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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The sixth segment delves into the historical student protest in Orangeburg, South Carolina, in 1960. The movement, inspired by the Greensboro sit-ins, featured students from Claflin and South Carolina...
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This chapter focuses on Cecil Williams' fascinating encounter with John F. Kennedy before he became President. When Kennedy was making an announcement at the Roosevelt Hotel, Cecil, a photographer for...
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Part 4 showcases the role of Orangeburg in the Civil Rights Movement and the influence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolent resistance. Students in Orangeburg actively participated in marches...
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This video covers the events in Orangeburg during the summer of 1955. The local branch of the NAACP formulated a petition requesting the desegregation of schools in line with the 1954 Brown v. Board...
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This segment explores the early 1950s and the significant role South Carolina, particularly Clarendon County, played in the civil rights movement. It discusses Thurgood Marshall's arrival in South...
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Embark on a journey through the remarkable life of Cecil Williams, the acclaimed civil rights photographer from Orangeburg, South Carolina. Over 70 years of capturing pivotal moments in the Civil...
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Uncover the inspiring story of Harvey Gantt, the first black student to break barriers at Clemson University and later become Charlotte's first black mayor.
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This man is one of the few African Americans who has already cast a ballot. In 1865, shortly before the end of the Civil War, a group of about a thousand Black men in Norfolk, Virginia formed the...
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A New York music store owner named Samuel C. Jollie created a glass ballot box, bringing literal transparency to the voting process. Voters inserted ballots through a small hole on the top of the box...
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Before the Civil War the majority of free Black people lived in the South, where they couldn’t testify in court, learn to read, or travel without restrictions. But they survived and thrived as...
