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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

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 Billie Fleming on Farming | Road Trip

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Billie Fleming on Farming | Road Trip
Mr. Billie Fleming explains the hardship that farmers, teachers and anyone associated with the NAACP during the civil rights movement encountered in their communities from white citizens.
Victoria Eslinger | Civil Rights in S.C. James Clyburn | Civil Rights in S.C.

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James Clyburn | Civil Rights in S.C.
Civil Rights Youth Media Summit: James Clyburn Interviewed by Juli Cross (A.C. Flora High School) and Kevin Baxter (Scott's Branch High School)
 Black Social Workers | Road Trip

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Black Social Workers | Road Trip
Joseph McDomick, Jr., civil rights activist in Beaufort county, shares his story of helping to organize the Welfare Rights Organization (WRO) in Beaufort. McDomick relates how he and other community...
 Ernest A. Finney | Civil Rights in S.C.

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Ernest A. Finney | Civil Rights in S.C.
Civil Rights Youth Media Summit: Ernest A. Finney Interviewed by D'Asia Pelzer (C.A. Johnson High School) and Jessica Green (Scott's Branch High School)
 Why the Penn Center? | Road Trip

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Why the Penn Center? | Road Trip
Joseph McDomick, Jr, civil rights activist and former Penn Center employee, talks about why Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. chose to visit the Penn Center on many occasions during the civil rights...
 Cecil William's Studio Tour | Artopia

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Cecil William's Studio Tour | Artopia
Cecil Williams owns Cecil Williams Photography in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He explains how his profession has evolved over the years.
Jasper Johns | S.C. Hall of Fame Dizzy Gillespie | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Dizzy Gillespie | S.C. Hall of Fame
"From the Be to the Bop: The Musical Legacy of Dizzy Gillespie." An excerpt from South Carolina ETV's Carolina Stories.
 Civil Rights Photography | Artopia  1

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Civil Rights Photography | Artopia
Episode 1
Cecil J. Williams did a great deal of civil rights photography. Even as a young boy, before he understood what was going on, he took many important photographs.
 Civil Rights Photography | Artopia  2

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Civil Rights Photography | Artopia
Episode 2
Cecil J. Williams is a native of Orangeburg, South Carolina. He began taking documentary photographs of his community at the age of nine. By 15, he was working professionally as a freelancer for Jet...
Ronald Erwin McNair | S.C. Hall of Fame Charles Bolden | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Charles Bolden | S.C. Hall of Fame
One of three astronauts inducted into the South Carolina Hall Of Fame, Charles Bolden, Jr. flew on four space shuttle missions while an astronaut, and in 2009 was appointed by President Obama to be...
 Benjamin Mays | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Benjamin Mays | S.C. Hall of Fame
Benjamin Mays (1894-1984) was a minister, educator, scholar and social activist. He was known as the "Father of the Civil Rights Movement."
Colonial Williamsburg, Part 2 | Project Discovery Revisited Avery Research Center | Project Discovery Revisited

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Avery Research Center | Project Discovery Revisited
Charleston, South Carolina, is a city rich in African American culture. Sullivan’s Island, once an entry port from Africa for the slave trade, was considered the gateway to the United States. The...
James C. Self, Sr. | Legacy of Leadership Profile W. Melvin Brown, Jr. | Legacy of Leadership Profile

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W. Melvin Brown, Jr. | Legacy of Leadership Profile
W. Melvin Brown, Jr. (1934–1994) Starting with a vision and an opportunity, W. Melvin Brown, Jr., guided the growth of American Development Corporation of North Charleston into the largest minority...
Land - Live Oak | A Natural State
   - Episode 10 Land 9

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Land
Episode 9
Robert Middleton left St. Helena at age 18, returning 45 years later after serving in the army, studying at Howard University, and a career of social work in Washington, D.C. and on an Apache Indian...
 Flight Instructor 2

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Flight Instructor
Episode 2
Celebrate Freedom -Tuskegee Airmen 60th Anniversary was an event that took place in 2004 in Camden, South Carolina. In 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron, the first African-American air fighting unit...
 Tuskegee Airmen Forum 9

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Tuskegee Airmen Forum
Episode 9
About the Panel Hosted by ETV, Connections host P.A. Bennett moderates a forum during the 60th Anniversary for the Tuskegee Airmen. The members of the panel included: Lt. Colonel Spann Watson (1916...
Land - Spanish Moss | A Natural State
   - Episode 11 Land 12

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Land
Episode 12
Several generations of the St. Helena community attended the historic Penn School, established as one of the first schools for freed slaves. In the 1950s and 1960s, the site served as a safe retreat...
 The Tuskegee Airmen Phenomenon 1

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The Tuskegee Airmen Phenomenon
Episode 1
The story of the Tuskegee Airman is even more a story about America than about a group of determined young African American men and women in the late 30’s and early 40’s. On this edition of...
Listen to Gullah Language | Gullah Net Red Riding Hood in English | Gullah Tales

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Red Riding Hood in English | Gullah Tales
Red discovers something is wrong with grandma. The Gullah voiceover for this folktale was recorded by Gullah artist Anita Singleton-Prather.