The Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum will present a series of symposiums throughout the state from February – August 2024 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. The Board of Education decision and particularly the significance of the Briggs v. Elliot case. The symposiums will be held in Summerton, Anderson, Florence, Rock Hill, and Columbia. Each session will feature noted scholars as well as participants in the Civil Rights movement. The first program will take place on Thursday, February 1. SC Humanities supported this project with a Major Grant.
May 17, 2024 will mark seventy years since the United States Supreme Court school desegregation decision Brown V. Board of Education. The goal of this project is to tell the mostly unknown, but real, story of the contributions of South Carolina and the Briggs, Delaine, and Pearsons families, as the first and catalyst of the five cases comprising Board V. Brown of Education, the most important case of the 20th century and the case that destroyed “Seperate But Equal.”
Five programs are planned. Audience participants will be encouraged to share their experiences with school desegregation in South Carolina.
Symposium schedule:
Thursday, February 1, 2024 | 5:30 p.m.
Briggs Before and Beyond Brown: Roundtable Discussion
Featuring:
Dr. Larry Watson, historian
Mr. Nathaniel Briggs, Briggs v. Elliott Descendant
Mr. Cecil J. Williams, Photographer and Museum Owner
Mrs. Beatrice Rivers, Signer of Briggs v. Elliott Petition
Location: Historic Scotts Branch High School Media Room, 1154 4th Street, Summerton, SC
Free and open to the public
Info: Jannie Harriot, 843-639-2455
Thursday, April 4, 2024 | 5:30 p.m.
Briggs Before and Beyond Brown: Roundtable Discussion
Featuring:
Dr. Larry Watson, historian
Mr. Nathaniel Briggs, Briggs v. Elliott Descendant
Mr. Cecil J. Williams, Photographer and Museum Owner
Mrs. Beatrice Rivers, Signer of Briggs v. Elliott Petition
Dr. Akiva Ford, Pearson Family Representative
Dr. Tom Millikin, attorney/author/humanitiarian
Dr. Louis Venters, moderator
Location: Luther F. Carter Center, 200 West Evans Street, Florence, SC
Free and open to the public
Info: Jannie Harriot, 843-639-2455
Thursday, May 23, 2024 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Briggs Before and Beyond Brown: Roundtable Discussion
Featuring:
Mrs. Beatrice Brown Rivers, Signer of Briggs v. Elliott Petition
Mr. Cecil J. Williams, Photographer and Museum Owner
Mrs. Celestine Parson Lloyd, Briggs v. Elliott Descendant
Mr. Joseph DeLaine, Jr., Briggs v. Elliott Descendant
Dr. Millicent E. Brown, Civil Rights activist and educator
Mr. Nathaniel Briggs, Briggs v. Elliott Descendant
Dr. Bobby Donaldson, moderator
Location: Brookland Banquet & Conference Center, 1066 Sunset Blvd., West Columbia, SC 29169
Free and open to the public
Info: Jannie Harriot, 843-639-2455
Details about other events will be added soon.
The Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum displays archives of pictures, papers, interviews, records, documents, and etc. of South Carolinians involved in historical events that have had significant impact on African Americans in the state and in the nation. Learn more: https://www.cecilwilliams.com/.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c)3 organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos, and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually. South Carolina Humanities receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as corporate, foundation and individual donors. The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
