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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.

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City of Columbia Video Questions | From The Sky Gullah | From the Sky

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Gullah | From the Sky
When you look at the scenery of South Carolina’s Lowcountry, it’s hard not to admire its beauty and wildlife. Also native to this region, is one of South Carolina's most unique group of people... the...
Benjamin Mays Historical Site Student Inquiry

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Benjamin Mays Historical Site Student Inquiry
ETV Education asked students from Benjamin E. Mays Elementary School in Greenwood, SC to investigate, analyze, formulate questions, and research potential captions for the Let’s Go Interactive of the...
A Seat at the Table - Notebook | Reconstruction 360 A Seat at the Table

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A Seat at the Table
Many of the foods enjoyed by enslaved and freedpeople - and Americans today - originally came from Africa. In this video culinary historian Michael Twitty discusses the origins of African American...
A Seat at the Table - Notebook | Reconstruction 360 A Seat at the Table

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A Seat at the Table
Black Churches have often served as places to meet and organize, and during Reconstruction many religious leaders were elected to political office. In the Civil Rights movement of the 20th century...
A Seat at the Table - Notebook | Reconstruction 360 A Seat at the Table

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A Seat at the Table
In West Africa, elders are greatly respected and family groups often form the basis of society, but the institution of slavery tore African American families apart. Freedom meant that families...
A Seat at the Table - Notebook | Reconstruction 360 A Seat at the Table

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A Seat at the Table
Between 1820 and 1860, slave owners in the upper South sold nearly a million enslaved people to plantations in the lower South. After they gained their freedom, formerly enslaved people published...
A Seat at the Table - Notebook | Reconstruction 360 A Seat at the Table

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A Seat at the Table
Over time, Black Southerners developed their own forms of worship. They incorporated some African religious traditions and turned certain biblical stories to their own purposes, envisioning a God who...
 A Seat at the Table

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A Seat at the Table
During Reconstruction women who had been enslaved could finally devote themselves to their own families. The work of women was always vital to the Black family and community, throughout enslavement...