View All Blog Posts

Resources for African American History Month & More - February 2022 on KnowItAll.org!

Resources for African American History Month & More - February 2022 on KnowItAll.org!

Can you identify these individuals? Do you know what occurred at Woolworth's in Rock Hill on Feb. 12, 1960? Find the answers in the resources available on KnowItAll.org!

Pictured above are:

  1. Black hospital workers on strike on March 20, 1969 at Medical College of South Carolina - Protesting the firing of twelve employees and calling for higher wages and union recognition.
  2. Martin Luther King - The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. is shown addressing the crowd at the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. His "I Have a Dream" speech, given that day, is well-known, and was punctuated by his statement that "America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.'" Audio and a transcript of the entire speech are available on NPR
  3. Orangeburg Bowling Alley - Efforts to desegregate the bowling alley resulted in the death of three students from SC State College (Orangeburg Massacre).
  4. Ernest A. Finney, S.C. Chief Justice - Early in his career, he defended the Friendship Nine, charged when trying to desegregate a lunch counter in Rock Hill, S.C. In 1972, Finney was elected to the State House of Representatives and later became the first black Circuit Court judge. In 1985, he was appointed to the South Carolina Supreme Court and was named Chief Justice on May 11, 1994. 
  5. Mahatma Gandhi - Used nonviolent protest to promote civil rights for the people of India and his writings influenced Martin Luther King.
  6. Modjeska Simkins - Learned about injustice against Blacks during her childhood. She became a teacher but married and was not allowed to teach, then worked for the S.C. Tuberculosis Association to educate people about health, sanitation and tuberculosis but spoke out and was fired. She joined the NAACP and became a leader in the organization. She wrote for Jet Magazine and assisted Thurgood Marshall in the Briggs vs. Elliott case in Clarendon County. Although they lost the case, it was rewritten and became part of the Brown vs. Board of Education case, which would change inequality in schools in all states.
  7. Dr. Andrew Young - Friend of Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking on King's decision to go to Memphis to support the sanitation workers. King was assassinated there on April 4, 1968.
  8. John F. Kennedy with Dr. Benjamin Mays - President of Morehouse College, mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King and served on the Commission on Civil Rights under John F. Kennedy. 
  9. Matthew J. Perry - Attorney for the NAACP who won the case brought by Harvey Gantt to desegregate Clemson. In 1976, President Gerald Ford nominated Perry to the U.S. Court of Military Appeals, and three years later, President Jimmy Carter nominated Perry as the U.S. District Judge for South Carolina. In 2004, the Matthew J. Perry, Jr. Courthouse was dedicated.
  10. Joseph McDomick, Jr. - Former Executive Director, Penn Center,1976-1980. After Penn School closed, Penn Center redirected its efforts to address social injustice and became known as a safe place for Blacks and whites to meet to develop strategies during the Civil Rights Movement.
  11. Septima Poinsette Clark - Teacher on John's Island and at the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee. She taught summer workshops, which were integrated. She believed in developing local leaders and especially women as local leaders. The Citizenship Education Program, modeled on Clark's workshops, was begun and by 1970, 2 million African Americans had registered to vote. 
  12. Marian Wright Edelman - Attorney, worked on initiatives to end poverty, founder of Children's Defense Fund.
  13. Jonathan Green - Artist
  14. Mary McLeod Bethune - Educator, started schools for Blacks amid threats they would be burned down. Her determination led her to continue developing schools. Later, she was appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt to lead his National Youth Administration.
  15. Leo Twiggs - Batik artist
  16. Woolworth's - Site of sit-in at lunch counters at Woolworth's, McCrory's and two other drugstores in Rock Hill, S.C. on Feb. 12, 1960.

February 2022 on KnowItAll.org!

View the details from our resources in our African American History and Martin Luther King Collections below - and find links to these meaningful stories from our civil rights history! 

First up, we want you to know about new resources available on KnowItAll...

 

NEW ON KNOWITALL.ORG

In the subject area of Technology, and under our Digital Literacy Collection, please check out our new Series:

NEW SERIES

Simple.Digital

 

NEW CONTENT

Let's Go!

Benjamin Mays Historical Preservation Site

As you tour the page, please notice the hotspot captions. SCETV Education asked fourth grade students from Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Elementary School in Greenwood, S.C. to analyze, inquire, research, and provide captions in their unique voice for the hotspots. We have included a list of the many questions provided by the students while analyzing the Let’s Go Benjamin Mays Historical Site. 

We hope you enjoy this student-centered approach to our virtual field trip. If your school is interested in participating in a similar program, please contact us at etveducation@scetv.org

 

NEW EPISODES

From the Sky - New episodes added weekly!

Coming soon:

  • SC at Night 
  • Swamps
  • Gullah
  • Southern Campaign
  • Lake Murray
  • Railroads

 

New improved video quality with captions now available on these videos:

Palmetto Heritage

These are in addition to the ones recently added, which include:

We'll keep you advised as additional videos are added!

 

 

FEATURED THIS MONTH ON KNOWITALL.ORG

Find the Content You Need on African American History—All in One Place—KnowItAll!

KnowItAll Collections make it easy to find what you need! 

Our African American History and Martin Luther King Collections contain numerous resources for African American History Month - and some you may not have imagined would be available here on KnowItAll.org! 

View details below!

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY COLLECTION

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.

You’ll be amazed at the variety of resources found in the Collection! Take a look!

TOPICS

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 miles.

The Friendship Nine consisted of a group of nine African American young men who were sent to jail after staging a sit-in at a segregated McCrory's lunch counter in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1961.

The vision of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race. Meet members of the NAACP who were instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina.

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

Approximately 150 protesters had demonstrated against racial segregation at the All-Star Bowling Alley on several occasions prior to the Orangeburg Massacre. On the evening of February 8, 1968, South Carolina State University (SCSU) students started a bonfire on the front of campus, which is located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. As police and firefighters attempted to put out the fire, officer David Shealy was injured by a thrown object. South Carolina Highway Patrol officers fired shots at the protestors.

Three of the protestors, African American males, were killed and twenty-eight other protesters were injured. The three men killed included two SCSU students Samuel Hammond (18), Henry Smith (18), and Delano Middleton (17), a student at the local Wilkinson High School. 

At a press conference the following day, Governor Robert E. McNair said the event was "...one of the saddest days in the history of South Carolina."

Several generations of the St. Helena community attended the historic Penn School, established as one of the first schools for freed slaves. In the 1950s and 1960s, the site served as a safe retreat for those involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other activists used the quiet refuge to plan the March on Washington, an event that helped pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Penn Center now serves as a resource center for those studying and protecting Sea Island communities.

Learn about the economics and hardships of slavery in South Carolina.

 

RELATED SERIES 
 

A True Likeness | Carolina Stories
The story of Richard Samuel Roberts, a little-known African American photographer from South Carolina whose posthumous discovery transcended stereotypes and brought to light a significant legacy. Heralded as one of the south’s most accomplished photographers of the 1920's and 1930's, Roberts was a self-taught artist who was determined to become a master portrait maker, with every image a true likeness of the subject. But for more than 40 years after his death, his work remained lost to all but his family and friends.

African American History Month | Periscope
This collection honors our history and the African Americans who made strides in the advancement of African Americans.

Blythewood History
These films tell the story of Blythewood’s African American history,  as told by six women representing families that have lived in Blythewood for generations. The stories are inspiring, disturbing and empowering. We hear of families and their neighbors, building a better future from the days following emancipation, sharecropping, working together to create the first black high school in the area, encouraging friends and neighbors to register to vote, despite occasional fierce and frightening opposition, and more. Through the lens of Blythewood, we see the story of the south in America.

Born to Rebel, Driven to Excel – Dr. Benjamin Mays | Carolina Stories
Benjamin Mays, from Epworth, South Carolina, saw the racism and forced segregation of life around him and decided to challenge it with education and religion. Against the advice of his father, Mays pursued a formal education and rose to the top of his class, becoming Dean of Religion at Howard University, and later earned a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago. He would become president of Morehouse College in 1940, and his influence on civil rights and education for the next three decades would reach far and wide. 

Civil Rights Movement | S.C. Hall of Fame
South Carolinians who fought for equality during the Civil Rights Movement.

Civil Rights Youth Media Summit
Student journalists interviewed Cecil Williams, Justice Ernest Finney, Frank Washington, Cong. James Clyburn, Oveta Glover, Titus Duren and Victoria Eslinger about Civil Rights in S.C.

Congressman Jim Clyburn
James E. Clyburn: a civil rights leader from South Carolina, who rose to become one of the most powerful men in Congress. History was made in January 2007, when Jim Clyburn became House Majority Whip, the first South Carolinian to reach such a high position in Congress. His passion for politics drove him through defeats and victories, to reach the third most powerful political position in the U.S.

Dizzy Gillespie: From the Be to the Bop | Carolina Stories
Much of America's blues and jazz influences are deeply rooted in the rhythms and melodies of the rural South. One artist who has greatly contributed to these genres' continued popularity is South Carolina's own John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie. Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz. 

Dizzy Gillespie | Profile
This episode of Profile spotlights famous jazz musician John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie; Cheraw, South Carolina’s claim to fame. Jazz immortal Dizzy Gillespie filled many musical roles, as trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and singer. Gillespie is also known for being at the forefront of the new music genre known as “bebop.” The impacts he left on both Cheraw, and his contributions to the music world still strongly resonate today. 

Ernest A. Finney - S.C. Chief Justice | S.C. Hall of Fame

In 1960, Ernest Finney (1931-2017)  began his law practice in Sumter, South Carolina, specializing in civil rights advocacy and defense. He represented the Friendship 9, a group of black college students arrested and charged when trying to desegregate a lunch counter in Rock Hill, S.C. In 1972, Finney was elected to the State House of Representatives. Four years later he became the first black Circuit Court judge. In 1985, he was appointed to the South Carolina Supreme Court and was named Chief Justice on May 11, 1994. Ernest Finney passed away on December 3, 2017 at age 86.

Education of Harvey Gantt | Carolina Stories
In 1960, a talented African American student from Charleston, Harvey Gantt, graduated from high school and decided to become an architect. Clemson College was the only school in South Carolina that offered a degree in his chosen field. In January of 1963, with the help of NAACP lawyer Matthew J. Perry, Gantt won a lawsuit against Clemson and was peacefully admitted to the college, making him the first African American student to attend a formerly all-white school in South Carolina. 

Family Across the Sea
This special explores the connections between the Gullah of the South Carolina/Georgia Sea Islands and the people of West Africa, particularly those of Sierra Leone.

Gullah Collection
In the past, people have described the Gullah culture as quaint and the language as unintelligible. A closer look reveals a complex history and language with direct links to West Africa that survived slavery and thrived on the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia. The Gullah experience has many variables that make it unique to each family and community. 

GullahNet
Introduces Gullah culture, language and music to children. The website has three sections: Gullah CultureGullah Music and Gullah Tales, told in Gullah and English.

Gullah Roots

Gullah Roots dives deep into South Carolina’s ties with West Africa, educating viewers about Gullah heritage, including spiritual, musical and artistic traditions.

Homecoming: Art of Jonathan Green and Leo Twiggs | Carolina Stories
This program explores the works of two outstanding artists who are sons of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Twiggs and Green share an indelible bond, reflected in their works.

Jail, No Bail | Carolina Stories
Documentary that pays tribute to the “Friendship Nine,” a group of college students who were arrested for a lunch counter sit-in in Rock Hill, SC in 1961. Instead of paying bail (as was the norm with all previous sit-ins), they served 30 days of hard labor, making the city pay to house, feed & clothe them, thus turning the tables & drying up a dubious revenue stream. This movement caught on nationally, changing the entire sit-in strategy. The program was the centerpiece of 50th anniversary events, and still has legs today. It included extensive television, educational and community outreach initiatives.

Mary McLeod Bethune | Idella Bodie’s S.C. Women
One woman’s struggle to gain equality for herself and her students. Mary McLeod Bethune grew up in rural South Carolina and became a teacher. She started with nothing and ended up being an advisor to a president! 

Matthew Perry | Profile
Matthew Perry is known as one of the leading figures in the fight for equal rights for African Americans in South Carolina. At the time this episode aired, Perry had been appointed judge to the U.S. Court of Military Appeals, in Washington, D.C. Judge Perry discusses on his career, involvement with the Civil Rights Movement in S.C., and his appointment to the U.S. Court of Military Appeals. 

Modjeska Simkins | Idella Bodie’s S.C. Women
Modjeska Simkins came from relative wealth and married into wealth, but dedicated her life to helping the disadvantaged to be treated equally in South Carolina. 

Penn Center: A Legacy of Change | Carolina Stories
This program tells the story of the Penn Center’s inception in 1862 as a school for freed slaves to its involvement in the Gullah community today. Today the center collects, documents, preserves, and disseminates information related to cultural heritage of the Sea Island and Lowcountry African American culture.

Reflections of Columbia | Carolina Stories
Take a historical journey from the founding of Columbia, South Carolina, through the Civil War, the Depression, World War II, civil rights, up to the present. Reflections of Columbia, Part 7 – The 50s and 60s looks back on Columbia’s civil rights history.

Road Trip! Through South Carolina Civil Rights History
Designed to help teachers and students to learn about our history, people and events, and the importance of the civil rights movement in South Carolina from the 1940s to the early 1970s. 

Saving Sandy Island | Carolina Stories
Documentary about the struggle to save an exceptional South Carolina island and its Gullah community from development. The program tells the story of the unique coalition of conservationists, state agencies, businessmen and community residents that came together to save this extraordinary place and preserve a historic culture. 

SC Confederate Flag | Palmetto Scene
Chronology of stories from Palmetto Scene beginning June 18, 2015, culminating in the removal of the Confederate Flag from the grounds of the S.C. State House on Friday, July 10, 2015.

South Carolina African American History Calendar
A 12-month calendar that profiles individuals from across the state who have had a positive, compelling impact on South Carolina and, often, across the country.

Tuskegee Airmen
In 1941, an all-African American flying squadron was established in Tuskegee, Alabama to train African Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen paved the way for full integration of African Americans into the U.S. military.


MARTIN LUTHER KING COLLECTION

This Collection honors the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and relays much of the history of the Civil Rights era.

RELATED SERIES

Penn Center: A Legacy of Change

This program tells the story of the Penn Center’s inception in 1862 as a school for freed slaves to its involvement in the Gullah community today. Today the center collects, documents, preserves, and disseminates information related to cultural heritage of the Sea Island and Lowcountry African American culture.

African American History Month | Periscope

This collection honors our history and the African Americans who made strides in the advancement of African Americans.

Road Trip! Through South Carolina's Civil Rights History

Designed to help teachers and students to learn about the people and the events, and the importance of the civil rights movement in South Carolina from the 1940s to the early 1970s. 

VIDEOS

LESSONS

View the full Martin Luther King Collection – just one click away!

 

Additional resources for February include: 

Space Shuttle Columbia 

On February 1, 2003, sixteen minutes before it was scheduled to land, the space shuttle Columbia (STS-107) broke apart over the skies of Texas. All seven crew members perished in the accident. Columbia is the second space shuttle lost in flight, the other being the shuttle Challenger. 

Dr. LeConte Cathey, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of South Carolina, talks about the risks involved with space travel. ETV then sends a crew to interview people in the streets of Columbia, to get their thoughts and reflections on the 'Challenger' disaster. More on the 'Challenger' disaster is available here

National Job Shadow Day 

Choose from an abundance of videos on a wide array of professions right here on KnowItAll.org! Videos are organized by Career Cluster. Visit our Career Explorations Collection!

World Read Aloud Day

Find resources to encourage reading in our Libraries, Literature & Learning Collection!

International Day of Women and Girls in Science 

Visit our Women in Leadership Collection, which includes these topics and others!

World Day of Social Justice

An international day recognizing the need to promote social justice, which includes efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion, gender equality, unemployment, human rights, and social protections. View the collection!

National Polar Bear Day - View our resources on polar bears!

Visit our Factoids to see all of the resources that are relevant to each month's observances and dates to remember! Our February Factoids are here and our KnowItAll Factoids for the full year are here


 

TO GET THE MOST OUT OF KNOWITALL, EXPLORE THESE AREAS!


KnowItAll Series Knowitall.org features over 9,000 mobile-friendly videos, worksheets, and interactives for preK-12.

KnowItAll Collections Find topical content and lessons grouped together for your convenience.

Curriculum and Lesson Plans Lesson plans for teachers that meet South Carolina standards.

KnowiItAll Factoids by the Month Visit our February Factoids. You may be surprised at what you’ll find!

KnowItAll Blog Find featured content and helpful information on using KnowItAll throughout the month!

What’s New on KnowItAll (Click HERE for immediate access.) Find new content recently added by visiting the home page, then click on the yellow magnifying glass, then below, click again on the magnifying glass to the right of the blank field that says "Search" and the search results will display our newest content at the top of the page. (All content is posted in order from oldest to newest content with the newest at the top.) Visit often, so you won’t miss a thing! 

Questions or comments? We welcome your questions and comments. We would love to hear from you!

 

The Learning Continues on KnowItAll.org!

Please share our blogs with your friends and let them know what you found to be helpful on KnowItAll.org!

https://www.KnowItAll.org