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Levi Pearson (1892 - 1970) | Road Trip

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Levi Pearson, and other parents whose children attended Scotts Branch High School, wanted the county to provide buses for their children. Mr. Pearson was encouraged by Rev. Joseph Armstrong DeLaine, Sr. to file a suit against the county's bus policy. Pearson agreed to be a plaintiff and in 1947 he filed a suit against Clarendon County School District 26. Levi Pearson suffered for filing the suit. His credit was eliminated and whites refused to buy his timber. The white response to the Pearson family foreshadowed later acts of hostility and violence for blacks in Clarendon County.

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Judge J. Waties Waring (1880-1968) | Road Trip

In 1947 Judge J. Waties Waring's monumental ruling in the George Elmore suit (Elmore v. Rice) eliminated the all-white Democratic primary system in South Carolina. For the first time since 1876, the...

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Briggs v. Elliott | Road Trip

The Briggs v. Elliott case began as a simple request to provide bus transportation. In addition to having separate and very inferior facilities, black children had to walk to school, sometimes many...

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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...

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Eliza Briggs | Road Trip

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...

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More in this Series

Road Trip! / B. People / Movers & Shakers | Road Trip

Arthur J. H. Clement, Jr. (1908-1985) | Road Trip

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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...
Arthur Magill (1907-1995) | Road Trip

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Arthur Magill (1907-1995) | Road Trip
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...
Benjamin Elijah Mays (1894-1984) | Road Trip

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Benjamin Elijah Mays (1894-1984) | Road Trip
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...
Bernice Robinson (1914-1994) | Road Trip

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Bernice Robinson (1914-1994) | Road Trip
A veteran in the civil rights movement, Bernice Robinson's outstanding voter education work contributed to the election of many African American public officials in the South. The native Charlestonian...
Cecil J. Williams | Road Trip

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Cecil J. Williams | Road Trip
Cecil J. Williams is the author of Freedom & Justice. He is a noted civil rights photographer. At 14-years old, Williams was hired by JET Magazine to record the images of the civil rights movement in...
Charlayne Hunter-Gault | Road Trip

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Charlayne Hunter-Gault | Road Trip
Due West native Charlayne Hunter-Gault was one of the first of two African Americans to integrate the University of Georgia. She later wins fame as a co-anchor reporter for the PBS/McNeil Lehrer...
Cleveland Sellers | Road Trip

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Cleveland Sellers | Road Trip
In 1968, Sellers was then a student at Harvard University. He was visiting Orangeburg as a recruiter for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). On the night of February eighth, he...
Constance Baker Motley (1921-2005) | Road Trip

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Constance Baker Motley (1921-2005) | Road Trip
Constance Baker Motley, an NAACP attorney, rests her body and feet after a day-long legal skirmish in a South Carolina federal courtroom battling with Clemson College officials who sought to prevent...
Coretta Scott King (1927-2006) | Road Trip

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Coretta Scott King (1927-2006) | Road Trip
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...
Donald J. Sampson (1919-2001) | Road Trip

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Donald J. Sampson (1919-2001) | Road Trip
A native of Sumter, SC, Donald J. Sampson practiced law in Greenville and his sisters, Irene S. Williams and twin, Dorothy remained in Sumter. Both he and Dorothy were civil rights lawyers and...
Dorothy Sampson (1919-2013) | Road Trip

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Dorothy Sampson (1919-2013) | Road Trip
In 1965, Dorothy Sampson became a partner in the law firm Sampson and Sampson. She was the first African American female attorney in Sumter. Her area of interest was civil rights litigation, voter...
Dr. Albert N. Thompson | Road Trip

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Dr. Albert N. Thompson | Road Trip
Dr. Albert N. Thompson is shown as a young teacher instructing a 4th grade class in Richland County. Photo courtesy of Cecil Williams. In September 1944, Thompson, who was then teaching at Booker T...
Edwin Augustus Harleston (1882 - 1931) | Road Trip

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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...
Ernest A. Finney Jr. | Road Trip

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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...
Fred Moore | Road Trip

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Fred Moore | Road Trip
Photo courtesy of Cecil Williams. Fred Moore is pictured at the podium in White Hall on the campus of South Carolina State College speaking to his fellow students about civil rights activities in...
George A. Elmore (1905-1954) | Road Trip

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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...
Gloria Blackwell (1927-2010) | Road Trip

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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...
Governor Donald S. Russell (1906-1998) | Road Trip

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Governor Donald S. Russell (1906-1998) | Road Trip
Governor Donald Stuart Russell prepares to extend his hand to the Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, an Orangeburg civil rights activist, in the receiving line at the governor's mansion. The Rev. I. DeQuincey...
Governor Robert McNair (1923-2007) | Road Trip

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Governor Robert McNair (1923-2007) | Road Trip
Governor Robert McNair responded to student demonstrations to desegregate the All-Star Bowling Alley by sending additional law enforcement: National Guardsmen, State Law Enforcement Division (SLED)...
Harold R. Boulware, Sr. (1913-1983) | Road Trip

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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...
Harry Briggs (1913-1986) | Road Trip

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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...
Harvey Gantt | Road Trip

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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...
Henri Monteith Treadwell | Road Trip

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Henri Monteith Treadwell | Road Trip
In 1963, seventeen-year old Henri Monteith Treadwell was one of the first three black students - along with Robert Anderson and James Solomon - admitted under federal court action to the University of...
Irene Sampson Williams (1937-2011) | Road Trip

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Irene Sampson Williams (1937-2011) | Road Trip
In 1965 Mrs. Irene Williams, a home economics and family living teacher at Manchester High School, sued Sumter County School District 2. Despite a stellar record, the district refused to tell her why...
Isaac W. Williams ( ?-2008) | Road Trip

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Isaac W. Williams ( ?-2008) | Road Trip
Isaac “Ike” Williams was known as “Mr. NAACP.” for his many leadership roles in the organization. Williams was born in Charleston and has ten siblings. He was introduced to the NAACP as a youth. While...
J. Arthur Brown (1914-1988) | Road Trip

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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...
James E. Clyburn | Road Trip

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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...
James T. McCain (1905-2003) | Road Trip

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James T. McCain (1905-2003) | Road Trip
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...
John Bolt Culbertson (1908 – 1983) | Road Trip

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John Bolt Culbertson (1908 – 1983) | Road Trip
Born at Maddens Station, South Carolina, Culbertson was the sixth of 14 children. A Greenville defense attorney he was an advocate for the needs of all people, regardless of race, or the ability to...
John H. McCray (1910-1987) | Road Trip

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John H. McCray (1910-1987) | Road Trip
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...
John Roy Harper II (1940-2003) | Road Trip

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John Roy Harper II (1940-2003) | Road Trip
In 1970 Harper received his law degree from the University of South Carolina where he specialized in constitutional law. He was the second African-American to graduate from the law school. Harper was...
John Wesley Stroman | Road Trip

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John Wesley Stroman | Road Trip
John Wesley Stroman was a student leader at SC State during the student protests. Cleveland Sellers has erroneously been identified as the leader of the students at South Carolina State when it was...
Joseph McDomick, Jr. | Road Trip

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Joseph McDomick, Jr. | Road Trip
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...
Judge J. Waties Waring (1880-1968) | Road Trip

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Judge J. Waties Waring (1880-1968) | Road Trip
In 1947 Judge J. Waties Waring's monumental ruling in the George Elmore suit (Elmore v. Rice) eliminated the all-white Democratic primary system in South Carolina. For the first time since 1876, the...
Levi G. Byrd (1891-?) | Road Trip

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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...
Malcolm X (1925-1965 | Road Trip

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Malcolm X (1925-1965 | Road Trip
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.
Marian Wright Edelman | Road Trip

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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...
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968) | Road Trip

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Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968) | Road Trip
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...
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) | Road Trip

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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...
Matthew J. Perry, Jr. (1921-2011) | Road Trip

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Matthew J. Perry, Jr. (1921-2011) | Road Trip
The Honorable Matthew J. Perry, Jr. helped win a number of monumental cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, and he secured the release of over 7,000 persons who were arrested for participating in civil...
Modjeska Simkins (1899-1992) | Road Trip

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Modjeska Simkins (1899-1992) | Road Trip
Best known for her fierce stance on behalf of civil rights in South Carolina, the successful businesswoman served as NAACP State Secretary during the 1950s. The Columbia native Mrs. Simkins was...
Osceola E. McKaine (1892-1955) | Road Trip

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Osceola E. McKaine (1892-1955) | Road Trip
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...
Rev. I. DeQuincey Newman (1911-1985) | Road Trip

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Rev. I. DeQuincey Newman (1911-1985) | Road Trip
Born in Darlington County, the Rev. Isaiah DeQuincey Newman was one of South Carolina's most respected leaders. For more than 40 years he was one of the most influential leaders in the civil rights...
Rev. J.A. DeLaine (1898-1974) | Road Trip

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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...
Rev. James M. Hinton (1891-1970) | Road Trip

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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...
Rev. Jesse L. Jackson | Road Trip

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Rev. Jesse L. Jackson | Road Trip
A native of Greenville, The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson overcame many challenges such as racism, poverty and the stigma of being born to an unwed teenage mother. An honors student and an athlete, his...
Robert John Palmer (1926-1995) | Road Trip

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Robert John Palmer (1926-1995) | Road Trip
From the 1960s until the early 1980s Palmer was very active in political, civic and religious activities in the state. His generosity was extended to individuals and various organizations like the...
Rosa Parks (1913-2005) | Road Trip

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Rosa Parks (1913-2005) | Road Trip
Rosa Parks is credited as the mother of the civil rights movement. On December 1, 1955, the tired seamstress refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. She was...
Ruby Pendergrass Cornwell (1902-2003) | Road Trip

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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...
Sarah Mae Fleming (1933-1993) | Road Trip

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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...
Septima Pointsette Clark (1898 - 1987)

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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...
Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) | Road Trip

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Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) | Road Trip
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...
Victoria Way DeLee (1925-2010) | Road Trip

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Victoria Way DeLee (1925-2010) | Road Trip
Victoria Way DeLee, Courtesy of Modern Political Collection, USC Considered a grass roots activist, Victoria Way DeLee's fervent faith in God and her early childhood experiences fueled her involvement...
Willie T. Smith, Jr. (1920-2002) | Road Trip

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Willie T. Smith, Jr. (1920-2002) | Road Trip
Born in Sumter, and reared in Columbia, the Honorable Willie T. Smith was at the forefront of the civil rights movement in South Carolina. He served on the NAACP legal team that included Harvey Gantt...