The “South Carolina Civil Rights Monument Project” is a community project to create four public sculptures about the history and narratives of South Carolina Civil Rights activism that will be installed outside the Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum in Orangeburg. The sculpture creation will occur during two “community making days” scheduled for Saturday, May 22 and Saturday, June 26. The sculptures are planned to be unveiled during a program in Fall 2021 featuring a panel discussion about history and art. SC Humanities supported this program with a Major Grant.
The sculptures will focus on the imagery, history, and narratives of South Carolina Civil Rights student activism, and specifically the people who organized for equitable access to education. The sculptures will be mosaic compositions based on the work of Cecil Williams.
The sculptures’ design will be shaped by community participants who will determine the direction and emphasis of the work, addressing how the history of this topic lives and is understood in the present.
The Hartsville “community making day” on May 22 is open to the public. Participants will hear from speakers about the history of the Civil Rights movement in South Carolina and the importance of art commemoration while contributing to the creation of the monuments. The May 22 community making day will take place at Coker University in Hartsville. The June 26 event is not open to the public at this time.
The sculptures are planned to be unveiled during a program in Fall 2021 featuring a panel discussion about history and art.
To participate in the Hartsville community making day, contact Jennifer Heusel at jheusel@coker.edu or 812-606-9198.
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.
