State Documents for Black History Month

From the Lowcountry to the Upstate and everywhere in between, African Americans in South Carolina have contributed greatly to the state, nation, and the world.

This month, we celebrate their important contributions to the Palmetto State through art, music, science, politics, education, literature, and much more. Explore these web, print, and video resources to learn more about South Carolina and its people.

State Resources

Information

Podcasts

Videos

Selected State Documents

Cover of African-Americans and the Palmetto State

African-Americans and the Palmetto State

South Carolina Department of Education

Published in 1994, this book attempted to fill a gap in South Carolina social studies text by sharing the contributions African Americans made to the history and culture of the state. This text also highlights the individual Black South Carolinians who have left an important legacy on the Palmetto State. This book was also a 1994 Notable State Documents Award winner!

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Cover of South Carolina Hall of Fame: Benjamin E. Mays, Educator

South Carolina Hall of Fame: Benjamin E. Mays, Educator

South Carolina Educational Television Commission

A native of Greenwood, he was the eighth child born to formerly enslaved parents. He graduated from Bates College and the University of Chicago, where he received an M.A. and Ph.D. He was Dean, School of Religion at Howard University from 1934-1940 and president of Morehead College from 1940-1967. In 1968, he was elected president of the Atlanta Board of Education. He received forty-seven honorary degrees nationwide and was recognized as a great force for civil rights. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said of him, "He is my spiritual mentor and intellectual father."

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Cover of African American Historic Places in South Carolina

African American Historic Places in South Carolina

South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office

This electronic publication provides information on properties in South Carolina that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places or have been recognized with South Carolina Historical Markers as of June 2021 and have important associations with African American history.

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Cover of I Will Not Be Silent And I Will Be Heard: Martin Luther King, Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Penn Center 1964-1967

I Will Not Be Silent And I Will Be Heard: Martin Luther King, Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Penn Center 1964-1967

J. Tracy Power; South Carolina Department of Archives and History

This booklet discusses the relationship between Penn Center on St. Helena Island and Martin Luther King, Jr. and his leadership in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Penn Center was the successor to Penn School, which had been founded during the Civil War by Northern missionaries who helped educate and train the local Black community after Federal forces had occupied the area. During the Civil Rights Movement, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference frequently chose Penn Center as the site for its meetings, workshops, and staff retreats as did other organizations from all over the South.

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Cover of The Jenkins Orphanage Band Viewer’s Guide

The Jenkins Orphanage Band Viewer’s Guide

South Carolina Educational Television Commission

The Jenkins Orphanage Band was created by Rev. Daniel Jenkins (1862-1937) as a means of raising funds for his newly opened orphanage during the early 1890s. The band, which eventually grew to five ensembles, was hugely successful and traveled to many cities across the United States and England until they disbanded after World War II. The band proved a training ground for professional musicians who would influence with world of jazz and American popular music. Several famous jazz musicians got their start in the Jenkins Orphanage Band including Gus Aiken who played in Louis Armstrong’s Band and drummer Tommy Benford who starred with Jelly Roll Morton.

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Cover of From Deep Roots to New Ground: The Gullah Landscapes of Jonathan Green

From Deep Roots to New Ground: The Gullah Landscapes of Jonathan Green

McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina

This booklet was published in conjunction with an exhibition held at McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina. South Carolina art Jonathan Green seeks to recall in his painting the feeling, texture, and color of a way of life that is rapidly vanishing from the coast of South Carolina. The center of Gullah culture, this region is often called the Lowcountry or the Sea Islands, and is made up of flatlands, marshes, inlets, rivers, and islands. Until many of the island were joined to the mainland by causeways and bridges in the latter part of the twentieth century, their geographical isolation sustained a complex and distinctive culture derived from West African and Caribbean traditions.

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Upcoming Event

Photo of Michael Williams

Author Michael G. Williams and Arcane Carolinas Volume 2

March 13, 2025, 6:00 PM

Michael will discuss Arcane Carolinas Volume 2 while also exploring some South Carolina holiday-themed ghost tales, an international tradition the State Library is excited to participate in. Michael uses library resources to explore folklore and all things eerie in the Carolinas. 

This Week