Courage: The Carolina Story That Changed America

Taw Caw Community Outreach Center in Summerton, SC will host several programs in July about the Briggs vs. Elliott case, including an exhibit and a question and answer session with surviving children of the plaintiffs. The programs will be open to the public and will also be attended by 25 K-12 teachers participating in a summer institute in Beaufort about Reconstruction. SC Humanities supported this program with a Mini Grant in June 2017.

The post-Civil War era of Reconstruction is one of the most neglected and misunderstood periods in America’s history. The legacy of Reconstruction extended into the Civil Rights period and beyond. In Summerton, SC, grandchildren of freedmen became plaintiffs in Brown vs. Board of Education. The programming in Summerton in July will shed light on these connections for the general public and for teachers from across the country attending the NEH summer institute, “America’s Reconstruction: The Untold Story.”

The exhibit Courage: The Carolina Story That Changed America from the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte chronicles the stories of the citizens of Clarendon County, S.C., who fought for civil rights and equality in education in their community. The glorious and hideous moments of the Civil Rights Movement are highlighted in the exhibition through the De Laine family and other residents of Clarendon County, S.C. It will be on display at the Taw Caw Community Outreach Center in Summerton from July 24 – 28, 2017. On July 26 at 9:00 a.m., a question and answer session will take place featuring children of plaintiffs in the Briggs vs. Elliott case and moderated by Dr. Bernard Powers of the College of Charleston and Dr. Patricia Sullivan of the University of South Carolina. The Taw Caw Community Outreach Center is located at 1126 Granby Lane in Summerton.

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.