South Carolina Humanities selects Curry for popular speaker bureau

South Carolina author Dr. Walter B. Curry, Jr., has been selected to the Speakers Bureau: Humanities Out Loud program.

The Speakers Bureau program is one of the longest-running and most popular programs offered by South Carolina Humanities.

Dr. Curry’s topics for the Speakers Bureau:

• “Lavinia C. Thompson-The Personal Story of Slavery and Civil War in South Carolina”
• “South Carolina African American Confederate Pensioners”
• “Martha Kitchings Seawright Ellison”
• “The Thompson Family: Untold Stories From The Past (1830-1960)”
• “Writing Family History Book Series: The Narrative Inquiry Approach”

Dr. Curry, an Orangeburg native, received a bachelor’s degree in political science from South Carolina State University, and has earned graduate degrees in education, which includes a doctorate degree in Curriculum & Instruction from Argosy University, Sarasota. In 2018, Dr. Curry launched Renaissance Publications, LLC., a self-publishing company, which publishes books that focuses on African American history through ancestry. Dr. Curry has published two award winning books, The Thompson Family: Untold Stories from the Past (1830-1960), and The Awakening: The Seawright-Ellison Family Saga, Vol.1, A Narrative History. Dr. Curry has received numerous accolades for his work and service which includes two African American Historical and Genealogy Society book awards; legislative resolutions from the South Carolina General Assembly for his significant work in service to African American History and Heritage in South Carolina; Literary Titan Gold Awards; a recipient of the Martha Schofield “Work The Legacy” Award; member of the Inaugural South Carolina State University 40 Under 40; and selected as a 2022 Richland Two School District Black History Month honoree. Dr. Curry also serves as member of the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum Commission, board of advisors of the Friends of Charleston National Parks, and is listed on the South Carolina Arts Directory from the SCAC.

S.C. Humanities makes the Speakers Bureau program available to South Carolina organizations at a reasonable cost. S.C. Humanities provides $250 towards a speaker’s honorarium. Any other costs (travel, additional honorarium) are negotiated between the speaker and the sponsoring organization. A one-page application must be submitted at least four weeks in advance of the program date. To learn more our new speakers and see their full topic descriptions, visit the Speakers Bureau roster website at https://schumanities.org/projects/speakers/. For more information about the Speakers Bureau: Humanities Out Loud program, please contact T.J. Wallace at tjwallace@schumanities.org or 803.771.2477. The website address is https://schumanities.org/projects/speakers/.

The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, these 501(c) 3 organizations are 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.