African American History

Learn about the achievements of African Americans who have shaped South Carolina and American history.

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.

Within this Collection

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Cecil and Strom | The World of Cecil
Cecil and Strom | The World of Cecil

Video

Grades: 8 9 10 11 12

This chapter explores the complex relationship between Cecil Williams and Strom Thurmond, a prominent figure in South Carolina politics with a history of segregationist policies. Cecil Williams, who...
Elloree | The World of Cecil
Elloree | The World of Cecil

Video

Grades: 8 9 10 11 12

This segment focuses on the actions of the state legislature in South Carolina, led by Governor George Bell Timmerman, to pass laws making it illegal to belong to the NAACP. Teachers in Elloree...
The Charleston Hospital Strike | The World of Cecil
The Charleston Hospital Strike | The World of Cecil

Video

Grades: 8 9 10 11 12

The first segment of The World of Cecil: Part Two focuses on a labor strike in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1969, where hospital workers, predominantly Black women, were fighting for fair pay and...
The Orangeburg Massacre | The World of Cecil
The Orangeburg Massacre | The World of Cecil

Video

Grades: 8 9 10 11 12

In the final segment of The World of Cecil: Part One, the documentary recounts events from 1968 when students from South Carolina State University, led by John Stroman, attempted to desegregate the...
Clemson University's Integration | The World of Cecil
Clemson University's Integration | The World of Cecil

Video

Grades: 8 9 10 11 12

This segment provides insight into Cecil Williams' early aspirations and his remarkable photography during pivotal moments of desegregation at Clemson University and the University of South Carolina...
Edwards v. South Carolina | The World of Cecil
Edwards v. South Carolina | The World of Cecil

Video

Grades: 8 9 10 11 12

Governor Fritz Hollings opposed protests at the State Capitol in South Carolina. The pivotal Edwards vs. South Carolina case arose from a 1961 civil rights demonstration against segregation. James...
The Pink Palace | The World of Cecil
The Pink Palace | The World of Cecil

Video

Grades: 8 9 10 11 12

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...
Cecil and John F. Kennedy | The World of Cecil
Cecil and John F. Kennedy | The World of Cecil

Video

Grades: 8 9 10 11 12

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...
Student Protests | The World of Cecil
Student Protests | The World of Cecil

Video

Grades: 8 9 10 11 12

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...
The Orangeburg Freedom Movement | The World of Cecil
The Orangeburg Freedom Movement | The World of Cecil

Video

Grades: 8 9 10 11 12

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...
Briggs v. Elliott | The World of Cecil
Briggs v. Elliott | The World of Cecil

Video

Grades: 8 9 10 11 12

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...
Harvey Gantt | Carolina Snaps
Harvey Gantt | Carolina Snaps

Video

Grades: 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

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.
The First Vote: Returning Voter | Reconstruction 360
The First Vote: Returning Voter | Reconstruction 360

Video

Grades: 7 8 9 10 11 12

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...
The First Vote: Ballot Box | Reconstruction 360
The First Vote: Ballot Box | Reconstruction 360

Video

Grades: 7 8 9 10 11 12

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...
The First Vote: Craftsman | Reconstruction 360
The First Vote: Craftsman | Reconstruction 360

Video

Grades: 7 8 9 10 11 12

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...
The First Vote: Poor Freedman | Reconstruction 360
The First Vote: Poor Freedman | Reconstruction 360

Video

Grades: 7 8 9 10 11 12

This new voter has very little money or belongings, but he has gained his freedom. After passage of the Reconstruction Acts, thousands of politically energized freedmen, rich and poor, registered to...
The First Vote: Freedwoman | Reconstruction 360
The First Vote: Freedwoman | Reconstruction 360

Video

Grades: 7 8 9 10 11 12

The wife of one of the Black voters has joined her husband for this historic event. Women saw enfranchisement of Black men as a gain for the entire race and encouraged men to adhere to the wishes of...
Elizabeth Evelyn Wright | Carolina Snaps
Elizabeth Evelyn Wright | Carolina Snaps

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Elizabeth Evelyn Wright’s dream of establishing a school in South Carolina would come true in 1897. Elizabeth Evelyn Wright, a graduate of Tuskegee Institute, had a deep desire to open a school where...
The Black Codes: Freedman | Reconstruction 360
The Black Codes: Freedman | Reconstruction 360

Video

Grades: 7 8 9 10 11 12

The Black man in this jail cell has been locked up for refusing to sign a labor contract. Under the Black Codes he is considered a vagrant. Freedpeople had to sign labor contracts to work for whites...