Slave Dwellings of South Carolina and the Slave Dwelling Project
Joseph McGill will chronicle nights spent in several slave dwellings throughout the United States.
Topic Category: African-American History and Culture
54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry & Africans in the Civil War
A brief history of the approximately 180,000 African Americans that served in the Union Army and Navy during the Civil War, with a focus on the history of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the regiment that was portrayed in the award-winning movie, Glory. This presentation is given in a Civil War uniform and includes a first-person characterization.
Sports & Social Protest
This program uses the Viet Nam War Civil Rights protests in sport (the Wyoming University “Black 14,” Muhammed Ali’s CO status, 1968 Olympics, etc.) as a spring-board to discuss modern/present-day issues of race (cf. Naomi Osaka, the NBA, the MLB/Black Lives Matter/voting rights) and sport begetting social protest. We will attempt to make sense of … Read more
Civil Rights Movement & the Viet Nam War
This program will feature songs of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement in the United States discussed in context of historical events. Lyrics are provided. Dive into an investigation of the folk roots of early Civil Rights songs and the influence of soul/R&B on memorable Civil Rights anthems, from Guthrie to Franklin to Cooke, as well … Read more
Contributions of Contemporary African American South Carolina Native Poets
South Carolina is home to several nationally acclaimed African American poets who have left the state to pursue their crafts and careers in stunning fashion. Three South Carolina native poets have gone on to win the National Book Award for Poetry in the last decade. This lecture will explore the work of such poets as … Read more
The Power of Black Female Flight in the Neo-Slave Narrative
In modern fictionalized narratives on slavery by black authors, black women are given a supernatural ability to transcend time and space in order to alter their genealogies and family trauma. This lecture details such abilities given to black female characters and its implications on race relations in the 21st century.
Gamechanger: The Life and Writing of Julia Mood Peterkin
Julia Peterkin was a white woman who wrote about Gullah people living on her family’s plantation out of a desire to honor and preserve their culture. She was shunned by white Southerners for “betraying her race” but became accepted by Harlem Renaissance writers, such as Langston Hughes and W.E.B. DuBois. Regardless of criticism, she continued … Read more
The Lynching of Willie Earle in Greenville – 1947
Willie Earle, an African American, was accused of killing Thomas Watson Brown, a cab driver from Greenville, SC. Thirty-one white men (mostly cab drivers – all white) drove from Greenville in the middle of the night to take Earle out of the Pickens County Jail. They then beat him, burned him, and shot him in … Read more
Navigate to Success: Understand the Past, Prepare for the Future, Move Forward
Learning and understanding about historical events, places, and often just ordinary people who played a critical role in challenging unjust laws will empower participants. The personal stories, timeline of events, as well as the words of wisdom and challenges contained in this book will sound the alert that the struggle for racial equity is not … Read more
