Kids on Point in partnership with Charleston Civil Rights and Civics is offering a week-long summer enrichment program about Civil Rights history and civics engagement for 20 rising high school freshmen in the Charleston area. During the week of July 31 -August 4, the inaugural class of students will participate in 5 days of tours and talks from historians and key community members. SC Humanities supported this program with a Mini Grant.
Kids on Point is a Charleston-based nonprofit offering dynamic, evidence-based year-round programming that demonstrably improves its participants’ school attendance, academic performance, and likelihood of higher education enrollment. The goals of the C3: Charleston Civil Rights and Civics program are to teach the untold history of the Lowcountry’s civil rights legacy and to build bridges and develop relationships between high school students of diverse backgrounds. Throughout the week, students will engage with civil rights history and the democratic process.
Through a carefully-planned, immersive curriculum, students will visit some of the most impactful sites in the Lowcountry to learn firsthand about our region’s history of slavery and civil rights. The group will visit the International African American Museum, historic sites throughout Charleston, Robert Small’s House, church and burial site, the Penn Center on Saint Helena Island, HBCUs and the sites of the Orangeburg Massacre and the Gibbes Museum of Art. They will learn from experts in the field and hear first hand accounts of the Charleston Hospital Workers Strike, the Orangeburg Massacre and other significant civil rights movements. The week will conclude at the Charleston Board of Elections where students will learn about the election process, how to register to vote and the importance of voting, in addition to a legislative panel with local elected officials and a special graduation ceremony. Additionally, students will create photo journals and participate in a social media takeover.
The Project Director Stachia Bennett said, “After completing this program, we hope students will have a better understanding of themselves, their connection to each other, and the world around them – inspiring them to become life-long active citizens.”
More information about the C3: Charleston Civil Rights and Civics program is available on the Kids on Point website: https://kidsonpoint.org/c3/. The application cycle is complete, but interested students can apply to be on the waitlist.
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 20-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or 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.
Image courtesy of Kids on Point
