Movers & Shakers | Road Trip

Learn about the movers and shakers of the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina and nationally in the United States.

Biographies are provided with permission from the exhibit "A More Convenient Season: Civil Rights in South Carolina, 1948-1968." Installed 2005 at the South Carolina State Museum, courtesy of Cecil Williams and the I.P. Stanback Museum.

Irene Sampson Williams (1937-2011) | Road Trip
Irene Sampson Williams (1937-2011) | Road Trip

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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...
Donald J. Sampson (1919-2001) | Road Trip
Donald J. Sampson (1919-2001) | Road Trip

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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
Dorothy Sampson (1919-2013) | Road Trip

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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...
Bernice Robinson (1914-1994) | Road Trip
Bernice Robinson (1914-1994) | Road Trip

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

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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...
Levi Pearson (1892 - 1970) | Road Trip
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...
Rosa Parks (1913-2005) | Road Trip
Rosa Parks (1913-2005) | Road Trip

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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...
Robert John Palmer (1926-1995) | Road Trip
Robert John Palmer (1926-1995) | Road Trip

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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...
Rev. I. DeQuincey Newman (1911-1985) | Road Trip
Rev. I. DeQuincey Newman (1911-1985) | Road Trip

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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...