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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

Collection Briggs v. Elliott
Briggs v. Elliott
Collection Cecil Williams
Cecil Williams
Collection Friendship Nine
Friendship Nine

The Friendship Nine consisted of a group of nine African American young men who were sent to jail after staging a sit-in at a segregated McCrory's lunch counter in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1961.

Collection NAACP
NAACP
Collection Noted African Americans
Noted African Americans
Collection Orangeburg Massacre
Orangeburg Massacre
Collection Penn Center
Penn Center
Collection Slavery in South Carolina
Slavery in South Carolina
Content Type
Rev. James M. Hinton (1891-1970) | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Rev. James M. Hinton (1891-1970) | Road Trip
Beginning in 1939 Rev. James M. Hinton was instrumental in organizing the state chapters of the NAACP into a more cohesive and active association. Rev. James M. Hinton served as president of the South...
Edwin Augustus Harleston (1882 - 1931) | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Edwin Augustus Harleston (1882 - 1931) | Road Trip
Edwin Augustus Harleston. In a life that spanned less than fifty years, he was a businessman and a civil rights leader, but in his heart, he was always an artist, a fine portrait painter. Harleston's...
Harvey Gantt | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Harvey Gantt | Road Trip
Harvey Gantt was born on January 14, 1943. On January 1963, Harvey Gantt of Charleston, South Carolina, became the first black student to enroll at Clemson College (now Clemson University). Gantt, at...
Sarah Mae Fleming (1933-1993) | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Sarah Mae Fleming (1933-1993) | Road Trip
In June 1954 Sarah Mae Fleming, a 20-year-old African-American boarded a local bus, owned and operated by South Carolina Electric and Gas Company. According to Fleming the bus driver told her to move...
Ernest A. Finney Jr. | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Ernest A. Finney Jr. | Road Trip
A native of Smithfield, Va, Ernest A. Finney Jr. gained respect as an exceptional civil rights advocate, defending more than 6,000 people arrested for participating in some type of civil protest. In...
George A. Elmore (1905-1954) | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
George A. Elmore (1905-1954) | Road Trip
In 1946, George Elmore attempted to vote in the all-White Democratic primary but was denied the right to vote. In February 1947, the NAACP filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court against John I...
Marian Wright Edelman | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Marian Wright Edelman | Road Trip
A native of Bennettsville, Marian Wright Edelman In the mid-1960s as a human rights activist began directing the Legal Defense and Education Fund for the Mississippi NAACP. As the first African...
Rev. J.A. DeLaine (1898-1974) | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Rev. J.A. DeLaine (1898-1974) | Road Trip
Described as courageous, fearless, confident, faithful, committed, humble and a man of integrity, the Rev. Joseph Armstrong DeLaine was the primary impetus behind the Clarendon County desegregation...
Ruby Pendergrass Cornwell (1902-2003) | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Ruby Pendergrass Cornwell (1902-2003) | Road Trip
A Charleston arts patron and gifted vocalist, Ruby Pendergrass Cornwell used her voice to make a difference in Charleston's cultural arts society. She was known as an inspiring teacher in civil rights...
James E. Clyburn | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
James E. Clyburn | Road Trip
A life member of the NAACP, Clyburn has actively worked to support the principles of inclusion upon which the organization was founded. The Sumter native and graduate of South Carolina State...
Arthur J. H. Clement, Jr. (1908-1985) | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Arthur J. H. Clement, Jr. (1908-1985) | Road Trip
A pioneer among African-American business leaders, Arthur J.H. Clement, Jr., is credited with promoting positive race relations, spurring community development and enhancing business incentives in his...
Septima Pointsette Clark (1898 - 1987)

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Septima Pointsette Clark (1898 - 1987)
Septima Poinsette Clark is considered to be one of the mothers of the civil rights movement. As an active member of the NAACP, she helped the organization fight to obtain equal pay for Black teachers...
Levi G. Byrd (1891-?) | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Levi G. Byrd (1891-?) | Road Trip
The first chapters of the NAACP began in Charleston and Columbia in 1917. By 1929 a total of 12 chapters had been formed in the state. At that time the state organizations focused on registering Black...
J. Arthur Brown (1914-1988) | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
J. Arthur Brown (1914-1988) | Road Trip
A life member of the NAACP, Brown served as local NAACP chapter president from 1953 to 1960. During his tenure the local membership increased from 100 to 1,000 persons. Locally, Brown focused on...
Harry Briggs (1913-1986) | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Harry Briggs (1913-1986) | Road Trip
Harry Briggs was a World War II veteran. Briggs, a gas station attendant, and his wife, Eliza allowed Rev. DeLaine to use their home for people to sign the petition that became Briggs v Elliott...
Harold R. Boulware, Sr. (1913-1983) | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Harold R. Boulware, Sr. (1913-1983) | Road Trip
The son of educators Robert and Mabel Hughes Boulware, Harold Boulware attended Johnson C. Smith and Howard University Law School. After graduation he returned to South Carolina and established a...
Gloria Blackwell (1927-2010) | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Gloria Blackwell (1927-2010) | Road Trip
Gloria (Rackley) Blackwell and her daughter Luma. Gloria and her daughter walk beside Whittaker Elementary School where Mrs. Blackwell was a teacher before she was dismissed for her participation in...
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) | Road Trip
In 1920, Mayesville native Mary McLeod Bethune founded Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona, Florida. In 1935, Bethune was named as head of the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth...
York County: McCrory's Civil Rights Sit-ins | Road Trip

Photo

Grades

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
York County: McCrory's Civil Rights Sit-ins | Road Trip
This building, built in 1901, was occupied by McCrory's Five & Dime from 1937 to 1997. On February 12, 1960, black students from Friendship Jr. College in Rock Hill were denied service at the McCrory...
Orangeburg County - South Carolina State University

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Orangeburg County - South Carolina State University
South Carolina State University was founded in 1896 as the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural, & Mechanical College of S.C., with its origins in the Morrill Land Grant Acts of 1862 and 1890...
Lee County - Dennis High School

Photo

Grades

  • 5
  • 8
  • 11
Lee County - Dennis High School
Constructed in 1936, Dennis was the first high school for African Americans in Lee County, including Bishopville and nearby rural areas. In contrast with the much larger Bishopville High School, which...
Clarendon County - Summerton High School

Photo

Grades

  • 5
  • 8
  • 11
Clarendon County - Summerton High School
The building that housed Summerton High School from circa 1936 to the mid-1960s is located at 12 South Church Street in Summerton. In the middle of the twentieth century, the all-white high school was...
Work Song | Gullah Music

Audio

Grades

  • Pre K
  • Kindergarten
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
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  • 12
Work Song | Gullah Music
Episode 3
Enslaved Africans sang songs as they worked to help keep the pace of the task they were doing. A leader called out a verse or yell and others responded. This is the call-and-response singing tradition...