South Carolina's African-American History and Culture
Visit the region where Africans as slaves and indentured servants helped settle the first permanent colony in the Carolinas in 1670. Tour the region where the Gullah language and culture still flourish! Walk the streets of historic Charleston and trace African American life from the arrival of slaves in the 1670s to the modern Civil Rights Movement. All across South Carolina, you’ll find historic sites, plantations, churches, museums, art centers, monuments and festivals dedicated to honoring the art, music, spirit and accomplishments of South Carolina African Americans.
The similarities between Barbados and South Carolina are the focus of a traveling art and history exhibit. The Connection consists of over 70 pieces from South Carolina and Barbadian artists that reflect the shared traditions between the island and South Carolina in the areas of agriculture, horticulture, arts, African American heritage and maritime heritage. The exhibit can be seen at the Penn Center on St. Helena Island June 1-July 15 and at North Charleston American LaFrance Fire Museum August 1-September 15. The South Carolina Heritage Corridor and the Barbados Ministry of Tourism are joint sponsors of The Connection.
The Carolina Colony began in 1670 when a group of English settlers, along with indentured servants and slaves, sailed from Barbados to recreate the sugar plantations on the North American coast. They founded what is now known as Charleston.
Learn more about the historical relationship through the paintings, drawings, pottery and basketry of artists when you visit The Connection.
African-American Historic Places in South Carolina
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This cemetery was founded in 1871 and named in memory of B.F. Randolph, an African American who served as a senator in the South Carolina Legislature during Reconstruction. Randolph was was killed in 1868 by whites in Abbeville while campaigning. Randolph and eight other African-Americans who served in the State General Assembly during Reconstruction are among those interred here.
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 Columbia |
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Rev's tour is an "UNFUGULLABLE" experience that not only showcases historic sites, but lets you experience the Gullah culture as it is today.
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 Saint Helena Island |
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Civil War hero Robert Smalls gained fame for escaping slavery by piloting a Confederate ship, that also carried his brother John and their families, past rebel forces at Charleston Harbor and delivering it to Union forces in Beaufort. After the War, Smalls was among the first African Americans elected to the US Congress and he served in the state senate. A memorial to Smalls' life stands in the churchyard of Beaufort's Tabernacle Baptist Church, where he is buried.
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Beaufort |
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This family farm is home to best selling author Dorinda "Dori" Sanders, whose credits include "Clover" and "Her Own Place." During summer months, visitors can find Dori at the farm's roadside market selling fresh fruits and vegetables, autographing books, telling stories and entertaining customers.
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 York |
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See sites and hear stories of Charleston's Black History and Gullah Culture from an African American perspective in our motorized Black History, Porgy and Bess, and Sea Island Tours of James and Johns Islands; and Charleston's Cemetery Tour. Plantation and special tours available upon request. Combination tour of Charleston and the Sea Islands offers visitors a taste of all the Gullah / Geechee Culture. Step-On Bus Services. Tours depart daily from the Visitor Center, 375 Meeting Street.
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 Charleston |
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These nine brick slave homes at Boone Hall Plantation date to 1790-1810. Known collectively as "Slave Street," it is one of the few remaining intact in the Southeast. The only brick slave street in the United States, the brick cabins and Boone Hall were prominently featured in the television mini-series "North and South," based on John Jake's novel, and "Queen" based on Alex Haley's novel.
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Mount Pleasant |
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The slave village contains six slave cabins and a slave chapel. In 1860, there were over one hundred slaves living and working in Mansfield. Major filming site for "The Patriot."
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 Georgetown |
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The museum offers research and is a repository of historical documents, artifacts, photographs and memorabilia of the antebellum slave era.
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 Walterboro |
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Follow in the footsteps of Gen. William T. Sherman's Union Army which passed through the Cotton Trail on its way into North Carolina during the Carolinas' Campaign in 1865. This driving tour highlights the cotton industry from farm to gin and everything in between. Real cotton fields line the roads as the trail goes from I-20 (Bishopville) through Hartsville, Society Hill, Cheraw, Bennettsville, Clio and on to I-95 near Dillon. Many sites along the trail are historic in nature and depict the architecture and "way of life" of the day.
From the time cotton was "king" in the South through present day, African-Americans have played a major role in the agricultural developments of South Carolina. The South Carolina Cotton Trail travels through five rural communities with sites that include Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden, the SC Cotton Museum, the home site where Simon Brown first spun the tales of Brer Rabbit, and Dizzy Gillespie's hometown. Drive and experience a taste of this dynamic facet of Southern and Pee Dee heritage. Step-on guides available for motorcoach groups.
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 Hartsville |
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Founded in 1896 as the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural & Mechanical College of SC, this university makes up 10 historic buildings dating from 1917-1969. With its origins in the Morrill Land Grant Acts of 1862 and 1890 providing for land-grant colleges, intended "for the best education of the hand, head and heart of South Carolina's young manhood and womanhood of the Negro race." It became SC State College in 1954 and SC State University in 1992.
State is consistently among the national leaders in producing African-American students with baccalaureate degrees in biology, education, business, engineering technology/computer science/mathematics, and English language/literature. Moreover, they are one of three universities in South Carolina to offer a doctoral program in Educational Administration and one of two schools in the state to offer an accredited master's degree program in Speech-Language Pathology.
You will enjoy a wide variety of events and activities that make campus life special at STATE - NCAA Division I athletics for men and women, the world-famous Marching 101 band, the pageantry and history of Homecoming and Founder's Day, and many others. And because STATE is centrally located in South Carolina, you'll enjoy pleasant weather and easy access to the beaches, the mountains, and such metropolitan centers as Charleston, Columbia, Charlotte, and Atlanta.
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