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

Penn Center History | Road Trip

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Joseph McDomick, Jr., former Penn Center project supervisor for over thirty years, talks about the history of the Penn Center. A history that began with the Port Royal Experiment in 1862 and the...
Jenkins Orphanage Band | Road Trip

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Lonnie Hamilton and Joey Morant recall their experiences in the Jenkins Orphanage Band. Today, the Jenkins Orphanage Band no longer has a band to support foster kids at the orphanage, but the...
Waverly Community Tour | Road Trip

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Community volunteer gives a brief history about the Jenkins' home in the historic Waverly Community. Dr. Douglas Jenkins was the local dentist.
Eliza Briggs | Road Trip

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Eliza and Harry Briggs, Sr. are listed as the first petitioners on the lawsuits from the 1940s and 1950s. Harry, a gas station attendant in Summerton, and his wife, Eliza, lost their jobs and were...
Integration of Clemson | Road Trip

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University of South Carolina scholar, John Sproat, gives a lecture about desegregation in South Carolina. In this clip Sproat discusses the integration of Clemson by Harvey Gantt. CREDIT...
Youth Participation | Road Trip

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Dr. Charles Thomas was a professor of philosophy at South Carolina State College and a local NAACP official. On at least one occasion, Dr. Thomas mortgaged his home to bail student activists out of...
Tuskegee Airmen Ernest Henderson | Road Trip

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In 1941, the 99th Pursuit Squadron, the first African-American air fighting unit, began training in Tuskegee, Alabama. The pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen included Ernest Henderson of Laurens...
Mt. Pisgah AME Church | Road Trip

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Mt. Pisgah A.M.E. church in Greenwood, built in 1908, is a unique treasure for the Greenwood community. CREDIT: Palmetto Places: Greenwood , South Carolina ETV, 2004
7 Days in Jail | Road Trip

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Waymon Stover talks about his experience marching in Orangeburg in 1963 to desegregate lunch counters and being arrested.