Black History Month is celebrated every February to honor the achievements of African Americans who have shaped American history. Historian Carter G. Woodson hoped to raise awareness of African American's contributions to civilization by establishing Negro History Week. The event was first celebrated during a week in February 1926 that included both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass' birthdays. The week was later expanded to a month in 1976 during the United States bicentennial.
PHOTO: On March 20, 1969, Black hospital workers at the Medical College of South Carolina in Charleston went on strike to protest the firing of twelve employees and to call for higher wages and union recognition.
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Julia Mood Peterkin’ stories of plantation life and realistic African American characters captured the world’s attention. Julia Mood was born in Laurens County on Halloween in 1880. Her mother died...
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Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune is hailed as one of the most influential African American educators and Civil Rights figures, during the first half of the 20th century. Born on a cotton farm in Mayesville, SC...
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Orphaned at the age of six, Maude Callen, became an “Angel in Twilight” to many as she singlehandedly brought health care to a poverty-stricken community. After becoming orphaned, Maude went to live...
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Robert Smalls was a former slave and Civil War hero who made a significant impact on American history. Born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina in 1839, Smalls worked on the docks and was trained...
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There are many well-known African American entertainers from South Carolina, who made history. Let’s find out about a few: Clayton “Peg Leg” Bates worked as a child laborer in a cotton mill, where he...
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Ernest Finney was the first African American chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. He left an indelible mark on the legal system with his unwavering commitment to justice and equality...
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Nikky Finney, daughter of the late SC Supreme Court Chief Justice Ernest A. Finney, Jr., recites her poem, "He Never Had It Made" on the occasion of his installation to the S.C. Supreme Court. Just an...
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Ernest A. Finney, Jr., was born in Smithfield, Virginia during the depression, on March 23, 1931. His mother died 10 days after he was born and his father was a teacher who traveled as part of his...
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EXPIRES: 9/30/2025 “Talking Black in America: Roots” is the third program in a series of television documentaries exploring dimensions of African American language and culture and their formative...
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This brief episode summarizes the importance of Fort Sumter and the events that occurred there in shaping the destiny of our nation.
