Black History Month is celebrated every February to honor the achievements of African Americans who have shaped American history. 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.
PHOTO: On March 20, 1969, Black hospital workers at the Medical College of South Carolina in Charleston went on strike to protest the firing of twelve employees and to call for higher wages and union recognition.
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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.
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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...
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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...
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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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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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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...
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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...
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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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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...
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Samuel Hammond, Jr., a victim of Orangeburg Massacre was a 20 year old student attending South Carolina State College. Photo courtesy of Cecil Williams.
