The University of South Carolina Beaufort is set to host a series of educational, cultural and entertaining activities in February to commemorate African American History Month.
The events on all three university campuses are sponsored by South Carolina Humanities, a not-for-profit organization that seeks to inspire, engage and enrich South Carolinians with programs on literature, history, culture and heritage. The National Endowment for the Humanities is the parent firm of SC Humanities.
African American History Month was designated by Congress in 1986 to raise awareness of African American history, to acknowledge African American contributions to the American story, and to apply lessons learned from these experiences to future relations among races.
Dr. Meldon Hollis, visiting professor in the Political Science department at Savannah State University, will deliver the keynote address at the Opening Session and Reception Feb. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the lobby of the Hargray Building on USCB’s Bluffton Campus. USCB Chancellor Al M. Panu, Ph.D., will offer brief welcoming remarks, Gullah artist Sonja Griffin Evans will present an original work on voting rights, and the USCB Gospel Choir will perform.
“’Eyes on the Prize’ provides the backdrop for our month-long series of activities in celebration of African American history and culture,” says Najmah Thomas, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences and program coordinator for Human Services at USCB. “Much of the footage from the documentary encompasses what the civil rights movement was all about—the prize of voting rights and full participation in society for African Americans. With the upcoming presidential elections and the overall national conversation around civic participation, our committee decided 2020 would be an ideal time to reflect back and look forward and ask what is the prize now, and how do we collectively set goals to achieve it?”
Dr. Thomas, the faculty member for African American Studies at USCB, is chair of the committee responsible for organizing February’s series of events.
Scheduled Events
USCB Center for the Arts
Beaufort CampusThe Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess is an English-language opera adopted from the play Porgy, which itself was adapted from the 1925 novel of the same name. It tells the story of Porgy, a disabled, black street-beggar living in the slums of Charleston who attempts to rescue Bess from her violent and possessive lover and her drug-dealer.
Keynote Address: Dr. Meldon Hollis
5 to 7 p.m.
Hargray Lobby
Bluffton Campus
5 to 7 p.m.
USCB Center for the Arts
Beaufort CampusThe PBS series “Eyes on the Prize” covered 30 years of the American Civil Rights Movement. It forms the backdrop for USCB’s 2020 African American History Month series. Two selections, “Awakenings” and “Two Societies,” will be presented followed by a panel discussion to seek a collective vision for the future.
February 8 – Orangeburg Massacre
6 to 8 p.m.
USCB Center for the Arts
Bluffton CampusThree young, black students were killed by police gunfire on the South Carolina State University campus on the night of Feb. 8, 1968; 27 others were wounded. None of the students were armed. This presentation includes a viewing of the documentary “Scarred Justice,” a discussion of the events and a candlelight vigil. Two former SCSU students who witnessed the 1968 event, Jacquelyn Fields and Jenetha Hollis, will present candid accounts of what happened that night. Joining them is Cecil Williams, the SCSU photographer during this period. A candlelight vigil to remember the victims and survivors will follow on the lawn in front of the CFA.
Movie, 7 p.m.
USCB Center for the Arts
Beaufort CampusThe Best of Enemies, starring Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell, is a movie based on the true story of an unlikely relationship between Ann Atwater, an outspoken civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis, a local Ku Klux Klan leader. The two came together to serve as co-chairs of a community summit on desegregating public schools in Durham, N.C., during the racially charged summer of 1971.
5 to 7 p.m.
Library 237
Bluffton CampusPioneering newspaper editor Wanda Lloyd illuminates the importance of racial diversity in newsrooms and the difficulty of achieving that diversity, especially for black women, in the memoir that begins with her birth in 1949 and continues to 2019. Along the way, she offers hundreds of anecdotes and scenarios about her rise through the ranks to top positions at major newspapers dominated by white males. She is a former chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications at Savannah State University.
5 to 7 p.m.
OLLI Room 103
Hilton Head Island CampusRacial and ethnic minorities are less likely than whites to receive preventive health services and often receive lower-quality care. They also have worse health outcomes for certain conditions, according to the Commonwealth Fund, a foundation that promotes a “high-performing health care system.” The panel will engage in a candid discussion about the ways social determinants affect health outcomes and the strategies that can be employed to get closer to health equity by 2030.
February 20 – Student Panel Discussion: Voting Rights, Responsibilities and Political Power
5 to 7 p.m.
Campus Center 105
Bluffton Campus
Students engage in a lively discussion of what they consider to be the most critical issues of the 2020 election. Watch for student loan debt, criminal justice reform, environmental issues and gun control to be right there at the top. This student-led discussion is always a crowd favorite.
February 21 – Hilton Head Island’s Gullah Celebration
5 to 8 p.m.
Queen Chapel
AME ChurchThe Gullah Music Series honors the spiritual thread that binds today’s Gullah people with their African ancestors. The Voices of El Shaddai is a group of singers who perform spiritual and gospel music of their cultural heritage—the Gullah people of South Carolina.
February 26 – The Divine 9 and the College Experience
6 to 8 p.m.
Campus Center 105
Bluffton CampusBlack Greek lettered organizations known as the Divine 9 have historically supported some of America’s most influential social and political movements. Service to the community, however, remains their top priority. Divine 9 members will share their thoughts on the college experience at historically black colleges and universities and at predominantly white institutions.
February 27 – Closing Reception and Harlem Renaissance Freedom Ball
5 p.m. to midnight
Campus Center 105
Bluffton Campus
Students will reflect on lessons learned and share what they plan to do in the future. Artist Dorneisha Batson will reveal an original piece created for “Eyes on the Prize: 2020 Vision.” Then, it’s a return to the Roaring Twenties—the 1920s. The Harlem Renaissance was a virtual explosion of intellectual, social and artistic expression that centered on the Harlem section of Manhattan (New York City) in that decade. It encompassed poetry, prose, painting, sculpture, music, dance and so much more. Don your suits and hats, pearls and heels and dance the night away in a Harlem Renaissance-themed party.
For more information about African-American History Month activities at USCB, contact Dr. Najmah Thomas at (843) 208-8339 or nthomas2@uscb.edu.
