Philip Simmons | Periscope

There are hundreds of Philip Simmons's gates and fences around Charleston. One of his gates hangs in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He has won national awards and was commissioned to make a gate for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Philip's ironwork is unique in that it is decorated with animals, such as egrets and snakes. He is known as one of the first African American blacksmiths to use animal decorations in ironwork. 

Photo: Courtesy WCSC

 

Hay cientos de portones y vallas de Philip Simmons alrededor de Charleston. Uno de sus portones cuelga en la Institución Smithsonian en Washington, D.C.  El ha ganado premios nacionales y recibió el encargo de hacer una puerta para lo Juegos Olímpicos de 1996 en Atlanta. El trabajo de herrería de Philip es única porque esta decorado con animales, como garcetas y serpientes. Es conocida como uno de los primeros herreros Afroamericanos en utilizar decoraciones de animales en el trabajo. 

Fotografía: Cortesía de WCSC 

More in this Series

Periscope / African American History Month | Periscope / D. South Carolina Portraits | Periscope

Robert Smalls | Periscope

Photo

Grades

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Robert Smalls | Periscope
Episode 1
In 1839, Robert Smalls was born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina. As a slave, he worked in the Charleston shipyards. After learning the local harbor and surrounding waters, 23-year-old Robert...
A Daring Escape: The Planter | Periscope

Photo

Grades

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
A Daring Escape: The Planter | Periscope
Episode 2
On the evening of May 12, 1862, the captain and officers of the Planter left the ship to spend the night on the shore. Robert and the rest of the slave crew had to stay on board under captain's orders...
Mary McLeod Bethune, Educator | Periscope

Photo

Grades

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Mary McLeod Bethune, Educator | Periscope
Episode 3
At a time when there were few educational opportunities for African Americans, Mary McLeod Bethune created schools and a thriving college for them. Mary was born in Mayesville, South Carolina to freed...
Bethune School | Periscope

Photo

Grades

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Bethune School | Periscope
Episode 4
In 1904, Mary McLeod Bethune began a school for poor African American children in Daytona, Florida. With only $1.50 to start the school, she had to be very creative. The desks were made from packing...
Bethune-Cookman College | Periscope

Photo

Grades

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Bethune-Cookman College | Periscope
Episode 5
Mary continued to open more schools, created a hospital and promoted voting rights for African Americans. President Franklin D. Roosevelt invited her to become an advisor in 1936. Her job required her...
Modjeska Simkins, Civil Rights Advocate | Periscope

Photo

Grades

  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
Modjeska Simkins, Civil Rights Advocate | Periscope
Episode 6
In the 1950s, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. became known as the leader of the civil rights movement. More than 20 years before Dr. King, Modjeska Simkins began her own work for the civil rights of...
Philip Simmons, Master Blacksmith | Periscope

Photo

Grades

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Philip Simmons, Master Blacksmith | Periscope
Episode 7
When Philip Simmons was a child, he liked to draw the wrought iron gates around Charleston, South Carolina. The spirals and loops he saw in the ironwork inspired his artistic abilities. Philip would...
Philip Simmons | Periscope

Photo

Grades

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Philip Simmons | Periscope
Episode 8
At the age of 12, Philip became an apprentice to a blacksmith. It was a hard job. Apprentices swept floors, shoed horses and worked simple pieces of iron while laboring around a hot forge. Only after...
Dori Sanders, Author | Periscope

Photo

Grades

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Dori Sanders, Author | Periscope
Episode 11
Dori Sanders' book Clover has been translated into five different languages and made into a Disney film. The story is set in the countryside of South Carolina, and told through the eyes of a 10-year...
Dori Sanders: Clover | Periscope

Photo

Grades

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
Dori Sanders: Clover | Periscope
Episode 12
The setting for her first book, Clover, is a peach farm like the one Dori Sanders grew up on. Clover was published in 1990 and immediately became a best-seller. In the story, Clover is a 10-year-old...