Georgetown Library Presents “DigiBridge” Live Lecture Series

Beginning on Wednesday, March 9 at 2:00 p.m. with a presentation by political scientist and educator Dennzon Winley, the Georgetown County Library (GCL) will showcase a series of twelve humanities lectures by local specialists on fascinating elements of Georgetown County’s deep, diverse history and culture. The scheduled presenters include a host of respected names, including Ron and Natalie Daise, Waccamaw Indian Council Chief Buster Hatcher, and Lee Brockington. Presenters will speak to a range of topics, including Georgetown County’s rich Gullah heritage, the significance of Indigenous people’s presence in the region, as well as the growing influence of Latinx culture.  DigiBridge 2.0 is sponsored by a Growth Grant from South Carolina Humanities with funding provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue plan Act of 2021.

To better engage residents in the county’s more rural areas, the twelve in-person presentations will take place at one of the following three GCL branches: Andrews Library, Carvers Bay Library, or Southern Georgetown Library. The Andrews Library is located at 105 North Morgan Avenue, Andrews, SC 29510; the Carvers Bay Library is at 13048 Choppee Road, Hemingway, SC 29554; and the newly built Southern Georgetown Library is at 4187 Powell Road, Georgetown, SC 29440.

DigiBridge 2.0 is an expansion of the highly popular 2020 DigiBridge Lecture Series and will provide engaging educational content for library patrons and community members, followed by audience Q&A sessions. All presentations will be free and open to the public, and will take place on Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. in March, April, and May. In addition, if you miss a presentation, all twelve will be made available for viewing afterwards on the Georgetown County Library YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/GeorgetownCountyLibr.

GCL Director Dwight McInvaill said, “The original DigiBridge Series was a big hit and enabled us to continue our public humanities programming at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when in-person gatherings were limited. We are truly excited to expand on the initial DigiBridge Series, which was fully virtual. DigiBridge 2.0 will foster unique in-person presentations by talented independent scholars, who will reach out to all areas of Georgetown County, which is mainly rural, diverse, and small town. We are grateful for the generous support of South Carolina Humanities in advancing this exciting and important programming.”

The full schedule of twelve presentations is as follows:

*Southern Georgetown Library (4187 Powell Road, Georgetown, SC 29440):

  • Wednesday, March 9 at 2:00 p.m.: Dennzon Winley (Political Scientist & Educator), “The Birth of Two Peoples: The Shared History of the Gullah-Geechee and the Sierra Leoneans”
  • Wednesday, March 16 at 2:00 p.m.: Dedric Bonds (Historian & Educator), “Picked Out to be Picked On: The Life of Rev. M. M. Dentley, a Humanitarian”
  • Wednesday, March 23 at 2:00 p.m.: J. Guadalupe Garcia (Restauranteur), “Celebrating Mexican Foodways in Georgetown County”
  • Wednesday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m.: Deon “DK” Turner (Photographic Artist), “Going Home to Sierra Leone”

*Carvers Bay Library (13048 Choppee Road, Hemingway, SC 29554):

  • Wednesday, April 6 at 2:00 p.m.: Ron Daise (Performance Artist, Writer, & Cultural Interpreter), “Gullah Geechee Skrent (Strength)”
  • Wednesday, April 13 at 2:00 p.m.: Natalie Daise (Performance Artist & Community Educator), “Gullah Heritage: Deep Roots, Wide Branches”
  • Wednesday, April 20 at 2:00 p.m.: Marlanda Dekine (Poet & Educator), “Our Ancestors Were Filled to the Brim with Poetry”
  • Wednesday, April 27 at 2:00 p.m.: Alma Sierra (Victim Advocate), “Cultural Awareness: Victim Advocacy in Georgetown County”

*Andrews Library (105 North Morgan Avenue, Andrews, SC 29510):

  • Wednesday, May 4 at 2:00 p.m.: Chief Buster Hatcher (Waccamaw Indian Council Chief), “Waccamaw Indian Cultural Heritage”
  • Wednesday, May 11 at 2:00 p.m.: Valdena Lawrence (Author), “The Person behind the Mask: Writing to Heal the Trauma of Domestic Abuse”
  • Wednesday, May 18 at 2:00 p.m.: Leona Joy Bonds (Historian & Educator), “Living Legacy: An Interview with a Descendant of James Bowley”
  • Wednesday, May 25 at 2:00 p.m.: Lee Brockington (Historian & Author), “The Five Rivers of Georgetown County: How the Environment Influences the Culture”

For more information about the series, contact: Dr. Daniel Cross Turner, dturner@gtcounty.org / 843-545-3363.

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 21-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.