South Carolina

PEN Condemns Censorship in Removal of Coates's Memoir from AP Course

Several students reported their teacher using terms that mirrored the language of the state law—claiming the lesson "made them ashamed to be Caucasian"—resulting in the school board's decision to remove the book from an Advanced Placement Language course. 

Gullah Geechee of Sea Islands Fight for their Post-Slavery Legacy

by DeNeen L Brown

The Gullah Geechee people were chosen for enslavement in the Sea Islands because of their experience cultivating rice in Africa, and maintained a distinctive culture with strong African elements through slavery and emancipation. Development and gentrification threaten that legacy today. 

SC Barbecue Restaurant With History of Civil Rights Rejection in News Again

In 1964, Piggie Park Barbecue defended its owner's choice no to serve Black customers by claiming racial integration violated his religious beliefs, a claim the Supreme Court later called "patently frivolous." 

Nikki Haley's Confederate Flag Revisionism

by Kevin M. Levin

"Hopefully, Haley understands that a presidential bid means that she is no longer sitting in a room with the Sons of Confederate Veterans."

Nikki Haley's Confederate Flag Story

The former South Carolina governor, now once again a presidential candidate, has claimed credit for taking the Confederate flag off of the state house. A timeline shows she was often more conciliatory to the powerful pro-Confederate constituency in the state. 

HBCUs and the 1950s Red Scare

by Candace Cunningham

South Carolina officials were able to use the purse strings to coerce public HBCU administrators to expel student activists. When private HBCUs became centers of sit-in organizing, state legislators turned to accusations of Communism. 

Why Legislators Want to Fire All of University of South Carolina's Trustees

Legislators have challenged the board's handling of a presidential search and the campus budget, among other concerns. 

Legislators: Come See How I Use 1619 Project in My Classroom Before You Ban It

by Woody Holton

South Carolina's H. 4343 bill would impoverish the history education legislators claim to value. Could an invitation to observe how the demonized 1619 Project is used as a teaching tool change any minds? 

The Shocking Saga of the Murdaughs of South Carolina

"People with power and money in such tribal regions can retain their hold on their ways — and their communities — for a long time. But corruption never strays far from the prideful and the powerful, especially among those who inherit privilege."

Who Owns Uncle Ben?

by Shane Mitchell

"Why would anyone preserve a crop, no matter how flavorful and aromatic, with such a disturbing heritage?" Shane Mitchell examines why.

Why Firing Squads are Making a Comeback in 21st-Century America

South Carolina's proposed return to execution by firing squad reflects the facts that, while the Roberts Court is very protective of capital punishment, it is increasingly difficult for states to acquire the drugs needed to perform lethal injections. It remains to be seen if firing squads will turn public opinion against capital punishment. 

Teacher Appreciation Week: In a Tough Year, These Educators Stood Out

Clemson historian Rhondda Thomas is among the history teachers lauded for excellence – for work to memorialize the Black people who were enslaved by the university or employed under exploitative conditions of convict labor or Jim Crow. 

Rice is a 'Frequent Visitor' at Tables in the South, A New Cookbook Digs Up the Complicated Way it Got There

Food historian and chef Michael Twitty examines the cross-cultural and transatlantic history of rice in Southern cooking and culture. 

Digging into the History of the Former Dixie Shirt Textile Business in Spartanburg

Founded by an immigrant Jewish family who moved to Spartanburg from New York City, the Dixie Shirt Company connected the histories of American Jews, labor, industry, and war mobilization in the South. Furman historian Diane Vecchio uncovered the story as part of a plan to redevelop the site. 

SC Lawmakers Announce Legislation to Protect Monuments Statewide

"Democratic Representative Seth Rose says the controversial monuments like Ben Tillman, who was the former governor and known racist, need to come down."

Veteran Journalist Donates Trove of Civil Rights-Era Research to University of South Carolina

“I think that’s what I find amazing. Even in terms of the curriculum in the state of South Carolina, that those kind of moments are not necessarily common knowledge, where you have an Orangeburg Massacre,” Crump said. “No pun intended, it’s almost like an educational blackout.”

The Attempted Insurrection was Only Part of the Right’s Anti-Democratic Playbook

by Melissa DeVelvis and DJ Polite

The overthrow of Reconstruction in South Carolina involved a symbiotic relationship between white political leaders and a loose coalition of armed white vigilante groups. 

Despite Everything, People Still Have Weddings at ‘Plantation’ Sites

Despite claims by many estates that weddings and events pay for educational programming that addresses the history of slave labor on the property, many still debate the ethics of using plantation properties for celebrations. 

The Persistence of Segregation in South Carolina

The Supreme Court's artful directive to desegregate with "all deliberate speed" invited many school districts to do so as slowly as possible. Historian Millicent Brown was the first Black student to integrate a white high school in Charleston, South Carolina and has researched a book about the experiences of similar students. 

Clemson Discovers Graves of Dozens of People Enslaved by John C. Calhoun

“My research shows that Black lives hardly mattered at all at Clemson until after desegregation, and the discovery we made in this burial ground tells me that Black deaths mattered even less,” Dr. Rhondda Thomas said Monday. “The thing that I found was that Black labor mattered the most on this land where Clemson was built.”