African American History

Learn about the achievements of African Americans who have shaped South Carolina and American history.

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.

Within this Collection

Road Trip Coastal, Stop 1: Robert Ford

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The Road Trip Coastal team speak to Senator Robert Ford about his experiences in the civil rights movement in South Carolina and calls for young people to continue to take action.
Road Trip Upstate, Stop 4

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On the final stop, the Road Trip Upstate crew learn about integration in South Carolina schools through real life memories and stories.
Civil Rights Organizations | Road Trip

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The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) was the major civil rights organization in South Carolina. Several other organizations such as Student Nonviolent Coordinating...
Leading the Struggle | Road Trip

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There were several key leaders during the Civil Rights Movement. Despite visible leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and John F. Kennedy, young people played a major role in...
Brown v. Board of Education | Road Trip

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The Plessy v. Ferguson decision set the precedent that "separate" facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were "equal." In 1954, the Brown v. Board of Education case...