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COVID-19 through African American eyes

South Carolina African American Heritage Commission (SCAAHC) is documenting the impact of the coronavirus through the African American perspective.

The organization has opened a portal called "Black Carolinians Speak: Portraits of a Pandemic" and invites African American South Carolinians to chronicle the personal impact of the pandemic through stories, photography, video, art work, poetry, and other forms of expression. This an opportunity to provide future generations with knowledge as to how people persevered through a time that altered a sense of normalcy. Although contributions from all African Americans from South Carolina are welcome, the SCAAHC is particularly seeking perspectives of the pandemic from professionals in healthcare, law enforcement, tourism, faith-based organizations, tourism industries, and education (students, teachers and administrators). The Heritage Commission is also interested in how students were affected during the pandemic. Go to greenbookofsc.com/speak.
Photo by Retha Ferguson from Pexels

Jason Rapp

All you need to know about S.C. Arts Awards Day

14 recipients to be honored May 1

  • Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Award for the Arts, Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award presented at ceremony
  • S.C. Arts Awards Luncheon & Art Sale to follow

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Two awards honoring high arts achievement in South Carolina will be presented to 14 recipients Wednesday, May 1, 2019 during South Carolina Arts Awards festivities at the UofSC Alumni Center in Columbia. The South Carolina Arts Awards, sponsored by Colonial Life, are a joint presentation of the South Carolina Arts Commission, South Carolina Arts Foundation, and McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina to award the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Awards for the Arts and Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Awards.

Awards Ceremony

Both awards will be presented at the awards ceremony at the UofSC Alumni Center (900 Senate St., Columbia), which begins with a reception from 10-10:45 a.m. The official ceremony begins at 11 a.m. S.C. Arts Commission Board Chairman Henry Horowitz and Executive Director Ken May will be joined by South Carolina First Lady Peggy McMaster to present the awards to each recipient. Nine recipients from their respective categories are being recognized with Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Awards for the Arts for outstanding achievement and contributions to the arts in South Carolina:
  • ARTIST: Tyrone Geter, Elgin
  • INDIVIDUAL: Kathleen Bateson, Hilton Head Island
  • ARTS IN EDUCATION (Individual): Simeon A. Warren, Charleston
  • ARTS IN EDUCATION (Organization): South Carolina African American Heritage Commission, Hartsville
  • BUSINESS: Hampton III Gallery, Taylors
  • GOVERNMENT: Florence County Museum, Florence
  • ORGANIZATION: The Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston
  • ORGANIZATION (Special Award): Town Theatre, Columbia
  • LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Cecil Williams, Orangeburg
Four artists and one advocate are being recognized with the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award as practitioners and advocates of traditional arts significant to communities throughout the state. Their traditions embody folklife’s dynamic, multigenerational nature, and its fusion of artistic and utilitarian ideals. They are:
  • John Andrew “Andy” Brooks (Liberty): Old-Time Music
  • Dorothy Brown Glover (Lincolnville): Quilting
  • Julian A. Prosser (Columbia): Bluegrass Music
  • The Voices of Gullah Singers (St. Helena Island): Gullah Singing
  • Dale Rosengarten, Ph.D. (McClellanville): Advocacy, African-American Lowcountry Basketry & Southern Jewish Heritage
McKissick Museum will celebrate this year’s Folk Heritage Award recipients at a mixer Tuesday, April 30 from 6-8 p.m., at the Blue Moon Ballroom (554 Meeting St, West Columbia). Admission is free for McKissick members or $5 for non-members. RSVP’s can be made, or tickets purchased, by going here. For more information, or to RSVP or purchase a ticket over the phone, call 803.777.2876.

S.C. Arts Awards Luncheon & Art Sale

The S.C. Arts Foundation will honor the recipients afterward during a fundraising luncheon at the UofSC Alumni Center (900 Senate St., Columbia). Works by South Carolina will be on sale from 11 a.m. to noon, with proceeds supporting S.C. Arts Commission programs. The luncheon program is expected to run from 12:30 to 2 p.m.
  • Unique ikebana flower arrangements, in partnership with Ikebana International Chapter #182 of Columbia, will serve as table centerpieces. Each arrangement, available for sale, will be presented in an included, original vase crafted by a South Carolina artisan.
  • Art experiences will also be sold.
  • The keynote speaker will be S.C. Arts Commission Executive Director Ken May, retiring at the end of June 2019 after 33 years at the agency and the past nine as its leader, giving a “State of the Arts” message.
  • Luncheon tickets are $50 per person and available for purchase through SouthCarolinaArts.com or by calling 803.734.8696.

About the South Carolina Arts Commission

With a commitment to excellence across the spectrum of our state’s cultures and forms of expression, the South Carolina Arts Commission pursues its public charge to develop a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education, and economic vitality for all South Carolinians. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission works to increase public participation in the arts by providing services, grants, and leadership initiatives in three areas:
  • arts education,
  • community arts development,
  • and artist development.
Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina, by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. For more information, visit SouthCarolinaArts.com or call 803.734.8696.

S.C. Arts Awards: S.C. African American Heritage Commission

2019 Recipient Feature Series

As the day nears for the 2019 South Carolina Arts Awards, The Hub is taking 15 days to focus on this year's recipients: nine receiving the Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Governor's Awards for the Arts and five receiving the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award, which are managed jointly by the South Carolina Arts Commission and McKissick Museum at UofSC. In between the two groups, we'll run a special feature on S.C. Arts Awards sponsor Colonial Life.

South Carolina African American Heritage Commission

Arts in Education Category | Organization The S.C. African American Heritage Commission (SCAAHC) identifies and promotes the preservation of historic sites, structures, buildings, and culture of the African American experience in South Carolina, and assists and enhances the efforts of the S.C. Department of Archives and History. A joint resolution of the General Assembly in 1993 established the South Carolina African American Heritage Council, re-established as a commission in 2001. The 15-member commission includes representatives from all regions of the state. The commission’s goals are to: increase the social, political, and economic value of African American heritage; encourage and demonstrate respect for all heritage; encourage the documentation of African American heritage; institutionalize African American heritage as an ongoing goal of preservation; and explore every area of South Carolina for African American contributions. The SCAAHC is known across the state for publishing A Teacher’s Guide to African American Historic Places in South Carolina. The guide was originally published in 2008, revised in 2012, then updated in 2015. But in 2016, they published the first arts-integrated supplement. The work was the product of a team of dedicated teachers and college students from across South Carolina representing grades K-12. That supplement was updated in 2018 to incorporate 2017 South Carolina College-and Career-Ready Standards for Visual and Performing Arts Proficiency. The current version added 18 lesson plans to the 22-plan 2016 supplement, giving teachers 30 potential lessons that merge arts learning with learning about African American history and achievements. Other notable arts-related accomplishments include publishing The Business of Rural Heritage, Culture and Art: An Introductory Resource Guide for Entrepreneurs; presenting FREED, African American female Civil War reenactors in 2018; featuring award-winning speaker, storyteller and artist Natalie Daise in her production “Becoming Harriet Tubman” in 2012; and presenting Opera Noire in Columbia and Hartsville in 2010. In 2017, the SCAAHC received acclaim for launching “Green Book of South Carolina,” an online travel guide to S.C.  African American historic and cultural sites. For more, visit their website.
South Carolina Arts Awards Day is Wednesday, May 1, 2019. The festivities begin at 10 a.m. with a reception that leads up to the awards ceremony at the UofSC Alumni Center (900 Senate St., Columbia). The event is free and open to the public. Following the ceremony, the South Carolina Arts Foundation honors the recipients and the arts community at the S.C. Arts Awards Luncheon and Art Sale. Tickets are $50. Please go here for more information and reservations.

2019 Verner Award to honor nine South Carolinians

State's highest arts honor recognizes outstanding achievement and contributions

Awards to be presented May 1 at S.C. Arts Awards


COLUMBIA, S.C. – Nine South Carolinians are to be honored by the South Carolina Arts Commission with the 2019 Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Award for the Arts—the state’s highest arts honor. The following recipients from their respective categories are being recognized for outstanding achievement and contributions to the arts in South Carolina:
  • LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT:  Cecil Williams, Orangeburg
  • ARTIST:  Tyrone Geter, Columbia
  • INDIVIDUAL:  Kathleen (Kathi) P. Bateson, Hilton Head Island
  • ARTS IN EDUCATION: Simeon Warren, Charleston (Individual) S.C. African American Heritage Commission, Hartsville (Organization)
  • BUSINESS:  Hampton III Gallery, Taylors
  • GOVERNMENT:  Florence County Museum, Florence
  • ORGANIZATION: Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston Columbia Stage Society (Town Theatre), Columbia (Special Award)
Print and web images of recipients available here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/plf40ffa55oxh5g/AAAksiSWeKNQxxytp5yBM8DQa?dl=0 “It is an honor and privilege to recognize individuals and organizations who live out the service, commitment and passion that help the arts thrive in South Carolina,” S.C. Arts Commission Chairman Henry Horowitz said. “Each of the Verner Award recipients makes a tremendous contribution not just locally, but they are honored for broad impact on the state’s arts community and beyond. These are outstanding ambassadors for our state." A diverse committee, appointed by the S.C. Arts Commission Board of Directors and drawn from members of the South Carolina community at large, reviews all nominations and, after a rigorous process, makes recommendations to the board for final approval after a series of panel meetings produces a recommendation from each category. The 2019 Verner Awards will be presented with the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Awards at South Carolina Arts Awards sponsored by Colonial Life on Wednesday, May 1 in a morning ceremony at the USC Alumni Center (900 Senate St., Columbia). The S.C. Arts Foundation will honor the recipients afterward during a fundraising luncheon. South Carolina artists’ work will be on sale to support the programs of the S.C. Arts Commission. Luncheon tickets are $50 per person and are to be available for purchase by mid-March. For more about the Verner Awards or the S.C. Arts Awards Luncheon, call 803.734.8696 or visit SouthCarolinaArts.com.

About the Verner Award Recipients

Cecil Williams (Lifetime Achievement), an Orangeburg native, is a professional photographer, videographer, publisher, inventor, author, and architect best known for his photographic documentation of the struggle to achieve freedom, justice, and equality during the Civil Rights struggle. By the age of 9, he had already begun his career in photography and by 15 was working professionally as a freelancer for such publications as JET and the Afro-American, and as an Associated Press stringer. The teenaged Williams documented segregated life in the Jim Crow era and the Clarendon movement that led to Briggs v. Elliott in the 1950s, countless protests and then desegregation at Clemson University and the University of South Carolina and was there for the Orangeburg Massacre in 1968. Williams, who received an art degree from Claflin University, owns Cecil Williams Photography, LLC and was recently appointed by Claflin as its historic preservationist. Williams is also recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest award to an individual, and Governor’s Award in the Humanities from SC Humanities. In a career that spreads across continents, Tyrone Geter (Artist Category) has built an international reputation as a world-class artist, painter, sculptor, illustrator, and teacher. Recently retired associate professor of art at Benedict College in Columbia, Geter received his Master of Fine Arts from Ohio University in 1978 with an emphasis on painting and drawing. In 1979, he relocated to Africa, living, drawing, and painting among the Fulani and local peoples of Northern Nigeria, “a lesson in the creative process that no art school would ever teach me.” Since, he has illustrated 30 children’s books, exhibited on four continents, and after relocating to South Carolina, until recently taught painting and drawing at Benedict and curated its Ponder Fine Arts Gallery. Kathleen P. Bateson (Individual Category) is president/CEO and executive producer of the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina – a past Verner Award recipient in the organization category. She is past president of the S.C. Arts Alliance board, served as chair and founding co-chair of the Arts & Cultural Council of Hilton Head; and was a founding member and is chair of the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry’s Women in Philanthropy. Bateson is founder and president of Management for the Arts, a national firm specializing in NPO organizational restructure, institutional planning, strategic positioning and new business ventures. She has served as a cultural representative on international delegations to South Africa, China and Japan, and is herself a goldsmith and professional set designer. Simeon A. Warren (Arts in Education Individual Category) is a cathedral-trained stone carver, sculptor, and conservator. He holds a degree from the Glasgow (Scotland) School of the Arts, and his career has led to stone work at or on some of England’s major cathedrals (and even Buckingham Palace). In 2001 he emigrated to Charleston, where he was a founding faculty member at what became the American College of Building Arts in 2004. He developed college-level courses for professors, delivered the college’s licenses to recruit and to teach, hired the college’s faculty, and served as dean from 2006 to 2013. Warren owns a private architectural stone practice and is developing The Stone People Project, among other public art projects. The S.C. African American Heritage Commission (Arts in Education Organization Category) identifies and promotes the preservation of historic sites, structures, buildings, and culture of the African American experience in South Carolina, and assists and enhances the efforts of the S.C. Department of Archives and History. SCAAHC is a leader in integrating the arts into education resources, publishing the “Supplement to the Teacher’s Guide Integrating Art into Classroom Instruction” in 2016 and a subsequent revision last year. Since 1970, Hampton III Gallery (Business Category) has supported professional living artists and the estates of professional artists in or from South Carolina ranging from post WWII to the present. Hampton III Gallery’s vision of supporting artists and educating the public to the rich heritage of South Carolina artists continues into 2019. South Carolina’s oldest gallery has more than 500 paintings, sculptures and original prints in inventory. Changing exhibitions, artists’ talks, and special events provide educational opportunities for all. Consultation is available for private and corporate collections. Exhibitions change every 6-8 weeks. The public is invited to all events. The Florence County Museum (FCM) (Government Category) reflects the region’s rich artistic, cultural and historic heritage. Its permanent collection currently includes eight works by celebrated 20th century African American artist and Florence native, William H. Johnson and it is home to The Wright Collection of Southern Art, a volume of over 140 works representing some of the finest in 20th century Southern art (including some by Elizabeth O’Neill Verner). The FCM provides a platform for contemporary artists as host of the Pee Dee Regional Art Competition, South Carolina’s oldest juried art competition, since 1954. Since 1905, the Gibbes Museum of Art (Organization Category) has been a center for creativity for the visual arts. It provides more than 100 educational programs and events. Nine galleries spanning 300 years of art history are showcased to 60,000 visitors a year who discover, enjoy, and are inspired by the creative process. The museum loans 50 objects a year to the major U.S. art museums. Dynamic year-round programming engages, and the Gibbes continually develops new multi-dimensional education and outreach programs that expand the museum experience while offering exhibitions that stay relevant to current topics. Celebrating its 100th season in 2018/2019, Columbia Stage Society’s Town Theatre (Organization Category Special Award) provides quality, live, family-oriented community theatre and entry-level experience for those who wish to participate on or off stage. Every performance has open auditions, with all community members being encouraged to attend. On stage, Town Theatre’s current and alumni performers have appeared on Broadway, network television and in major feature films. Off stage, ample opportunity exists for community members to get involved as costumers, as set and backstage crew, by helping in the box office, or as ushers and house managers.

About the South Carolina Arts Commission

With a commitment to excellence across the spectrum of our state’s cultures and forms of expression, the South Carolina Arts Commission pursues its public charge to develop a thriving arts environment, which is essential to quality of life, education, and economic vitality for all South Carolinians. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission works to increase public participation in the arts by providing services, grants, and leadership initiatives in three areas:
  • arts education,
  • community arts development,
  • and artist development.
Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina, by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. For more information, visit SouthCarolinaArts.com or call 803.734.8696.

Teachers become students at SCAAHC’s Summer Teacher Institute

A group of 23 public school teachers from across South Carolina reversed roles and became students recently when they participated in the “2018 School Desegregation in South Carolina” Summer Teacher Institute. The institute was sponsored by the S.C. African American Heritage Commission (SCAAHC), whose mission is to identify and promote the preservation of historic sites, structures, buildings, and culture of the African American experience in South Carolina and to assist and enhance the efforts of the S.C. Department of Archives and History. “The five-day Summer Institute’s purpose was to provide teachers with additional resources they can use to enhance their teaching of the state’s history that reflects African American heritage,” said Jannie Harriot, vice chair of SCAAHC and executive director of its fundraising arm, the S.C. African American Heritage Foundation (SCAAHF). “The ... institute [helps] teachers create lesson plans for grades K-12 based on the public school desegregation lawsuits in Darlington and Clarendon counties: Stanley v. the Darlington County Board of Education and Briggs v. Elliot, respectively,” Harriot said. “So, we applied to the S.C. Arts Commission for a grant to conduct this institute and to bring teachers together to write the plans.” Wallace Foxworth is an eighth-grade social studies instructor who teaches South Carolina history at Johnakin Middle School in Marion. He said the institute expanded his understanding of how school desegregation happened. Meeting people involved with those cases, such as Nathaniel Briggs, the son of Harry Briggs, Sr., lead plaintiff in Briggs v. Elliott, and Joseph DeLaine, Jr., whose father was also involved in the case was inspirational. “I wanted to gain a better view of what is out there beside what we find in the textbooks,” Foxworth said. “The textbooks have a certain slant on history, and sometimes the slant is misguided concerning the contributions of African Americans in history. To be a more effective history teacher and bring more balance to history, this is something I feel is necessary.” In addition to learning about the school desegregation cases, institute participants also learned about other facets of South Carolina African American history that they can incorporate into lesson plans. Mary Hoyt, a music teacher who teaches strings to fifth- and sixth-grade students at Chapin Intermediate School in Chapin said that she already has some ideas about how to incorporate information she learned about jazz great and Cheraw native Dizzy Gillespie into lesson plans. “I just love history,” Hoyt said. “I am not from South Carolina and I find South Carolina to be a fascinating place with so many layers of history. I welcome the chance to learn more and enrich my classroom for my students. I feel privileged to be here.” The teachers will submit 20 lesson plans that will go into a teacher’s guide that the S.C. Department of Education will disseminate across the state for teachers to use in their classrooms, Harriot said. Teachers who participated in the institute included Jasmine Govan, Stephanie Gold, and Kay Ingram of Richland District 1; Melinda Hanna, Allison Geddings, Joceline Murdock, and Ashley Rogers of Darlington County School District; Andrea Walker from Allendale County Schools; Wallace Foxworth from Marion County Schools; Amy Robinson of the Beaufort School District; Mary Hoyt, Lexington/Richland School District Five; Tracy Carter, Lisa Hyman, and Michael Jenkins from Florence District 1; Wonda Hilliard of Greenville County Schools; Brian Day of Calhoun County Schools; Barbara Bodison from Berkeley County Schools; Coastal Carolina University English Professor Dr. Veronica Gerald; South Carolina State University student Enifinette; and retired educator Patricia Evans Hall. Institute presenters included:

  • Jean Grosser, professor of art, Coker College
  • Joy Young, S.C. Arts Commission
  • Dr. Larry D. Watson, professor of history, South Carolina State University and the University of South Carolina
  • Dr. Bobby Donaldson, professor of history, University of South Carolina and the Center for Civil Rights History and Research at USC
  • Dr. Valinda Littlefield, director of African American studies, University of South Carolina
  • Dr. Louis Venters, associate professor of history, Francis Marion University
  • Dr. Jennifer Heusel, assistant professor of communication, Coker College
  • Brian Gandy, Darlington County Historical Commission
  • Felicia Flemming McCall, Southern African American Heritage Center
  • Cecil Williams, photographer
  • Joseph DeLaine, Briggs v. Elliott
  • Nathaniel Briggs, Briggs v. Elliott
  • James Felder, historian
  • Alada Shinault Small, historian and Charleston tour guide

S.C. African American Heritage conference features Jonathan Green

Jonathan GreenSouth Carolina artist Jonathan Green will headline the annual conference of the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission in Columbia on Friday, March 28, at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Green, widely known for his bold, colorful paintings depicting Gullah life in the South Carolina Lowcountry where he grew up, will be the keynote speaker for the conference's awards ceremony. Two signed posters of his paintings will be up for auction.

This year's conference theme is "Exploring African American History Through the Arts." Presentations include building arts education into today's education curricula, capturing family stories using visual and media arts, and preserving a community's history.

The day will end with a performance by the Concert Choir of Benedict College demonstrating the evolution of spiritual music from chants and shape notes to hymns and contemporary gospel.

The conference runs from 9 a.m. -- 5 p.m. and is open to the public. Registration is $50. Find more information or register online.

Image: Jonathan Green, Sea Swing

Via: South Carolina African American Heritage Commission

S.C. African American Heritage Commission to screen documentary “Homegoings”

The public is invited to a screening of Homegoings, the soon-to-be broadcast PBS documentary directed and produced by Christine Turner and featuring South Carolina native and New York funeral home director Isaiah Owens. Hosted by the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission, the screening takes place Thursday, June 13 at 5 p.m. at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History in Columbia. Seating is limited and reservations are required. Call (843) 917-3350 by June 11 to reserve your seat. Through the eyes of funeral director Isaiah Owens, Homegoings brings the beauty and grace of African-American funerals to life. Filmed at Owens Funeral Home in New York City’s historic Harlem neighborhood, the documentary takes an up-close look at the rarely seen world of undertaking in the black community, where funeral rites draw on a rich palette of tradition, history and celebration. Combining cinéma vérité with intimate interviews and archival photographs, the film paints a portrait of the dearly departed, their grieving families and a man who sends our loved ones “home." The evening will include a panel discussion about African American homegoing traditions. Panel members are Chris Leevy Johnson of Leevy’s Funeral Home in Columbia, James Flemming of Flemming Funeral Homes in Chesterfield, Rep. Anne Parks of Parks Funeral Home in Greenwood, and Herbert Fielding of Fielding Home for Funerals in Charleston. The panel will be moderated by Beryl Dakers, director of cultural programming and executive producer for outreach at South Carolina ETV. This event is a collaboration with POV, PBS’ award-winning nonfiction film series. Related: Read a New York Daily News article about the documentary. Via: S.C. African American Heritage Commission