Dufford Diversity and Inclusion Week in Newberry

Newberry College will present the 9th Annual Dufford Diversity and Inclusion Week on October 25 – November 1, 2021. The program will include a variety of events such as speakers, film screenings, and workshops. This programming was supported with funding from a Growth Grant from South Carolina Humanities. Funding for the Growth Grants has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Dufford Diversity and Inclusion Week is part of Newberry College’s commitment to promoting personal and social acceptance, development, awareness and understanding of diversity, multiculturalism, and social equity. The event is endowed by Dr. William E. Dufford, class of 1949, who helped make history in 1969 as the school administrator responsible for integrating the Sumter County school system. He believed integration, rather than simply desegregation, was the only way to bring the district’s two high schools together. As an educator, he has dedicated his life to ensuring access for all to the transformational benefits of a good education. He is a recipient of the South Carolina Governor’s Award in the Humanities, of the Order of the Palmetto, and the award-winning author of My Tour Through the Asylum: A Southern Integrationist’s Memoir (University of South Carolina Press, 2017).

The 2021 program series includes:

Monday, Oct. 25 | Dufford Diversity and Inclusion Week Symposium
Speaker: Brandarius Jones ’20, Noon | Setzler Field
Speaker: Moses King ’76, 2 p.m. | Kohn Lecture Hall
Speaker: Aubrey Guyton ’21, 3:30 p.m. | Center for Teacher Education

Tuesday, Oct. 26
Keynote Address: Billy Keyserling & Mike Greenly
2 p.m. | Under the Tent at the Alumni Music Center
Keyserling, retired Beaufort, South Carolina, mayor and legislator, is co-author of Sharing Common Ground: Promises Unfulfilled but Not Forgotten, which offers a new approach to gaining a shared understanding of our value to each other. His co-author Greenly, a Beaufort native now living in New York, is a former Avon executive, lyricist, writer and speech coach.

Tuesday, October 26
Show: Cross That River
11 a.m. & 7 p.m. | Newberry Opera House | FREE
This performance takes audiences on a musical journey about how slaves-turned-cowboys helped settle the American West. This performance has been made free thanks to the support of Newberry Arts For All. Show information.

Wednesday, Oct. 27
Chapel Speaker: Dr. William “Bill” Dufford ’49
10 a.m. | Wiles Chapel
Dufford, a Newberry College graduate, is a retired educator and civil rights leader who helped integrate the Sumter County school system. He is a recipient of the Order of the Palmetto and the award-winning author of My Tour Through the Asylum: A Southern Integrationist’s Memoir.

Wednesday, Oct. 27
Workshop: “Tearing Down the Wall of Prejudice & Discrimination”
Noon & 2 p.m. | Center for Teacher Education
Sponsored by the Social Justice Club.

Thursday, Oct. 28
Movie: Ruby Bridges
8 p.m. | North Common (Rain location: Kohn Lecture Hall)
Based on the true story of six-year-old Ruby Bridges, one of the first Black children to attend integrated school in the Deep South. Sponsored by Call Me MiSTER.

Friday, Oct. 29
Room Dedication for Nancy Lou Anderson Glasgow ’70
Noon | Center for Teacher Education
This event will honor Newberry College’s first African American graduate. Reception to follow in the garden.

Monday, Nov. 1
Performance: “Underrepresented Composers”
7:30 p.m. | Wiles Chapel
This concert will feature the works of historically underrepresented musical composers, including Chickasaw pianist Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate and Black violinist Jessie Montgomery.

For more information about Dufford Diversity Week, visit the website at: https://www.newberry.edu/dufford, call Dr. Peggy Winder at 803-924-9894 or email Paul Whitman at Paul.Whitman@newberry.edu.

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.