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.
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...