out to his gravesite to spend time with him, where I can pour out and share about my day. I ask for his help and guidance. I think I’ll spend the rest of my life wanting one more minute with him. I wish I could tell him I’m sorry—what would I be sorry for? Everything. I think it would give me some sort of peace. I always thank the Lord for everything He has brought into my life, and I thank my daddy too.

What words of encouragement or advice would you give students who are faced with struggle and tough times?

I would tell them that they would have to look inside themselves and be acquainted with who they are. Once you build a strong inner-you, you can navigate through anything. Spiritually, we depend on the Lord, and in this world, we must be well acquainted with our own strengths and weaknesses to be able to face the challenges that come towards us.

What gives you hope for the future?

On a personal note, knowing I’ve done the best I can do to preserve my father’s legacy gives me hope. I want to let the world know who he was, introducing him to those who never met him posthumously. Hope lives in our young people as they’re striving to do greater and better things. I tell my younger family members that they have this open space in front of them to create and do what their hearts desire. I’m so happy they’ll have more to start with than what I had. That’s why I work so hard—what I put my hands to helps them have a better future. Everything I do now is for them.