South Carolina

The civil rights era in the United States was a turbulent time of struggle and protest, with groups making history all across the nation. African American police officers in Charleston were immersed in their own battle to integrate local law enforcement agencies. These pioneers endured hatred and resentment within the department and sometimes from those they were sworn to protect. Lieutenant Eugene Frazier, Detective George Gathers and others fought the establishment while climbing the ranks to solve some of the toughest crimes that Charleston has ever seen. Join Frazier as he recounts the true stories of those who fought for equality.

In its over three hundred years of history, Charleston, South Carolina, has been known for many things. One of the most intriguing aspects of its past--and present--is its dynamic Jewish community.

Documented as part of the Lowcountry since the 1690s, Charleston Jews have contributed to the region, the nation and the world. In 1800, the city boasted the largest and wealthiest Jewish population in the country, and Charleston has been continually shaped by this significant group of men and women, both religious and secular, humble and heroic.

Here are their stories--both old and new--all intermixed with tales of historic buildings, congregations, religious movements and cemeteries, wonderfully told by preeminent Charleston Jewish historian Solomon Breibart. Collected from a lifetime of work, these explorations offer the reader a wealth of material: essays of historic significance, biographies, lists and chronologies, and telling vignettes that together suggest the rich mosaic of Jewish life that has been part of Charleston and the Lowcountry.

It's a tale told nowhere else, and no one could tell it better, or in such a lively way, than Solomon Breibart.

In the late 1930s the Writer's Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) began an undertaking to document the history and folklore of South Carolina as told by surviving slaves and their descendents. What was produced over the five-and-half-year project was an extensive collection--thousands of written pages--of African American folklore that had been passed down through generations and, until then, had never before been put to paper.

Before and After Freedom is a collection of authentic Lowcountry folklore as directly told to the WPA field workers and captured through their written reports. Southern author Nancy Rhyne has assembled a cross section of writing that gives the reader an understanding of the stories and superstitions embraced by generations of former slaves and their families. Along with WPA reports, Rhyne also has added stories from personal interviews and detailed research. From former slaves to Charleston's social elite and the state's first governors, this is a diverse collection of tales, but all of them reveal a character and nature that is true to the South Carolina Lowcountry.

In 1937, after decades in the North, Archibald Rutledge returned to the "hyacinth days and camellia nights" of his native Carolina Lowcountry to restore his family home, Hampton Plantation. Originally published in 1947, these pages describe, in intimate and compelling detail, the plantation life he found upon his return. In the simple and lyrical language that has become the hallmark of the first poet laureate of South Carolina, Rutledge eloquently portrays the black men and women who labored alongside him in the marshes of the Santee. From his beloved companion Prince Alston to the master carpenter Lewis Colleton to Mobile "The Hunterman," who saved his infant from the talons of an eagle with a single musket shot, the people of the plantation come to life in the hands of this southern literary legend.

Author and Bahá'í historian Louis Venters provides, for the first time, an overview of the first century of the Bahá'í Faith in a state with one of its strongest followings.

The Bahá'í Faith is increasingly acknowledged as South Carolina's second-largest religion, part of the social fabric of the state. The earliest mentions of the distinctively interracial, theologically innovative faith community in the state date back to the Civil War. Black, white and indigenous South Carolinians defied racial and religious prejudices to join the religion during the tumultuous civil rights era. From the visit of the first Bahá'í teacher in 1910 to the "Carolinian Pentecost'? of the 1970s and beyond, the faith has deep roots in the Palmetto State.

For 140 years, Charleston's Avery Research Center has been a hub of African American education and study in the South Carolina Lowcountry. No other institution compares to Avery's scope and impact on the black community in Charleston, and Avery's compelling story and rich history reflect that prominence. The influence of Avery's teachers and students on society in Charleston and the South is immeasurable; their legacy enduring.

Established in 1865, the Avery Normal Institute educated Charleston's African American leaders and trained most of the area's black teachers. Avery flourished and emerged as a leading college preparatory institute, vital to Charleston's interracial environment. The list of important contributions by Avery's teachers and students includes the establishment of the Charleston chapter of the NAACP, a successful petition to secure positions for black teachers in the city's public schools, the fight for desegregation in the sixties, and the hospital strike of 1969--Charleston's last major civil rights confrontation.

Edmund L. Drago artfully conveys Avery's history, from its beginnings during Reconstruction to its current incarnation as an African American research center under the auspices of the College of Charleston. With a new foreword by Avery Center Director W. Marvin Dulaney, this edition brings to bear a wealth of sources, including oral histories and private papers, to reveal the history of a vaunted institution. Charleston's Avery Center places Avery's story within a larger social and historical context, offering fascinating insight into the dynamics of race relations in Charleston, the Lowcountry, and the South.

Stories of a People

Throughout history, African Americans passed along folk tales to ease burdens and make sense of experiences. Tracing back to West Africa, this storytelling tradition provided laughter, instruction and resilience. Animal stories often were proverbs for adults and teaching points for children. Two pioneering Black schoolteachers told of their careers in education. An eyewitness described the Charleston Race Riot in 1919. Others gave testimonies of Denmark Vesey’s attempted slave rebellion. Author Damon L. Fordham presents this collection of Black South Carolina stories and narratives based on interviews and research, including his travels in Africa.

Six Against the State

In 1895, Senator Benjamin Tillman of South Carolina attempted to solidify his political power. He proposed to rewrite the South Carolina Constitution to deny African Americans their constitutional rights and make racial segregation the law of the state. Six Black leaders--Robert Anderson, Isaiah Reed, Robert Smalls, William J. Whipper, James Wigg and Thomas E. Miller--went to the state capitol in the face of insult and ridicule to make an eloquent stand against these developments. The erudite and forceful addresses of these men drew worldwide headlines but are largely forgotten today. Author Damon L. Fordham attempts to rectify that omission and inspire generations to come.

James Island remains one of the few places in the United States where descendants of slaves can easily trace their roots to one of the seventeen slave plantations.

For many African Americans, it is hard to imagine how far this small island on the coast of South Carolina has come. It has left them with a legacy of the pain of living in a time and place wrought with hardship but somehow still intermingled with the happiness that comes from a community built on family, love, strength and honor. In this powerful collection, local resident and oral historian Eugene Frazier chronicles the stories of various James Island families and their descendants. Frazier has spent years collecting family and archival photographs and family remembrances to accompany the text, while also paying homage to men and women of the United States military and African American pioneers from James Island and surrounding areas.

The Catawba—one of the few original Native American communities of the Carolinas—have a rich and fascinating history that can be dated to 2400 BC.

While the Catawba once were the inhabitants of a large swath of land that covered parts of North and South Carolina, after managing to remain in the Carolinas during the notorious Trail of Tears, most Catawba now live on a reservation in York County, South Carolina. In Catawba Nation: Treasures in History, Thomas J. Blumer seeks to preserve and present the history of this resilient people. Blumer chronicles Catawba history, such as Hernando de Soto's meeting with the Lady of Cofitachique, the leadership of Chief James Harris and the fame of potter Georgia Harris, who won the National Heritage Award for her art. Using an engaging mix of folklore, oral history and historical records, Blumer weaves an accessible history of the tribe, preserving their story of suffering and survival for future generations.

Since the colonization of South Carolina in 1670, Irish people have been instrumental in shaping the state's history. These humble Irish immigrants, overcoming a legacy of prejudice, soon became the heroes of Palmetto culture. The Palmetto State has a truly "lucky" past--Sullivan's Island is named after the Revolutionary War hero Captain Florence O'Sullivan, and two Irishmen signed the Declaration of Independence on behalf of South Carolina. Arthur Mitchell, distinguished professor and Irish historian, recounts the trials and triumphs of the Irish and their kin in South Carolina.

Vennie Deas Moore captures the vanishing world of the Lowcountry fishermen in images and words that are pure, simple, and unflinchingly honest. In editor and collaborator William Baldwin, Deas Moore has a found a kindred spirit, a native of the Lowcountry who frames her photographs and stories with a deft touch. The result is an inspiring look at those who harvest the bounty of the Lowcountry's waters, and the stunning landscape that is their home.