Voices and Votes: Democracy in America is a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution that will be on display at the Aiken County Historical Museum in partnership with Second Baptist Church from July 23 through September 3, 2022, Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Sunday, 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Pre-view programs are starting in February 2022, prior to the exhibit opening in Aiken. Voices and Votes: Democracy in America has been made possible in South Carolina by SC Humanities.
Voices and Votes is based on a major exhibition currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History called American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith. The exhibit is designed to be a springboard for discussions about questions that continue to impact Americans, like: Who has the right to vote? What are the freedoms and responsibilities of citizens? Whose voices will be heard? How do you participate as a citizen? Aiken is one of six communities in South Carolina selected to host the exhibit. The other host venues inlude: the Williamsburgh Historical Society (April 16 0 May 28, 2022), the Laurens County Museum Association (June 4 – July 16, 2022), Allendale Rural Arts Team/USC Salkehatchie (September 10 – October 22, 2022), Claflin University (October 29 – December 10, 2022), and Cowpens Branch Library (December 17 – January 28, 2022).
The Aiken Voices and Votes Program Committee has planned a series of public programs in Aiken that will lead up to the grand opening of the exhibit there on July 23rd. All the events are free; however, it is recomended to RSVP to reserve a seat, as space may be limited. The full list of programs and events is available on the Aiken website: https://aikenvoicesandvotes.com/.
Planned events include:
FEATURE FILM SCREENING: SELMA
February 26, 2022, 2 PM
Second Baptist Church (Sanctuary), 1151 York St NE, Aiken SC
Introduction: Eugene White, President, Aiken County Branch of NAACP
Best Picture nominee in 2015, Selma is the true story of the tumultuous three months in 1965 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a courageous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic and dramatic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. The story shows civil rights icons John Lewis and Andrew Young in their early years.
FEATURE FILM SCREENING: SELMA
February 26, 2022, 7 PM
Aiken Technical College, (700 Building Amphitheater), 2276 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Graniteville, SC
Introduction: Eugene White, President, Aiken County Branch of NAACP
Best Picture nominee in 2015, Selma is the true story of the tumultuous three months in 1965 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a courageous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic and dramatic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. The story shows civil rights icons John Lewis and Andrew Young in their early years.
DOCUMENTARY WITH DISCUSSION: SISTERHOOD: SC SUFFRAGISTS
March 8, 2022, 7 PM
Aiken County Public Library (Meeting Room), 314 Chesterfield Street S, Aiken, SC
Panel discussion will feature SCETV’s Sisterhood executive producer Beryl Dakers, USCA Senior History Professor Alexia Helsley, and Eulalie Salley descendent Sara Wood. Augusta University Assistant History Professor Dr. Melissa DeVelvis and documentary co-producer/writer Betsy Newman also will participate in the discussion. Clubwomen, the Pollitzer Sisters, and the Vote is a 28-minute documentary by SCETV. As the national debate for suffrage came to the fore, South Carolina women were increasingly drawn into the movement for social and educational reform. Susan Pringle Frost, Eulalie Salley, Marion Birnie Wilkinson, and the Pollitzer Sisters (Mabel, Carrie, and Anita, daughters of a prominent Jewish family from Charleston) are among the rebels in the Palmetto State.
Advance registration is recommended, as space is limited. Light refreshments will be served. To register, call the Aiken County Public Library at 803-642-2020 x 1121.
TALK / EXHIBIT: EULALIE SALLEY AND THE SOUTH CAROLINA SUFFRAGISTS
March 23, 2022, 3:30 PM
USCA Gregg-Graniteville Library (Academic Commons), 152 Scholar Loop, Aiken, SC
Prof. Alexia Helsley, USCA, will speak about South Carolina women’s fight for the right to vote, highlighting several significant suffragists, including Aiken’s own Eulalie Salley.
FEATURE FILM: IRON JAWED ANGELS
March 26, 2022, 2:00 PM
Second Baptist Church (Sanctuary), 1151 York Street NE, Aiken, SC
Introduction: Dr. Heather Peterson, USCA
With five Prime Time Emmy nominations, Iron Jawed Angels is the true story of the 1917 women’s suffrage movement for the right to vote and to run for public office. Led by activist Alice Paul, women of this period sacrificed their health, marriage, and freedom while fighting to secure these rights for future generations. Many women were arrested for picketing and hunger strikes and were force-fed in their imprisonment. Many survived to see their efforts fulfilled with the ratification in 1920 of the 19th Amendment.
FEATURE FILM: IRON JAWED ANGELS
March 26, 2022, 7:00 PM
SAiken Technical College (700 Building Amphitheater), 2276 Jefferson Davis Highway, Graniteville, SC
Introduction: Dr. Heather Peterson, USCA
With five Prime Time Emmy nominations, Iron Jawed Angels is the true story of the 1917 women’s suffrage movement for the right to vote and to run for public office. Led by activist Alice Paul, women of this period sacrificed their health, marriage, and freedom while fighting to secure these rights for future generations. Many women were arrested for picketing and hunger strikes and were force-fed in their imprisonment. Many survived to see their efforts fulfilled with the ratification in 1920 of the 19th Amendment.
ORATORY CONTEST: EQUALI-TEA, STUDENT ORATORY CONTEST
April 23, 2022, 2:00 – 4:00 PM
Center for African American History, Art and Culture, 120 York Street NE, Aiken, SC
“Equali-tea” is an educational event and oratory contest for women studying at USC Aiken. Hosted by the Aiken Links and the Columbia League of Women Voters, the event will promote civic involvement, diversity, and oratory skills. A panel of judges from host organizations will award scholarships to the winning speeches in a program to be live streamed to the public. Funding for this event and the scholarships is made possible by graduate sororities at USC Aiken and the host organizations.
ART EXHIBITION RECEPTION: VOICES MADE VISUAL
June 23, 2022, 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Aiken Center for the Arts (Main Gallery), 122 Laurens St SW, Aiken, SC
Voices Made Visual is a juried art exhibition and competition celebrating the majesty and plurality of voices, past and present, that have shaped, and continue to shape, our national dialogue. Ever since the American revolutionaries won independence from England, the voices of average citizens have helped to blaze the trail for this great nation.
ART EXHIBITION: VOICES MADE VISUAL
June 23 – July 28, 2022, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Aiken Center for the Arts (Main Gallery), 122 Laurens St SW, Aiken, SC
Voices Made Visual is a juried art exhibition and competition celebrating the majesty and plurality of voices, past and present, that have shaped, and continue to shape, our national dialogue. Ever since the American revolutionaries won independence from England, the voices of average citizens have helped to blaze the trail for this great nation.
FAMILY FESTIVAL: VOICES AND VOTES: AN AIKEN COUNTY CELEBRATION
June 25, 2022, 10:00 – 2:00 PM
Newberry Street Festival Center, 100 Block, Newberry ST SW, Aiken SC
An event for the entire family, Voices and Votes: An Aiken County Celebration, kicks off with a mock voting rights march from the steps of the Aiken County Courthouse, site of women’s suffrage speeches over 100 years ago, to the Newberry Street Festival Center. This event will offer crafts and fun activities for children, educational activities for the whole family, exhibits, live entertainment, and food concessions for purchase.
SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORY SYMPOSIUM: VOICES AND VOTES: THE HISTORY OF DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH CAROLINA
July 23, 2022, 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Second Baptist Church, 1151 York Street NE, Aiken, SC
Dr. Walter Edgar, USC and
Dr. Bobby Donaldson, USC, CCRH&R
Moderator: Dr. Tom Mack, USCA
Our signature event will be a lively symposium on the dramatic events and jagged history of voting rights in South Carolina and Aiken County. Selected questions for the speakers will be taken from the audience. The discussion will involve three South Carolina luminaries: Dr. Walter Edgar and Dr. Bobby Donaldson of Columbia, along with Aiken’s own Dr. Tom Mack serving as moderator. Dr. Edgar is a celebrated historian, author, and longtime host of Walter Edgar’s Journal on South Carolina Public Radio. With an unparalleled knowledge of South Carolina history, Dr. Edgar is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Donaldson, who was born in Augusta and raised in Aiken County, is a scholar of southern history and African American life and culture in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He is an Associate Professor of History at the University of South Carolina, and leads the Center for Civil Rights History and Research, housed in the Hollings Special Collections Library on campus. Dr. Mack is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at the University of South Carolina Aiken. During his tenure, Dr. Mack published over 100 articles about American literature and American cultural history in scholarly journals, books, and reference volumes. He also has written or edited seven books. In 2014, he received the Governor’s Award in the Humanities.
BOOK TALK: UNEXAMPLED COURAGE
July 29, 2022, 6:00 PM
Center for African American History, Art and Culture, 120 York St NE, Aiken, SC
Judge Richard Gergel, Author
Moderator: Chris Verenes, President Security Federal Bank
Richard Gergel will give a talk on his book Unexampled Courage, which details the impact of the blinding of Sergeant Woodard on the racial awakening of President Truman and Judge Waring and traces their influential roles in changing the course of America’s civil rights history. Richard Gergel is a United States district judge who presides in the same courthouse in Charleston, South Carolina, where Judge Waring once served. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Judge Gergel earned undergraduate and law degrees from Duke University.
CIVIL RIGHTS SYMPOSIUM: VOTING MATTERS: SUPPRESSION AND DISNEFRANCHISEMENT
August 18, 2022, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
USCA Etherredge Center, 240 Scholar Loop, Aiken, SC
Leon Russell, National Board Chairman of NAACP
Eugene White, President, Aiken County Branch of NAACP
Dr. Elizabeth Smith, Furman University
Moderator: Stephanie Franklin, USCA Inclusion Advisory Council
As part of Voices and Votes: Democracy in America, this panel of advocates and thought leaders will discuss the history of, and the present enforcement of, voter suppression and disenfranchisement tactics and policies in South Carolina and throughout the Southern United States. Panelists will discuss voting rights from their respective roles, guided by our moderator.
Learn more about Voices and Votes in Aiken at: https://aikenvoicesandvotes.com/.
Voices and Votes: Democracy in America was developed by the National Museum of American History. The exhibition was adapted for travel by Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and state humanities councils across the country. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.
Voices and Votes: Democracy in America has been made possible in South Carolina by SC Humanities.
