This lecture is based on one of South Carolina’s premiere folk legends. John blends his powerful storytelling and traditional musical talents to share the interesting life-story of one of South Carolina’s famous and elusive turn-of-the-century African Americans. Through captivating performances, John weaves the history and folklore of the life of George Mullins. Fowler tells two … Read more
This presentation is a journey to Charleston after the Civil War and into the twentieth century, as portrayed by its visitors, including such luminaries as William Dean Howells, May Sarton, and Norman Rockwell. Just as the Civil War was ending, northern journalists descended on Charleston to write about the ruin of the city from the … Read more
Charleston has always held a fascination for its visitors. Today there remains a nacreous patina that overlays this old city, a pentimento suggestive not only of artifacts beneath the surface but also gradations of history. It suggests an excavation of its centuries-old layers. This presentation allows us to do just that, to venture back through … Read more
According to the Sikes Hall cornerstone, the old library was built 5,904 years after what? John C. Calhoun’s sideboard was made from mahogany taken from what? The 2012 addition to the architecture complex has a green roof made of what? If you love Clemson University, I have 47 more just like these three.
From the late 1600s to 1865, the Palmetto State was built on the backs of it most numerous inhabitants. African slaves and their descendants shaped, and were shaped by, the physical and social landscapes of early South Carolina. Their diverse cultural systems have been studied from several perspectives, based on historical, archaeological, and other material … Read more
Susie King Taylor escapes bondage at the age of fourteen; Charlotte Forten, an educated teacher from Philadelphia, boards a steamship, as does Laura Towne, a Boston medical school graduate. All three end up in Beaufort and the South Carolina Sea Islands in 1862. Three women of different backgrounds, ages, and race. Where did they come … Read more
Yes, this topic makes for an active open discussion, with more audience participation than most. Not only learn how authors utilize setting almost as character, but also learn from others what stories, especially SC stories, might be worth adding to your nightstand for future reading.
For Stories of Struggle I interviewed at least 150 Black activists while I worked as a journalist at The State and as director of a writing program at Columbia College. I wanted to preserve Black elders’ stories, and, through their stories, to reveal a true portrait of segregation in South Carolina. I believe in the … Read more
South Carolina’s 1895 constitution disenfranchised Black citizens. The constitution, which was not submitted to a popular vote, also said, “Separate schools shall be provided for children of the white and colored races, and no child of either race shall ever be permitted to attend a school provided for children of the other race.” That constitution … Read more
