Noted African Americans

Learn about noted African Americans, many born in South Carolina, with local and national accomplishments.

Osceola E. McKaine (1892-1955) | Road Trip
Osceola E. McKaine (1892-1955) | Road Trip

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A civil rights activist McKaine, the NAACP and the all-Black Palmetto Teachers Association attacked the issue of salary inequities for Black educators. The average salary for a White elementary school...
Joseph McDomick, Jr. | Road Trip
Joseph McDomick, Jr. | Road Trip

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Joseph McDomick, Jr. was born on May 1, 1938, in St. Francisville, Louisiana. In 1964 Judge McDomick began a thirty-year career with the Penn Center, serving as a field supervisor. Under his...
John H. McCray (1910-1987) | Road Trip
John H. McCray (1910-1987) | Road Trip

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John H. McCray, a 1931 graduate of the Avery Institute, grew up in the Lincolnville area of Charleston County. In 1938 he became editor and publisher of The Lighthouse and Informer, which in 1941...
James T. McCain (1905-2003) | Road Trip
James T. McCain (1905-2003) | Road Trip

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At age 16, James T. McCain worked to register voters in Sumter in 1921. He continued his civil rights activity while he served as the southeastern region field secretary for Congress of Racial...
Benjamin Elijah Mays (1894-1984) | Road Trip
Benjamin Elijah Mays (1894-1984) | Road Trip

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Benjamin Elijah Mays was born in the town of Epworth, southeast of Greenwood, August 1894. A son of former slaves, Mays' childhood played a key role in shaping the man that he would become. His...
Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) | Road Trip
Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) | Road Trip

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Thurgood Marshall's entire legal career was devoted to pursuing equal justice for all. He argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court and won 29 of those cases, including his most significant, Brown v...
Malcolm X (1925-1965 | Road Trip
Malcolm X (1925-1965 | Road Trip

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Malcolm X was the spokesman for the Muslims. He was assigned to defend and explain Muslimism at television debates, rallies, press interviews and whenever Muslims are on trial.
Arthur Magill (1907-1995) | Road Trip
Arthur Magill (1907-1995) | Road Trip

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Fearful that continued resistance to integration would tarnish the Greenville's image as well as limit economic opportunities, wealthy businessman Arthur MaGill and the Rev. John Haley of Westminster...
Coretta Scott King (1927-2006) | Road Trip
Coretta Scott King (1927-2006) | Road Trip

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Eleven months after the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the eyes of the nation focused on Charleston, South Carolina, where a conflict developed over striking workers. On March 20, 1969 Mrs...
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968) | Road Trip
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968) | Road Trip

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The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. addressing the crowd on Aug.28, 1963. In his well-known "I Have a Dream" speech, he said, "America has given the Negro people a bad check. It has come back marked...