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AUTHOR Botsch, Carol Sears; And Others TITLE African-Americans and the Palmetto State. INSTITUTION South Carolina State Dept. of Education, Columbia. PUB DATE 94 NOTE 246p. PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom Use (055)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Area Studies; *Black Culture; *Black History; Blacks; *Mack Studies; Cultural Context; Ethnic Studies; Grade 8; Junior High Schools; Local History; Resource Materials; Social Environment' *Social History; Social Studies; State Curriculum Guides; State Government; *State History IDENTIFIERS *African Americans; South Carolina

ABSTRACT This book is part of a series of materials and aids for instruction in black history produced by the State Department of Education in compliance with the Education Improvement Act of 1984. It is designed for use by eighth grade teachers of South Carolina history as a supplement to aid in the instruction of cultural, political, and economic contributions of African-Americans to South Carolina History. Teachers and students studying the history of the state are provided information about a part of the citizenry that has been excluded historically. The book can also be used as a resource for Social Studies, English and Elementary Education. The volume's contents include:(1) "Passage";(2) "The Creation of Early South Carolina"; (3) "Resistance to Enslavement";(4) "Free African-Americans in Early South Carolina";(5) "Early African-American Arts";(6) "The Civil War";(7) "Reconstruction"; (8) "Life After Reconstruction";(9) "Religion"; (10) "Literature"; (11) "Music, Dance and the Performing Arts";(12) "Visual Arts and Crafts";(13) "Military Service";(14) "Civil Rights"; (15) "African-Americans and South Carolina Today"; and (16) "Conclusion: What is South Carolina?" Appendices contain lists of African-American state senators and congressmen. An index is included. Contains 371 references.(EH)

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us, b._ 1 African-Americans and the Palmetto State Special thanks to Southern Bell for giving the South Carolina State Department of Education permission to use artwork from the South Carolina African-American History Calendar on the cover of this book. All portraits were created by Southern Bell Graphic Artist Jeffery R. Strange.

4 African-Americans and the Palmetto State

Authors: Dr. Carol Sears Botsch Public Administration Consultants Dr. Robert E. Botsch Professor of Political Science University of South CarolinaAiken Dr. James 0. Farmer Professor of History University of South CarolinaAiken Dr. W. Calvin Smith Professor of History University of South CarolinaAiken The Project was developed under the auspice ofthe State Department of Education Dr. Barbara S. Nielsen, Superintendent State Department of Education Dr. Luther W. Seabrook, Senior ExecutiveAssistant Curriculum and Instruction Division Dr. William Chaiken Director, Technical Assistance Edna Crews Director, Office of Education Design Willie L. Harriford Jr. Education Associate, African-American History Margaret Walden Education Associate, Social Studies (0 Copyright 1994 by South Carolina State Department of Education.No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted inany form or by any means electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Manufactured in the United States of America.

Soul!: Carolina Stale Department of Education Columbia SC 29219 Acknowledgements Many people gave generously of their time and expertise toguide us in our preparation of this book. Many others shared pictures andartwork with us. We would like to thank all of those who helped. Spaceonly allows us to acknowledge a few individually. We would particularly like tothank Dr. Constance Shulz of the University of South Carolina,Harriet Green of the South Carolina Arts Commission, Dr. Howard Woody ofthe University of South Carolina, Lynn Nelson-Mason and Kevin Tucker ofthe Columbia Museum of Art, Dr. Thomas Johnson of the South CarolinianaLibrary, Rowena Nylund of the South Carolina Department ofParks, Recreation and Tourism, Dr. Girma Negash of the University of SouthCarolinaAiken, and Rosie Berry of Schofield Middle School in Aiken. Wewould also like to thank David Botsch for giving us insights from his perspective as astudent who just finished middle school. All of these people and may morecontributed enthu- siastically. The State Department of Education would like to thankthe Legislative Black Caucus for their help and support in the creation, reviewing,revising, and publication of this book. Publication of this book could nothave occurred without their generous support. The department wouldalso like to thank the numerous organizations andindividuals that contributed to the publication of this book by reviewing the draft copy and returningtheir comments and suggestions for changes and additions. February 15,1994

To the Students, Teachers and Administrators of the Schools of South Carolina:

I am pleased to send you a copy of the book, African-Americans and the Palmetto State.This book is the product of the research and writing of several South Carolina historians and political scientists, and a critical review of their work by numerous members of the South Carolina Community. The cover design uses persons from the African-American History Calendars produced by Southern Bell.

This book is part of a series of materials and aids for instruction in Black History produced by the State Department of Education in compliance with the Education Improvement Act of 1984.It is designed for use by eighth grade teachers of South Carolina History as a supplement to aid in the instruction of cultural; politica4 and economic contributions of African-Americans to South Carolina History.It will aid teachers and students studying the history of our state by providing information abouta part of our citizenry that in the past had been excluded.The use of this book is not limited just to eighth grade teachers of South Carolina History, butcan be utilized as a resource by all teachers of Social Studies, English, and Elementary Education.

This book will give children a better understanding of the history and culture of South Carolina's African-American citizens, and this understanding will createa better educational environment for all children.

Sincerely,

Barbara Stock Nielsen, Ed. State Superintendent of Edu ation VVV Contents

Preface To the Teacher To the Students 1. Passage 1 A Day in the Life of Baroka 1 African Roots 2 Cultural Transmissions 5 Passage to South Carolina 10 2. The Creation of Early SouthCarolina 13 The Rice Culture 13 Gullah 15 The First Cowboys 16 Jockeys 18 Skills and Crafts 18 The Value of Enslaved Labor 21 Material and Cultural Heritage 22 3. Resistance to Enslavement 23 Conditions 23 Enduring Enslavement 24 Resisting Enslavement 24 Different Forms of Resistance 24 The Stono Rebellion 27 Resistance in the Era of the AmericanRevolution 28 Resists -ice in the 1800s 29 Escape to the North 30 The Abolitionist Movement 30 Ways to Survive Daily Life 31 When All Africans Could Fly 32 4. Free African-Americans inEarly South Carolina 33 How They Became Free Tom Molyneux: Boxing to Freedom 35

vii Restrictions on Freedom 35 Ways of Making a Living 37 Organizations 40 Future Leaders 42 5. Early African-American Arts 43 Literature 43 Music 43 Musical Instruments 46 Handicrafts 47 Food and Its Preparation 52 Architecture 55 Survival of Cultural Traditions 57 6. The Civil War 59 Learning About the War 59 Work Slowdowns and Stoppages 60 Fleeing Enslavement 61 Providing Information to Union Troops 62 Fighting For the Union 62 Robert Smalls 64 Susie King Taylor 65 African-Americans in the Confederacy 66 Revenge 67 Looking Toward Rebuilding 67 7. Reconstruction 69 The 1868 Constitution 69 Leaders 71 Policies of the Reconstructionist State Government 73 Public Education 73 Higher Education 74 Land Distribution 76 Life on the LandEnduring Against the Odds 76 The Penn Center and St. Helena Island 76 Promised Land 78 Rebuilding Families 79 The 1876 Election 81 Losing Political Rights 82 The Convention of 1895Six Lonely Voices 82 Reconsidering History 83 8. Life After Reconstruction 85 Coping with Discrimination 85 Educational Self-Help 86

Viii AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 10 Agricultural Self-Help 91 Daily Lives: Away from the Farm 94 Business, Skilled Crafts, and Labor 95 Professionals Who Beat the Odds 98 Emigration 99 Exodus to Liberia 100 Westward Ho! Pioneers and Cowboys 100 The Great Migration to Cities 101 The Story of the Reynolds Family 101 Lost Brain Power 102 Slowly Building For a Better Day 104 9. Religion 105 Conversions to Christianity 105 Religion as a Means of Control 106 The Double Meaning of Religious Words 106 Religion and Revolution 108 Christian Religion with an African Style 108 Grave Decorations 108 Establishment of Churches by FreeAfrican-Americans 110 Silver Bluff Primitive Baptist Church 111 Catholic Churches 111 Ladson Presbyterian Church 111 African-American Religion After the CivilWar 111 The Growth of the African MethodistEpiscopal (AME) Church 112 The African Methodist Epsicopal ZionChurch 112 The Christian Methodist EpiscopalChurch 112 The United Methodist Church 113 The Presbyterian Church 113 The Episcopal Church 114 Catholic Churches After the Civil War 114 Pentecostal and Holiness Churches 114 The Baptist Church 114 People Helping People: The ReverendCharles jaggers 115 The Political and Social Role ofChurches 116 A Religion of Endurance and Hope 117 10. Literature 119 Brer Rabbit Stories: Simon Brownand Dr. William Faulkner '119 Fiction and Poetry 120 Autobiographies and Non-Fiction 124 Continuing the Oral Tradition 128

CONTENTS ix 11. Music, Dance, and the Performing Arts 131 Musk 131 The Jenkins Orphanage Band 132 James Reese Europe's 15th Regimental Band in WorldWar I133 Jazz 135 Gospel Music and Its Influenceon jazz and Blues 137 Rhythm and Blues 138 The Charleston 139 The Shag: South Carolina's Official StateDance 140 Dance 140 Drama 141 African-American Cultural Heritageas Part of Americana 143 12. Visual Arts and Crafts 145 African-Amercian Life Through White Eyes 145 The Flowering of African-American Art in the1900s 145 The Harlem Renaissance and Its Impact 146 Impact in South Carolina 147 African-American Art Through African-AmericanEyes 148 Philip Simmons: Master Ironworker 155 Losses and Gains to South Carolina 156 13. Military Service 157 Colonial America 157 The Revolutionary War 158 The War of 1812The Battle of New Orleans 159 How the West Was Won 159 The First African-American West Point Cadet 161 Winning the Battle of San Juan Hill 162 World War I 163 World War II 164 Korea 168 Vietnam 168 The Persian Gulf War of 1991 170 Lessons 170

14. Civil Rights 171 The Story of Ossie McKaine 171 The Importance of Organization 174 Mary McLeod Bethune 175 Septima Poinsette Clark 177 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 177 Modjeska Monteith Simpkins 178

X AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE School Integration 178 Voting Rights 181 Moderation and Violence 183 The Impact of Having the Vote 185 The Legislative Black Caucus 187 Benefits For Us All 188 15. African-Americans and SouthCarolina Today 189 Politics and Government Service 189 Education 191 Business 192 Science 193 Sports 194 Media and the Ails 196 Religion 197 Changing Lifestyles 198 Returning and Rediscovering Roots 199 16. Conclusion: What is SouthCarolina? 201 Bibliography 205 Ar)endices 217 Index 226

CONTINTSXI VV Preface

This book attempts to fill a gap in SouthCarolina almost all ways. The dominantscholarly belief social studies texts. The gap has beenthere for a was that little fromAfrican culture was worth long time, even though recent textshave preserving or remembering. Carolina's In recent decades research andstudy have reduced it a little. For most of South of both history between European colonizationand the found that all this was wrong. Scholars early 1900s, African-Americans were amajority races have confirmedwhat average African- all along. of the state's population. Yet historiesof the state American citizens knew in their hearts the contri- African-Americans have made valuablecontribu- rarely give more than a few pages to history. butions of African-Americans. tions to the state and nation throughout Scholars have ignored or failed to emphasize For example, think about thesmall farmer who the contributions of African-Americanfor a scratched out a living in the nearly worn-outsoil number of reasons. Some of those reasons are between the end of the Civil War andWorld War For much of the II. He was not just a small farmerbarely avoiding not very pleasant to consider. others were state's history, whites believedthat African- starvation. He and thousands of Americans were inferior. Because whites con- small businesspersons who were thebackbone of lives were often trolled the schools, that belief wasbuilt into the the state's economy. Yes, their books they chose to use. At worst,African- quite miserable. Many did fail. Butthose who Americans were called savages. At best,they were endured helped build a foundationfor future simply ignored. Of course, this made ithard for progress just like tiny seacreatures build coral African-Americans to think well of themselves. reefs which sustain life all around them.We now did main- know that many African-Americans wentwell In spite of this, African-Americans the story of tain their pride and preserve theirculture. A few beyond being small farmers. This is African-American scholars, like W.E.B. DuBois, all these people. proved the The values and institutions Africansbrought did studies in the early 1900s that they were great importance and value ofAfrican-Americans with them were not all lost. Rather, scholars were sometimes ignored or forgotten. Butthey were to the nation. However, these influenced ignored for a long time. still there. In addition, African culture after European culture. What we know asSouth As open prejudice began to decline African. It is a World War 11, the explanationchanged a little. Carolina is not really European or Scholars wrongly assumed that Africanculture blending of both. This is the story of thecontribu- had been lost during enslavement.Scholars tions of African culture to SouthCarolina culture. treated African-Americans as a peoplewithout a Although the main emphasis is onSouth history and culture of their own. Lackingtheir Carolina, we must also look beyondthe state. through South own culture, they wouldadopt European culture. More Africans came to America The only thing that slowed downthe process Carolina than through any othersingle state. With the end of dis-This links South Carolina tothe impact of was racial discrimination. like in South crimination,they could becomejustlike Africans on the entire nation. Just European-Americans. There was a negativeside Carolina, African-Americans havecontributed to that few to that belief, a side that still wasbuilt on preju- American life and culture in many ways dice. Although usually not stated, mostscholars people understand. We hope this bookwill help assumed that European culture wassuperior in you understand.

1.1 This book falls more into thecategory of just an object. It is also the idea behindthat what historians call social history ratherthan object. It is the feelings thatare inspired by that political history. Thismeans that our main object. So contributions must also includeideas emphasis will be on how people lived.We will and feelings. Many ideas and feelings look at the institutions African-Americans are found cre- in art, such as paintings, literature, crafts,and ated, like churches, schools, businesses,and music. Ideas and feelingsare very rich and communities. We will look at their familylives important contributions. and how they managed. We will lookat the Ideas and feelings are alsoa part of human things they created, suchas arts, crafts, literature, organizations, like churches and social and music. groups that inspire and help others. Sowe will look at Even though social affairsare the main cultural institutions as well. focus, we will also look at some political history. Institutionsthathelppeoplesuggest You can not understand people's liveswithout another category in addition to materialand looking at the political forces that shapedoppor- ideas. Contributions can affectour behavior. tunities. Politics is the study ofpower. Indeed, This includes speech, dress, whatwe eat, and much of the history of African-Americansin how we work and relate to each other.The South Carolina is the struggleto gain enough endurance that we will see in somany people in power to increase choices and chances. This isa this bookisamajor contribution.Their story of two steps forward and thenone step endurance inspires us to engage iha long term back. is the story of determined struggle. Itis struggle just as they did. The seedswe plant the story of persistence and endurance. today may make a better world for those thatlive Contributions is a key idea throughout the long after we are gone. text. What does contributions include? Wetake Someone very wise once said that the best a broad view. Obviously, includes material things thing you can do withyour life is be a good like buildings, wealth,inventions,crafts, and ancestor to those who come afteryou. You will even art. meet many good ancestors in this book. When we get into art, we have crossedover into a different area, the area of ideas. Artis not

XIV AFAICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

1,) VVV To theTeacher

in positive ways to the This text takes a very definitevalue position to those who responded well supported by hatred they encountered. That isrelatively easy which the authors feel is the overwhelming recent scholarly research.That position is that in South Carolina because valuable majority of civil rights leaders weremoderate African-Americans have made many Even the impatient and significant contributions tothe state and to and carried little bitterness. throughout the text that young civil rightsactivists of the 1960s have its culture. We argue the state. The what we know as South Carolinacannot be done positive things in building understood apart from its Africaninfluence. message is thatunderstanding and respect is that this healthier than misunderstandingand disrespect. Hopefully, we have come far enough so touch upon chal- position is no longer controversial.We can In the last chapter, we also lenges African-Americans facetoday. While remember the day when stateauthorities consid- of the to discuss. whites can help and be supportive, some ered integration too controversial from The authors also take amulti-cultural per- solutions are coming and must come understand and within the African-Americancommunity itself. spective. We want students to Perhaps the most difficult balance tostrike respect all cultures thathave contributed to our alone, one might is that of inclusiveness versusexclusiveness. A state. Looking at this text strike that wrongly conclude that the authorstake an Afro- multi-cultural approach attempts to is true that this delicate balance. Everyonehas a right to their centric point of view. Certainly it their own cultural pride, book focuses on Africaninfluences and highly own culture and to should remember whether that be Scottish, Irish,French, Greek, values those influences. You Native American, that this is intended to be asupplementary text, German, Hispanic, Japanese, to lend a greater bal- or African. Butcultural pride should not be used not a main text. It is meant cultures. As Americans we ance to main textsthat usually give far more cov- to denigrate other have a common culture aswell. Our common erage to Europeanculture and influence. individual cul- The authors take the positionthat neither of culture is the product of all our have defined the tures. Above all, ademocratic culture values the two major cultures that diversity, tolerance, and respect.It rejects those state are inherently superior.Both have strengths Neither European parts of our unique culturesthat hurt others. It is and both have weaknesses. the wisdom that come,. fromhundreds of years nor African cultures(and of course, these are unsuccessfully. It what are really many cultures of trying to live toge-ier, often summary terms for that we can do better and within a continent) have amonopoly on virtue. is the American dre.An be better than the last generation. One need only look aroundthe world today and of the see that people ofall culttnes are capable of Pictures are a very important part sacrifice. book. We looked at thousandsof pictures and incredible violence and 9f incredible thought students We have accentuated thepositive because tried to select the ones that we But we have not would find most interesting. Weused a number the focus is contributions. Constance Schulz's The avoided controversy. One cannotunderstand of pictures from Dr. without looking History of S.C. Slide Collection.This collection African-American contributions schools or from the at the struggle to surviveand make contribu- should be available in most white racism. State Department of Education.We have noted tions. That means we must cover caption. You might At the same time, we tried togive the most praise the slide number in each

XV consider using the slides and themore complete Finally, you could usea combination descriptions that are with the collectionas you method. You can work in the chapters discuss the ideas in this book with that have your class. the best chronological fit after likechapters i n This text is designed so that itcan be used in the main text. Thenyou can set aside about a several ways. First, it can be used as a stand-alone two week period to cover the chapters thatfocus text for a separate section ofyour social studies on literature, music, and the arts. You might class. The chapters follow enough con- of the history sider scheduling that separatemodule during of the state so that they shouldmake sense to February, which is Black History students in terms of what takes place Month. Black when. If History Month is a time when the popularpress you want to use the book thisway, you should often carries storieson art and culture that can allow a minimum of four weeks. supplement what you are studying in class. It can also be used asa supplement to a We have deliberately chosen main text. You can fit the chapters to write in a between nontraditional style for textbooks, whatwe call a chapters in the main text. Somecan be chosen "conversational" style. This style on chronological grounds. Obviously, uses many per- chapters sonal pronouns, like "we," "us,"and "you," and on the Civil War and Reconstructioncan be some colloquial expressions. Our done after like chapters in reason for a main text. Otherchoosing this style is to make thebook more chapters like those on literatureand on the arts reader friendly by engaging the will have to be arbitrarily placed. student in what The chapter on sounds like a personal conversation.We hope military service could fit in afterany of the war you and your students will enjoy reading this chapters in the main text. But it mightwork best book as much as we enjoyedwriting it. when you are covering the historyof the early 1900s. It has a significant emphasison World War I, a war usually not given muchemphasis in main texts.

XVI AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 1'l TV' To theStudents

of the main If you have an African heritage,this book is your blending of several cultures. One understand who you ingredients is African culture. SouthCarolina's story. It should help you If you like are. You can be proudof your story. African- cultural blood is partly African blood. Americans have made greatcontributions to to sit on the front porch, if youeat "goobers," if ancestors you "sweet talk"' someone,if you listen to jazz or both the state and nation. Your doing things included pioneers,artists,writers, cowboys, rock and roll or the blues, you are businesspersons, doc- with a very heavy African flavor. brave soldiers, successful that we tors, teachers, collegeprofessors, political lead- Second, the story is valuable so working people who survived learn not to repeat the mistakesof the past. We ers, and plain hard of our ancestors. But against terrible odds. cannot change the mistakes There is also much for which tobe very we can avoid repeatingthem. As much as who struggled African-Americans contributed to the state, con- thankful. You will learn of people had they been to give you a chance toread and to reach for the tributions could have been greater had those given a greater chance. Manybrilliant people stars. Many of your ancestors never because they felt they had kind of chances themselves. But youdo because were lost to the state forget that. You no chance here.They left. They made contribu- of what they did. You should not left poorer should take full advantage of whatthey fought tions to other states. We lost and were is not to feel guilty for mis- to give you. as a state. The point African, takes of forefathers. The point is tobe brave If your ethnic background is not done and you may think thatthis book has no value for enough to acknowledge what was There are several rea- understand that we can make thingsdifferent. If you. You would be wrong. and prosper, a good place sons why the storyof African-Americans in we are to live together to you. to start is by learningabout each other. We can South Carolina should be important ignore, dis- First, it is important if youconsider yourself a learn, respect, and prosper. Or we can South Carolinian. As you will learn,the place we respect, and fight. The choiceis yours. call South Carolina has beencreated by the

CHAPTER TITLE XV i 'IVY CHAPTER 1 Passage

Who am I? That is a question thatall of us ask at A Day in the Life ofBaroka lives. The answer comes from some point in our Baroka awoke with a start. Thatpesky many places. It comesfrom family, place of Suddenly, he birth, religious beliefs, the nationin which we mosquito again, he thought. raised his hand near his ear. Whop!He live, the state we call home, ourcommunity, our That slapped at the mosquito. "Now,Mosquito" school, and the history of our ancestors. know that the history includes the way our ancestorslived, the Baroka said with a grin, "you how they people and the animals arestill angry with stories they told, the food they ate, elder worked, their loves and fears,and their hopes you." Baroka was recalling a story an had told him a few days before.The story and dreams. Some of thosedreams include you. the was about why themosquito buzzed in peo- This book will try to help you answer annoyed Iguana. question of who you are bylooking at the his- ple's ears. Mosquito had If you claim Iguana had then frightened theother ani- tory of your cultural ancestors. mals and caused great alarmand confusion. South Carolina as home, yourcultural ancestors of all include not just those who arerelated through When King Lion sought the source include all those the confusion, mosquito hide.So even now, blood lines. Cultural ancestors try- who once shared the state you nowcall home. Mosquito buzzed around people's ears ing to find out if Xing Lion wasstill angry. All of them helped define.and createwhat South A resounding "whop" washis usual answer. Carolina is today. focus on your Now there was no more timefor insect In particular, this book will that traders were cultural ancestors who came fromAfrica. For pests. Baroka remembered coming to the village today. Hehoped there some of you these arealso ancestors by blood. blood ties. But, as would be a feast and perhapsanother story For others there may be no splashed water you will learn in thisbook, there are many cul- from the elders. Quickly, he major pur- from the storage jars on his faceand arms tural ties. This first chapter has two and went to milk the family goats.By the poses. First, we willexamine African roots and had prepared a the meaning of the idea ofhomeland. To do this time he finished, his mother Africa itself and look at the meal of rice cakes and honey. we must go back to Baroka ate quickly. He shared theexcite- cultures from which thousands of yourancestors will look at the people ment running throughthe village. The were stolen. Second, we traders were Ashanti and wereexpected to who came and the story of theircoming. It is not bring much of their famousfinely-woven a very happy story,but it is an important story. It for the bas- reveals the strength and enduranceof a people cloth trade for rice, or perhaps kets and wood carvings thatthe Yoruba under the worst of conditions. Before we do any of that, let ustake a made so well. Baroka wanted to roam like in a West among the tradersand listen to the hag- glimpse at what life may have been when African village in the 1500s. Thisshort fictional gling for bargains. He was annoyed who was just his father insisted he watchlittle Sidi, who story centers on a young man had come to live with themwhen her own about your age.

CHAPTER TITLE 1

b mother died. But, knowing theimportance tale entitled "Why Mosquitoes Buzzin People's Ears." of family and kinship which the elders Versions of this story appear inmany sources. You can taught, Baroka dutifully obeyed. read another, longer version of thisstory in a young Baroka's father had decided he would children's book of the same title by VernaAardema, N.Y.: Dial Press, 1975.] bring a decorated clay water-jar andtwo art- fully woven rice baskets to trade forthe Ashanti cloth. Just then drum beats and African Roots gazelle hams announced the arrival of the A few years ago an African-Americanwriter Ashanti. named Alex Haley wrotea book titled Roots. Soon the entire village was hummingas Haley's book met with greatsuccess because it traders made bargains and elders intervened tapped feelings that had been neglectedfor a to resolve disagreements. Baroka's father long time. Later the bookwas turned into a traded for an exceptionally fine gold-col- mini-series for television. Millions watchedthe ored roll of cloth. It would make brightnew series. Many African-Americans hadnever been garments for Baroka's mother and sister. given the chance to learn about theirpersonal By early afternoon the tradingwas done roots or had been taught they hadno roots. They and feasting had begin. Baroka stuffed felt a new sense of pride. Somewere learning himself on rice cakes, roasted chicken,wild about their homeland and bloodancestors for pig, yams, and pumpkin. Afterwards story- the first time. Whites who watched foundnew telling began. Yoruba and Ashanticom- understanding and respect. Set in West Africa, peted to see who could tell the beststories. Roots shows the homelandarea of most of the Baroka decided the story he liked bestwas Africans who were brought in chainsto America about why Dog, rather than Jackal, had through South Carolina. come to live with people and guard their Feelings about homelandwere different for homes in exchange for awarm place near African-Americans than for most othergroups. the fire. He did not care for the tale ofhow Being enslaved, forced tocome, and treated as Rabbit had tricked the other animals,stolen inferior once they arrived all hada great impact. all their grain, put gravel in theirstorage An inner sense of pride came into conflict with huts, and fixed the blame onpoor, inno- the New World culture. That culturetried to cent Squirrel. Squirrel's suffering and force African-Americans to view themselvesand Rabbit's escape seemed unfair. However, their background as inferior. The New Worldcul- Baroka thought, no doubt Rabbit wouldnot ture gave them a new religion. Itgave them new fare as well in some future tale of theelders. names, new clothing styles, and a new language. After the story telling, Baroka hadto do What Americans from Europe didnot realize at his regular chore of herding thegoats into the time was that African culturewas changing their pen for the evening. This done, he the New World culture. African culturegave new was quite willing to listen quietly as his styles of religion, new words, andnew modes of mother sang and prepared the but for sleep- behavior. But that comes later in the story. ing. Baroka's day had been long andexcit- For generations of African-Americans, the ing. He was tired. Even the whispers of the result was strongly mixed feelings about their adults could not stir his curiosityon this homeland. They thought that somethingthey night. Had he not beenso tired, perhaps he loved had been removed from them. Thatleft would have puzzled over their hushed them feeling sad. They felta sense of longing voices. The adults were speaking softly of and loss. Yet they were told that theEuropean what the Ashanti had said about light-tone based New World culture was better. Someparts people, who had arrived off the coast lately. of the new culture they did cherish. Mostdid They had come in greatcanoes carried by become Christian and were sincerely thankful the wind according to the Ashanti. Had for these new beliefs. Baroka heard this, he might have wondered The term for strongly mixed feelingsis what their arrival foretold. "ambivalent." We can see these ambivalent feelings in African-American writingsas early as the [Sory by W. Calvin Smith, basedon an old African poetry of Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved African,

2 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE in the 1770s. On the one hand, shelaments that of Africans who were enslaved inSouth Carolina she was forced from the roots of herhomeland. came from West Africa. Thesecond largest group, roughly forty percent of those who werebrought I, young in life, by seeming cruelfate to the state after 1730, camefrom the central Was snatch'd from Afric's fancy'd happy southern Atlantic coast of Africa. Thisis where seat the nations of Congo and Angola aretoday, the On the other hand, she expressesthankfulness area around the mouthof the Congo River. What that this "snatching" brought herChristian reli- were these areas like in termsof geography and past history? Let us begin withWest Africa. gion. Geographically, West Africa is bounded by Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan the Atlantic Ocean in the West andSouth. The land, Sahara desert defines its Northernboundary. Taught my benighted soul to understand Lake Chad and what is presently Nigeria areat its That there's a God, and there's a Saviour too eastern boundary. Its climate rangesfrom very We can also see how long theseambivalent dry desert to very wet rain forest.Several rivers feelings lasted. In the 1920s anotherAfrican- give it access to the Atlantic Coast.They include simi- the Gambia, the Senegal, andthe Niger. The American poet, Countee Cullen, expressed because lar feelings. In his poem "Heritage,"he asks the region is sometimes called "Senegambia" question of what Africa should mean tohim. On of the importance of the first twoof these rivers. Africa could be Historical kingdoms arose in WestAfrica the one hand he answers that with the wonderful things from times long passed.On the largely because of early connections at all, Saharan trade routes. The routes ranfrom West other hand, he wonders if he should care Coast. because we all must live in the present. In a sense Africa northward to the Mediterranean book. What Those routes date back to theancient world. this is the central question of this Africa were does Africa mean to you? What doesAfrica mean Gold and kola nuts from West exchanged for a variety of goodsfrom North to South Carolina? These By the end of the First World War,however, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. attitudes did begin to change. The change wasled included dried fruit,salt, tools, copper, and by African-American scholars. The mostimpor- cloth. From the 300s to the 1700s, or4th to the DuBois. Dr. 18th century, empires and kingdoms rosein suc- tant of these scholars was W.E.B. the cities DuBois was one of the truly greatminds in all ofcession here. They were built around the 1900s. He was a man of action aswell as that controlled the trade routes. of the The earliest empire was namedGhana. It words. He was one of the founders than 1,600 National Association for theAdvancement of dates back to the 4th century, more Colored People (the NAACP), the mostwell years ago. Ghana wasalso the name taken by the known civil rights group in the nation.DuBois first of the modern, post-colonial statesin Africa helped foster a change in attitudethat would in this region. Ancient Ghanareached the height eventually bear fruit in a new homelandpride. of its power in the 11th century.For several He was one of the first todescribe the great hundred years it dominated the Saharantrade research routes. When you considerthat the United States medieval kingdoms of West Africa. His 1976, this is taught us about the complex andsophisticated celebrated its own 200th birthday in cultures below the Sahara Desert incentral and a long time. scholars began After repeated attacks by Moslemsfrom the southern Africa. He and other the empire of teaching us that roots of the homeland werepot north, Ghana finally lost power to difficult passage to Mali in the 1200s, or the 13th century.Mali was lost. Africa had survived the founded America. It had contributed to thelifestyle and founded by the Mandingo people. They their ill treat- the original state in the 12th century.Within values of African-Americans despite covered what ment. More recent scholarshave confirmed his 100 years it was a great kingdom. It these truths to today is most of Gambia, Guinea,Senegal, Mali, early work. Alex Haley brought Muslim con- the rest of us in popular literature andtelevision. and Mauritania. Mali's rulers were We verts. They made lavishpilgrimages to Mecca in Let us now turn to those African roots. 1324, Mansa need to look at two areas of Africa.The majority keeping with their Islamic faith. In

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21 Africa, showing key rivers and landmarks that define the areas from which Africans were taken to be enslaved in Sahara Desert South Carolina.

Timbuktu Senegal River Lake Chad Gambie River Q Niger River

Congo River

Mussa, the king of Mali, made sucha pilgrimage. when they began to arrive in the 1500s and He took nearly 60,000 people with himas well as 1600s. Captured enemies could be sold fora many gifts. There were thousands of guards, 500 profit. Many of them were enslavedas cheap servants, each carrying a staff made of gold, and labor for the New World. eighty camels carrying about 24,000 poundsof The second largest group of enslaved gold. It must have been quitea trip. Africans came from the area around the mouth Mali survived until the 1500s. It fellto a of the Congo River. This area and these people rival kingdom, Songhai, which had builtits shared some similarities but also hadsome differ- power base at Timbuktu on the Niger River. ences with those from West Africa. The climate Songhai was even larger than Mali, stretchingwas similar to that of West Africa. Both were from the Atlantic coast westward to what today tropical. Both areas were rich in fishing because is central Nigeria. Songhai, too,was a Muslim of the rivers and the ocean. Bothgrew rice. This state. It used the laws of the Koran, the Muslim was important to whites who needed labor holy book, for its system of justice. In the 1 zio0s, skilled in rice growing. Both areas also shareda the city of Timbuktu in Songhaiwas home of common heritage. Both were settled by many of one of the world's great universities. the same peoples who had been moving south Internal strife and outside pressures eventu- on the African continent seeking new areas to ally splintered Songhai into smaller kingdoms. grow food. They all spoke different dialects or No major empire replaced it before the time variations of the Bantu language. when Africans were enslaved and takento the Because the area around the mouth of the New World. Instead, a number of small king- Congo River was settled much later, the civiliza- doms emerged. Theseincluded Dahomey, tions of the area were not as old as those of West Ashanti, and Mossi. Their rivalry and intermit- Africa. The kingdom of Kongo was created at the tent warfare probably helped European traders mouth of the river in the 1400s. Kongo hada

4 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE well-organized government, somewhat like our up of great Africannations. But this break-up the loss of own in structure. A kingruled a central govern- and even enslavement did not mean ruled state gov- culture. Africans brought their customsand ment. At a lower level, governors will ernments or provinces. At thelowest level, dis- beliefs with them to the New World. As you tricts and villages had their ownrulers. This is see, people passedthese customs and beliefs down through the generations in oftenquiet and somewhat like our national-state-county-city their structure. The king had no armyof his own. He hidden ways. African-Americans modified had to depend on the provincialand district culture to fit a new place. In many caseswhites rulers to support him. That meant hehad to be a adopted parts of the African culturewithout skillful politician to hold the nationtogether. knowing where the culture had comefrom. Outside of politics Kongo also developed a com- African culture would mix with thecultures of plex culture. The nation developedits own others who came to the New Worldand create a culture became part of what music, sculpture, and poetry. new culture. African The Portuguese began a slow invasionof the South Carolina is. The important pointof this area in the late 1400s.By the 1600s they were complex process of transmission,modification, enslaving people of the nation of Kongo.The adoption, and mixing is that the culture ofAfrica slave trade. It endured. wing tried to negotiate to end the of a did not work. The Portuguese invadedin 1665. Among the most enduring elements They defeated the army of Kongo andkilled the culture are its religious beliefs. Islaminfluenced splintered the much of West Africa. Most certainly,enslaved king. By the early 1700s, invaders to the great nation of Kongo into severalsmall states. Africans brought some Islamic practices Portugal and other European nations ranthem New World. These practices cameinto conflict with European Christianity. Christianitytried to as colonies. eliminate other religious ideas and make converts, even among the enslavedpeoples. Even Cultural Transmissions though Christianity won the conflictbetween The arrival of whites meant that manyvillages religious practices, Christianity waschanged. We were destroyed. Thearrival increased the break- can see the greatestchange in how Africaii-

African-Americans using the method of "head-toting" to 1,& carry cotton from the fields near Mt. Pleasant in about 1870. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed.,The History of S.C. Slide I Collection,slide H-1 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy S.C. Historical Society.

PASSAGE 5 2,s -

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(Left) Head-toting by male vegetable vender in the early 1900s. CourtesyDr. Howard Woody, the S.C. Postcard Archive, South Caroliniana Library, USC. (Right) Head, toting by female vegetablevenders in early 1900s. Courtesy William Davie Beard.

Americans practice Christianity. However, we South Carolina show that both black and white can also see that the religious practices of whites Americans depended on a widi, variety of medic- changed to include emotional expressions that inal plants. Medical care was extremely limited have African roots. foreveryone,butespeciallyforAfrican- African beliefs in many gods and reverence Americans. People depended on home remedies. toward the spirits of one's ancestors merged with Herb or root doctors provided what medicalcare certain religious practices in the New World. there was. Midwives delivered the babies. Often Catholic saints were linked with African gods in daughters learned these skills from their moth- the practice of Voodoo. The term "Vodun" in ers. Usually a female member of the family was Haitian becomes Voodoo in English. Vodun responsible for almost all family medical care. comes from an African Dahomean word mean- Many of the traditional treatments probably ing "deity," or god. came from Africa, where herbal medicine was "Faith healing" through the power of tribal widely practiced. Because of a similar climate, magicians was anotheraspectofreligion. people could find many of these same herbs in Magicians frequently used herbs and roots in South Carolina. their cures. This practice would be continued by In the 1700s and 1800s, people worried the "root doctors" that emerged in African- about different illnesses than those that concern American communities in the New World. The us today. The first settlers feared fevers. Those use of roots and herbs continues even today. Let caused by malaria, typhoid or yellow fever were us take a look at this tradition. especially bad. Dysentery was another serious Before moderntimes,mostpeople disease. Little was known about the causes of depended on remedies made from plants, ani- such illnesses. In fact, malaria was a problem at mals, or minerals. Records from pre-Civil War St. Helena Island, which is near Beaufort on the

6 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

24 coast, well into the 1900s. In 1930 Dr. York from the past. The island had only one local Bailey, an African-American graduate of the Penn physician well into the 1900s. So people contin- School and Howard University's School of ued to depend on traditional medicine long after Medicine, managed to get the swamps drained. the Civil War was over. A researcher living on the This eliminated many of the disease-carrying island found that people used more than forty mosquitoes. different substances as medicines. Various herbs African-Americans in the Carolina lowwere collected, washed, dried in the sun,and country frequently made teas from plantc, The stored in cloth bags. In addition to herbs, other teas were used to treat colds, burns, andfevers. ingredients included onions, garlic, corn starch, During the Civil War the supply of prepared cottonseed oil, and turpentine. At least some of medicines was cut off. People had to depend these medicines were beneficial. In fact, a num- entirely on their local plants. These would beber of those plants are the basis for drugs collected by enslaved African. Americans on the approved by the U.S. government for more than plantations. The designated African-American one hundred years. For examplethe islanders "nurse" on a plantation was responsible for giv- thought peach tree leaf helped reduce high ing out medicines. Even before the war, nurses of blood pressure and fever. When a drug for skin both sexes helped the doctors who were called to problems was unavailable during World War II, the plantations to treat wounds and extract the U.S. government substituted a drug made teeth. Some nurses, generally women, received from peach tree leaf. However -:'ih training so that they could cam for those who used by the islanders in their shoe ... ontheir were very ill. Both nurses andmidwives were heads to relieve "high blood," does not seem to often older women who were no longer able to have found a wider usage! labor in the fields. Root doctors often divided illnesses into Although now there are few midwives, the those of the mind and of the body. They saw tradition lives on. Sometimes it lives in thegood health in terms of keeping the blood prop- inspiration it provided to others. Dr. James A. erly balanced. The blood could be either too Boykin of Lancaster, an African-American doc- sweet or too bitter, too high or too low. On St. tor,remembers his mid-wife grandmother, Helena, when the blood was too bitter, the treat- Mary Jane Witherspoon. She delivered him ment was sweet medicines like carrot seed, sugar, when he was born. During his childhood shewine, or sassafras. When the blood was too was called out at all hours to deliverbabies. She sweet, they used bitter medicines like snake root, inspired him to become a doctor. The tradition horehound, and the root of the coral bean. lives in another way as well. Some people are Blood pressure seemed to be related to the flavor returning to the practice. Nurse-midwives, of the blood. High blood pressure went along trained in the ancient practice and also in mod- with blood that was too sweet. Low blood pres- ern medicine, are being used moreand more in sure went with bitter blood. comfortablehome-like"birthingcenters." People consulted root doctors when some- People find this an attractive alternative to one was dizzy, or had a headache, or wasunable impersonal hospitals. to sleep. Some of the remediessuggested for After the Civil War, African-Americans still these and other problems are similar to those of had to depend on these "nurses." Most people modern physicians. The root doctors might tell could not afford to pay white doctors. There people to improve their diet or to get more sleep. were few African-American doctors.Midwive.s, Some of the practitioners sounded muchlike some of them trained at the PennCenter, were psychologists because they helped with stress delivering babies well into the 1900s. Many peo- related problems. ple lived in fairly isolated areas. Some of the However, people thought some illnesses healers had quite good reputations. Even today, were caused by witchcraft.If the person had in some areas people depend on traditional heal- committed a wrong, the usual remedies would ers to treat many illnesses. not work. Some special interventionand repen- We can see this tradition most clearly in a tance would be needed. Before thetime of relatively isolated community like St. Helena enslavement, many people believed in the power Island. Here the people retained many practices of witches. Many African peoples thought that

PASSAGE 7 20 A 1910 photo of "Uncle Sam Polite," who taught students at the Penn Center how to knit fish nets, a skill carried by African-Americans from their native African shores. From the Penn School Collection. Permission granted by Penn Center, Inc., St. Helena Island, S.C. In the Southern Historical Collection of the Mutitiscripts Department, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. This picture can also be seen in The History of S.C. Slide Collection (Satullapper Publishing Company, 1989) as slide H-12.

witches caused incurable illnesses. We can find In the enslaved New World, a similar com- stories of witchcraft in the accounts of former pensation would occur. Families were often split enslaved African-Americans like Jacob Stroyer up because of death or because whites sold mem- and Simon Brown. Mainstream medicine prac- bers away. Children would be accepted within ticed in modern hospitals and clinics would be of another family group. They would be treated as no use for such problems. any other child in the family. Of course this did Today we are beginning to learn that the not lessen the pain. It was a means of survival mind has the power to help in healing. To this that came from the roots of Africa. After enslave- extent, practitioners of witchcraft and voodoo ment ended freed men and women sought long were on to something. The best root doctors and hard to find missing family members. added to their knowledge of plants a good "bed- African languages affected our language. The side manner." That is, they treated the mind as Southern style of English uses many English terms well as the body by boosting the patient's confi- and some African terms in a dialect that has musi- dence. Today, medical science recognizes the cal qualities that partially come from Africa. Few importance of treating the "whole person." people understand this. Some scholars argue that African-American root doctors were doing this modern whites use language that is closer to its long ago. One of them said that God had pro- African origin than the language used by many vided a remedy for all illness. People just had to modern African-Americans. For reasons of safety find the remedy. We are just now "discovering" and security, enslaved African-Americans needed these ideas in modern medicine. to be able to talk to each other in ways whites The family was the basis of social life in could not understand. Whites picked up African Africa, as elsewhere. Even though the slave trade terms. This forced African-Americans to come up uprooted and separated African families, aspects with new language that was further removed from of African family life reemerged in America. its origin. We will discuss this topic more in a later Perhaps the most important aspect of African chapter when we look at Gullah. family life was psychologicalthe belonging. Another area that has easily identifiable The sense of belonging went beyond the family African roots is the food we eat and how we pre- as we think of it today. Suppose a young African pare it. Much of southern cooking is African child lost his mother. He could turn to other cooking with new, added ingredients from both "mothers" within a larger family of the clan or the South and Europe. The reasons are quite log- tribe or society for love and comfort. In some ical. Enslaved Africans did most of the cooking societies men had several wives. For a child these on plantations. After the Civil War, African- women could take on some of the functions ofAmerican household help did a great deal of her own mother. cooking for whites in their homes. They used

8 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 26 methods and spices that had been passeddown Much of the art and crafts we find inSouth from generation to generation. We willlook at Carolina has African roots. These include carv- this in a later chapter ing, basket weaving, a wide range ofmusic and Recent scholars have found African roots in dance, and even painting. All of these havecul- one unusual areaSouthernetiquette. Etiquette tural origins from Africa. Whites haveadopted means the way we behavetoward each other and much of this. In later chapters of the book, we the terms we use in speaking to each other on a will look at these areas in some detail. day to day basis. As you should know, theSouth Finally, we see African-Americans returning is known for its manners and politeness.Whites to African clothing styles as theyrediscover their often think that this is just the heritage ofEnglish heritage. Kente cloth, which is made of woven nobility. That is certainly part of it. But it alsohas strips of cotton, silk, or rayon sewn together,has African roots. Great respect for elders has adefi- become very popular in the United States.The nite African connection. Much of the spiritof the Asante people in Ghana wear this typeof cloth. Southern manners is African, though the formal People make this cloth in a variety of patterns terms are English. One might saythat Southern and colors. African-Americans use Kentecloth to manners are English mannerswith emotion. decorate different kinds of clothes as well as per- Much of that emotion has African origins. sonal items like pocketbooks. Ironically, itis in

(Top Right) Coil Rush Basket, made in the 1800sof sweetgrass and palmetto leaf. Reproducedwith permission of the by the Charleston Museum. From "Conflict and Transcendence:African American Art in South Carolina," organized Aimee Smith. Columbia Museum of Art. (Bottom Right) Sweetgrassbasket made in Charleston in 1993. Photo by (Left) Woman winnowing rice in a fanner basket nearBeaufort in 1907. This shows how methods andcrafts survived down through time. Note the African style thatchedroof on the building in the background. From thePenn School Collection. Permission granted by Penn Center, Inc., St.Helena Island, S.C. In the Southern HistoricalCollection of the Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina,Chapel Hill. This picture can also be seen in TheHistory of S.C. Slide Collection (Sandlapper PublishingCompany, 1989) as slide D-44.

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PASSAGE 9 such high demand that large quantitiesare now A more current theory adds another ele- being made by machine in countries in Asia. ment. There is evidence that some Africans did have small farms in coastal areas after complet- Passage to South Carolina ing their time as servants. But these farms did not last long. The people either moved awayor Some of the first Africans who entered North were enslaved. Virginia tobacco growers needed America probably did not come under the harsh a lot of cheap labor to clear more land for conditions of enslavement. Their exact status is tobacco. Freeing servants who had worked for uncertain. Some probably came to the New the agreed time made labor more expensive. So World as explorers. Otherscame either as ser- the white planters found ways to keep Africans vants or as enslaved people in the early 1500s. as servants for life. This was simple greed. Africans were with Balboa on the expedition that In truth, both prejudice and greed probably discovered the Pacific, with Cortes in Mexico, played important parts in creating enslavement and Coronado in the West. The Spanish explorer in the early colonies. By the last third of the Ayllon brought enslaved Africans to the South 1600s, the English wrote enslavement into law. Carolina coast in 1525. The precise locationis By that time the English were emergingas uncertain. It was once thought to be in the Port the primary shippers of enslaved people. The Royal area. Later evidence is that thearea was Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and French had all farther north, closer to where Georgetownis been involved in the trade. But English victories today. Other archaeological evidence shows that at sea in various wars gave England control of it may have been south on the Savannah River. the sea-lanes. Thus, the English had control of There is even some evidence that those whowere the trade of enslaved Africans. Ofcourse, this enslaved revolted against the Spanish. Some who included English-Americans who engaged in the escaped may have intermarried with the Indians trade either as merchants or shippers. of the area. Except for those who escaped,none Once begun, the trade by the English and remained there very long. colonial merchants continued for a long time. TheSpanishhadalreadyestablished One example in South Carolinawas Henry enslavement by the time the English began their Laurens, a Charleston merchant of the 1760s. permanent New Worldcolonies.Colonial Like other merchants, he shipped products from Virginia is where the horrible institution of South Carolina to England and the West Indies. enslavement began to evolve among the English. On return trips many of his ships carried Most historians agree that the Africans of 1619 enslaved Africans. Strange as it mayseem, his were not enslaved. They probably had the status son,JohnLaurens,arguedthatAfrican- of indentured servants. Indentured servitudewas Americans who fought for the Americans the form of non-free labor most often used by against Britain should be given freedom. Sadly, the English. most other white South Carolinians did not Over a period of fifty years ormore, the agree. Africans in Virginia gradually losteven this lowly During the 1600s and probably well into the status. They moved from temporary servitude to 1700s, many whites felt that enslavement actu- servitude for lifeslavery. According tosome ally saved African lives. After all, whites told sources, racial prejudice may have cause this to themselves, these were people who were captives happen. Enslaving people of a differentrace is in wars on the African continent. Had they not easier than enslaving those of yourown race. been taken, they would surely have been killed. You can rationalize that theyare different. You Because local rulers controlled much of the trade can even fool yourself into thinking that in Africa itself, whites assumed that those taken enslavement is good for them because theyare were in fact prisoners of war. Later whites real- different in ways that make them inferior. This ized this was not the case. Greedy rulers sent out thinking is prejudiced and bigoted. Thesewrong raiding parties to capture people who would be ideas allowed those who did the enslaving to live enslaved. The whole purpose of the raidwas with their consciences, so longas they did not "human-stealing." Offers to buy people created think too much about what they had done. those raids, not wars. Clearly this hadno

10 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

28 Enslaved Africans were treated - _ ..11.... harshly on ships that took It them to America. Those who +-...,. died were thrown overboard. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide B-

on...... me 55 (Sandlapper Publishing ... Company, 1989). Courtesy South Caroliniana Library.

humane justification, but by then the trade was That is not the end of the story. The federal so profitable that it was difficult to stop. authorities heard of the illegal actions. The Even after the United States banned the owner gave up control of TheWanderer and fled trade of enslaved people by law in 1809, it con- to avoid prosecution. The ship was soldseveral tinued across the Atlantic illegally right up to the times before the outbreak of the Civil War. Then Civil War. The last known "slave ship" was a for- the Union army seized The Wanderer and refitted mer racing yacht named TheWanderer. A it to fight for the Union side. The former racing Charleston resident was the owner. He pretended yacht and slave ship captured Confederate block- it was to be used in racing. Instead, he fitted the ade runners and destroyed targets on the south- ship with large water tanks, eating utensils, and ern coast. It sank in 1871 offthe coast of Cuba provisions for many people. In 1858 the ship carrying a cargo of fruit. headed for Africa, though officially it was sup- The worst part of the actual trade in terms of posed to be going to the Caribbean. The ship was physical torment was undoubtedly the trip 114 feet long, a little more than 30 paces. It left across the ocean. The experienceof the enslaved Africa with 490 mostly young African men passengers on The Wanderer wasmultiplied by chained to a temporary deck built below the millions. Estimates are that as many as ten mil- main deck. Each person had little room to move Africans were forcibly shipped across the or even breath. Two and a half monthsafter leav- Atlantic. About half a million went to the British ing Charleston, the ship landed off the coast of colonies in North America. Of those, about forty Georgia on Jekyll Island. Unsanitary conditions percent came through Charleston. Somewherein caused many of the people on board to die. Some the range of 75,000 remained in South Carolina. African-Americans living on the island today can If this is true, then nearly half the African- trace their ancestors back to those taken on this Americans in the nation have some connection cruel passage. to South Carolina.

PASSAGE 1 1 Those who survived the journey sometimes Traders brought most of the Africans to told or wrote their stories. Such was the case with South Carblina because of their skill as rice work- an enslaved African named Omar Ibn Seid, He ers. Most whites cared little about the literary was of the Fula society iri West Africa. His mer- skills of those they enslaved. By the 1700s South chant uncle had trained him in Arabic and Carolina made the rice plantation the center of mathematics. His religious faith was Islamic. economic life. What whites cared about was Captured and sold, he ended up in Charleston in growing rice and building the state. This is what the 1800s. He ran away from his owner butwas enslaved Africans did. But in doing so, they recaptured. While in jail awaiting return, he changed the state in ways most whites did not wrote on the walls in Arabic. This so amazed understand. Many South Carolinians, white and some of the observers that they arranged forblack, still do not understand what happened. Omar's purchase from his previousowner. That is the topic of the next chapter. Though still enslaved, he was able to record his own "autobiography" in 1831. He told about his life in Africa, his capture, and his enslavement. His work provides a story of Islamic background, faith, and literary ability too long lost in the early history of those who lived in Carolina.

12 AFNICAN-AMEMCANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 30 VW, CHAPTER2 The Creation of Early SouthCarolina

As we have seen, whites allowed blacks to be were one of the world'sbest rice-growing enslaved in South Carolina from the beginning. regions. The colony grew huge amounts ofrice. In fact, some of the Lords Proprietors whoruled Estimates vary, but from the 1700s to the 1860s the state were partners in the business of import- the region produced around 70 millionpounds ing and selling enslaved Africans. Theruling each year. In 1860 alone, the colony harvested lords certainly did not stand in the way of an 119 million pounds. How much is 119million English settler who wanted to buy enslaved pounds of rice? One pound of rice produces Africans. Thousands of Africans were enslaved about ten cups of cooked rice. If you calculate and brought into the state. Whites assumedthat the volume of a cup and do a bit of multiplica- African labor could be used to create anEnglish tion, you can compute the volume in cubicfeet society in Carolina. What whites did notknow of cooked rice. If you stacked these onefoot was that the Africans would create a newsociety cubes of cooked rice up in the air, it would create that blended English and African culture. This is a stack 1,935 miles high.If you covered the sur- the story of that creation. face of a football field, it would be over210 feet deep in rice. That is like a 21 story buildingthe size of a football field. That is a lot of rice! The Rice Culture Africans knew how to cook rice, and they How important would Africans be to the new liked it. At first the English settlers hadlittle use colony? That would depend on the waysthe for rice themselves. They saw its value as aprod- colonists chose to make a living. The colonists uct to sell to others. In faraway ports"Carolina found no gold, as the Spanish had in Mexico. gold" rice became famous and brought agood Land, and what it could produce, was to bethe price. In a sense it was gold, because itmade the key to the colonists' wealth. They tried many white planters rich. When you see one of theold crops. Eventually theychose two that could be mansions in the Low Country, or inCharleston, sold to the rest of the worldrice andindigo. Georgetown, or Beaufort, you are probably see- Without the labor of thousands of people, they ing the results of the great profitsthey made. could not grow enough of these crops to getrich. Cotton would later become "king" in the state, Enslaved Africans provided that labor. So we but rice remained economically importantuntil might conclude that Africans, although notby about 1900. Rice began its decline with theCivil their own choice, helped make colonialSouth War. The war removed the cheap, yetskilled, Carolina an economic success. Africans alsohad labor that grew rice for the white planters.After a great impact on day today life in the colony. the war workers demanded cash payments. To put it another way, Africans helped createits Planters could not afford to repair all thedamage the war. culture. that was done to the rice fields during Today, when we think of products that are Hurricanes later did further damage to thefields. important in our state, we do not think ofrice. The enslaved Africans contributed more Very little rice is grown here now. However, in than their hard work. Rice was a common crop the 1700s rice was the most important cropin in western Africa. Many enslavedAfricans South Carolina. The swampy areas nearthe coast brought with them the secrets of growing rice as

THE CREATION OF EARLY SOUTH CAROLINA 13 31 m7.-"V""3-',z ;"( '). Methods of threshing rice were brought from Africa. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, bd.,The History of S.C. Slide Collection,slide D-43 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy of the Charleston Museum, Charleston, S.C.

As'

it was done in their homeland. First, they cleared tents from the mortar in a large flat basket, called the forests. They cut down trees. They burnedor a "fanner" basket. The worker would then gently removed logs and stumps. Next, they broke the toss the mixture of rice grains and smashed soil with a hoe, sowed the seeds, and pulledup husks in the air. The breeze would blow the any weeds that threatened to choke the tender lighter smashed husks away from the basket and rice shoots. When the rice was ripe, they cut the the heavier grains would fall back down into the stalks with a sickle. They bundled the stalks basket. In effect, this fanned the husksaway. together and then removed the rice inone of What was left after all this work was the final two ways. One way was to beat the bundles product, Carolina gold. against a board so that the rice fell off. The other Not only were the skills African, the work- way was to lay the stalks on the ground and beat ing style was also African. The workers labored in them with a "flail." A flail was a pole witha short unison, usually singing to keep the pace of the piece of rope on the end. Attached to the other work together. White landowners soon learned end of the rope was a short piece of heavy wood. the value of an African who knew these things. Swinging the pole allowed the worker to beat the Advertisements for enslaved Africans often rice out of the stalks with the short piece of stressed that they were from the rice growing wood. region of Africa. The job was not yet done. Husks still Another reason why Africans were impor- encased the rice grains. Workers removed thetant in the growing of rice was that they were husks with a mortar and pestle. They make the less vulnerable to the deadly diseases carried by mortar by hollowing out a log on one end. mosquitoes that bred in the low-lying rice fields. Sitting the hollowed-out log on the other end, Without resistance to malaria and yellow fever, they placed the rice inside. Then the worker Africans could not have survived at all in the rice would use a stick with a rounded end to smash fields.Economic prosperityforthe white the husks off the rice grains. Thisprocess also Carolina rice planters would have been impossi- polished the grains. ble. No one understood why at that time, but Finally,the smashed husks had to be white workers grew sick and often died working removed from the grains. They placed thecon- in the rice fields. Africans generally did not. The

14 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 32 reason, we now know, was thatmalaria and yellow fever were common in the tropical regions of Africa. People living there had become partly immune to the effects of these diseases. Equally important, white planters had no source of labor they could pay todo this hot and hard work. English settlers did not want to toil in rice fields for someone else. They wanted their own farms. So once planterslearned that Africans had more tolerance of the heat than did the Europeans, the planters began to see enslavement as the answer. Now they could get richsell- ing rice without having to suffer or perhaps even die in the process. The suffering was forced on the enslaved Africans. The owners of the best rice plantations were among the richest men in the English colonies. It seems clear that although there could have been a South Carolina without the contributions of the enslaved Africans, it would not have been the South Carolina that our history books show us. This is also true in other ways.

Gullah You are no doubt aware that Americans often think those from the South "talk funny." Because of the way Southerners speak, sometimes people

(Above) Dykes like this one, 7,7=04.7;7,,3 which has been restored near Georgetown, were used to control the flow of water into the rice fields. Photo by Aimee Smith. (Left) Enslaved Africans use mortar and pestle method to remove husks from grains of rice. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide D-46 (Sandlupper Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy Georgetown County Library.

THE CREATION W EARLY SOUTH CAROLINA 15

BEST COPYAVAILABLE who arenot fromthe South think that Although they may not realize it, many Southerners are "slow" or not very clever. Of white South Carolinians have also woven African course they are wrong. They are also wrong in influences into their speech.. Sometimes the thinking that we all sound alike. All southern words themselves are African. One example is speech is not the same. Within South Carolina "tote," which means carry. Tote is sometimes there are differences in speech. For example,peo- used to refer to a sack or container, a tote bag. ple from Charleston can be hard to understand if Among the other common terms that can be you are from the western part of the state, called traced back to African origins are such wordsas the "up country." Black and white Carolinians "ok," "phone," "yam," "guy," "honkie," "fuzz," sometimes speak a little differently from each "dig," and "jam." Sometimes the words may be other. However, blacks and whites share even English, but the way they are put together may moreintheirspeechthantheydiffer. be African. "Sweet talk" is a common phrase "Sandlappers," as people from South Carolina meaning to flatter. Another is "poor mouth," are sometimes called, of both races use certain which means to belittle or put down. words and pronunciations that set them apart People often connect Gullah speech with from others who claim to .speak English. Why is stories enslaved Africans used to tell. Perhaps this so? you have read some of the "Uncle Remus" sto- History affects the way we speak. Even ries. Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear, and Brer Fox are though our ancestors came from differentcoun- among the best known characters in our folklore. tries and spoke different languages, black and Children and adults of all races love them. white Carolinians share a lot of history. We have Generations of gifted storytellers gave us these blended all our languages into one, even though tales. The stories are part of the Gullah tradition. that one has different variations. Most ofus We will look at these stories more closely in the speak English, although itis not "the king's chapter on literature. English." African-Americans from South Carolina are Here is what happened. The Africans who rediscovering their own roots in language and were brought here were memb -s of different culture. In 1988 the President of Sierra Leone vis- societies from different areas of Africa. Although ited the Penn Center on St. Helena Island. He their language often had a common Bantu base, told the people there that his native language was they spoke different dialects that had developed almost the same as the Gullah that some of them over thousands of years. They could not easily still spoke. He invited the people to visit Sierra understand each other. We can imagine the ver- Leone and see and hear for themselves. The next bal chaos that must have filled the airon year they did. The people of Sierra Leone wel- Sullivan's Island, where most were put ashoreon comed them like long lost relatives. Of course, Carolina soil for the first time. English was that is what they were. The people of Sierra Leone known only to the Africans who had spent some did not know what had happened to those who time on one of the Caribbean Islands. So most had been enslaved. Perhaps Europeans had taken had a difficult time trying to communicate with their ancestors to Europe, they thought. Perhaps whites as well as with each other. all of them had died, or the maybe the Europeans In struggling to bridge this gap, Africans fattened them up and ate them. (You can see this began to borrow words from each other. They wonderful and emotional story of homecoming blended words with the English they learned. on a 1990 S.C. Educational Television production The resulting language was more than just the called "Family Across the Sea.") words. Africans also blended voice tones, the rhythms of speaking, pronunciation, and ways of expressing ideas. The result was what is called The First Cowboys a "Creole" language. This particular Creole lan- We have seen how important African skills and guage is called "Gullah." Although it is not as labor were in growing rice. Now we will look at widely spoken as in earlier years, Gullah can still some of the many other areas where African skill be heard. You are most likely to find iton the and labor helped build the state. As you will see, "seaislands"alongthecoastsouthof these skills went far beyond South Carolina. Charleston. Some of the skills Africans brought helped create

16 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE (Left) African-American "Cowboys" may have brought the idea of open land grazing and cattle drives from Africa. These cowboys in a photo taken around 1900 found more freedom in the American West than they did in the South. Courtesy William Loren Katz Collection, care of Ethrac ti Publications, 231 W. 13th St. N.Y., N.Y. 10011, Library of Congress.

(Below) A young African- Aerican child in a 1920s Richard Roberts photo had real heroes to look up to in the American West. Courtesy of Roberts family. the nation. In fact, some of the thingsthat we think of as uniquely American may havestarted in Africa. Let us begin with cowboys. Europeans customarily raised small numbers of cattle in a relatively confined area, apasture. In Africa however, among the Fulanisocieties, open grazing was common.There were no fences. The Fulani were skilled at raisingcattle. When Fulani were enslaved and brought to America, they brought their expertisewith them. They introduced the practice of open grazingto South Carolina. Open grazing was theperfect approach for an area with a virtuallyunlimited supply of land. Settlers carried the practice of open grazing to the American West where itcombined with Spanish horseback traditions. Westerncattle herders traveled from north to south each year, migrating lust as the Fulani did. One scholarhas even suggested that theorigin of the word "cowboy" comes from the custom of havingenslaved Africans raise cattle. The term "cowboy" is com- parable to the term "houseboy." Oneworked with cows. The other worked inside thehouse.

THE CREATION OE EARLY SOUTH CAROLINA 17 A Sketch of African- American '41% -I. jockeys exercising their mounts. Courtesy William Loren Katz collection, care of Ethrac Publications, 231 W. 13th St. N.Y., N.Y. 10011.

Jockeys skills as woodworking, leatherworking, pottery, Some enslaved African-Americans workedas sta- brickmaking, and metalworking. These skills ble hands. They had to feed and clean the live-were invaluable to the South. They were essen- stock, care for the carts, wagons, and harnesses, tialfor economic growth. Scholar Leonard and clean the stables on a regular basis. Others Stavisky estimated that by the end of the Civil tended different types of livestock, like poultry, War, 100,000 of the 120,000 artisans in the sheep, and cows. A yard watchman was responsi- South were African-American. That is, five of ble for ensuring the safety of the rice and other every six people skilled in crafts were African- crops stored on the grounds. Americans. Enslaved African-Americans trained horses African-American artisans were responsible on the plantations. The first jockeys in South for much of the construction and building in the Carolina were enslaved African-Americans. Their South. Most of the magnificent houses con- masters gave them classical names like Cato or structed in the South were built by enslaved Pompey. Plantation owners liked to hold compe- African-Americans. These highly skilled people titions against one another. Thus w..: find thecrafted many of the iron gates and balconies in roots of South Carolina's horse-racing tradition. Charleston. After the Civil War, the horse industry provided By the late 1600s, there was an enormous good jobs for African-Americans with these demand for labor of all kinds. Those enslaved skills. The custom of using African-American African-Americans who lived on plantations jockeys continued into the early 1900s. Famous learned skills that would help make the planta- African-American jockeys like Charles Peter tions self-sufficient. Many of these enslaved peo- Green began their careers in South Carolina. ple were shoemakers, gardeners, weavers,or After the early 1900s when lots of money began blacksmiths. They made the kettles, bowls, and to be made in racing horses, racing became a vir- other implements used on the plantations. tually all white sport. Woodworking skills were valuable in a country covered with woodlands. Records in the early 1700s showed more than seven types of wood- Skills and Crafts workers alone. Enslaved carpenters built the homes of the Many African-Americans were skilled craftsmen. planters and most of the other buildings on the The earliest arrivals brought from Africa such plantations. Their work was highly prized. They

18 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE earned the respect of both whites and other had more than one cook, sometimes several.To enslaved Africans. Renty Tucker was one such save time, cooking the middaymeal was often man. Tucker lived on aplantation in the South done close to the work area. Often a separate Carolina Low Country in the mid-1800s. He was cook prepared meals for the children of the plan- a skilled carpenter who mayhave been trained in tation. Of course, enslaved African-Americans England. One of his most famous creations was a cooked for themselves as well as for the whites. chapel, St. Mary's Weehawka. First he built a They made their own breakfasts at theircabins scale model, and then he began on the founda- before beginning the day's work. They made tion. He installed stained glass windowsand a their own meals at the end of the day. The clock and chimes for the tower, which were women, in particular, had to work atthis "dou- bought in England. Within a year and a half, he ble-cooking." completed the entire project. He also built a House servants had a wide range of respon- beautiful summer home on Pawleys Island that sibilities. They had to do the cooking, cleaning, was much fancier than thoseof most other and childcare. Some served the owners as butlers, planters. Tucker was only one of the many valets, waiters, or waitresses. Occasionally they highly skilled enslaved carpenters. were given some responsibility overother house EnslavedAfrican-Americansalsowere servants if the master and mistress were away. responsible for much of the transportation of the People regarded house servants as superior to day. They handled a variety of boats. Boats were field hands because they were morehighly a major means of travel andshipping in the trained. When sold, house servants fetched a coastal areas. Boats could range from rowboats to higher price. In some ways, their lives were bet- aschooner.Some African-Americanswere ter than those of the field hands.Generally their trained as coachmen on plantations. The head work was not as physically hard. Theirfood, coachman was an important person with a spe- clothing, and housing were usually better. cial status that commanded respect. Others However, household skills did not always looked up to bring house servants a better life. If masters or Food had to be prepared for workers as well mistresses were cruel, close daily contactcould as for the plantation family.Most plantationslead to abuse. House servants ran away more

Skilled African-Americans built nearly all the beauti- IV plantations and their 4VON=IO,NVsm buildings across the South. This is the main building at aib Drayton Hall Plantation, near Charleston. Reproduced from Constance B. Shulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide 1-20 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989. Courtesy of the S.C. Dept. of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism.

THE CREATION OF EARLY SOUTH CAROLINA 19 3 often than did the field hands. Perhaps thiswas EnslavedAfrican-Americans workedin because house servants had more chances. In many of the early manufacturing plants. In the general, men ran away far more often than did Saluda area, they worked in one of the early tex- women. Women could not travel easily with tile mills, doing spinning and weaving. Many of their children and were usually unwilling tothe early mills also needed mechanics, and leave them behind. Women also had fewer enslaved African-Americans often did the repair opportunities to travel off the plantation than work. did men. As a result women were less familiar In the cities African-Americans learned a with the countryside. wider variety of skills. Most of the artisans in Women usually learned typical "female"Charleston were African-Americans. For all occupations: cooking, sewing, weaving, washing, intents and purposes, these people built the city and ironing. On the plantations womenwere and were responsible for the flow ofcommerce. responsible for making all the clothing thatpeo- Masters often hired them out for extra income. ple wore. Women did the spinning, weaving, Many businesses had busy and slack times dur- sewing, and dyeing of the material. Midwives ing the year. For example, cotton warehouses handled the births, or "birthings." Olderwomen had the most work when the crop came in. cared for the children and for the sick. A mother Because these seasonal businesses did not need often had to go back to work in the fieldsa short a large number of workers year-round, hiring time after giving birth to a child. Without the out became quite common in the cities. A help of these older women, a baby would have to researcher examining old records found ads be carried along or left alone. from the 1700s showing enslaved African- Women worked just as hard as men. Many Americans hired out in several occupations, women had to plow and hoe in the fields, cutsuch as bricklayers and carpenters. A carpenter down trees,pick cotton, and build roads.named Dick, for example, was hired out in Women frequently worked in groups with other Charleston for three months at eighteen pounds women, whether they were laboring in the fields per month. In today's money, that would be a or sewing and laundering clothes. Working great deal, hundreds of dollars. Dick was a very together, they were able to cooperate and help valuable worker. one another. Women often had to work a double African-Americans were often app:-mticed shift, as do many employed women today. After out at a young age to learn a trade. Some learned a hard day's work, they still had to come home a skills from masters who were in a particular to sew and weave. The few "store" clothes that line of business. In Charleston, which wasa sea- were available were for the whites and for the port, many enslaved African-Americans learned unmarried enslaved males. Women had to make the various trades associated with ships and their own clothes and those for their husbandsboating. Some became ship carpenters. Others and children. Child care also tied downwomen worked as caulkers, who made sure that boats in the evenings. did not leak by filling in the seams of the wood Enslaved African-Americans could not look hulls. Many even became sailors or boat pilots, forward to an early retirement. They generallywho guided boats through narrow channels in had to work into their 60s, although ownersgave bays and rivers. them easier work as they aged. Some of the older In the cities the owners of skilled enslaved men became gardeners or looked after the ani- African-Americans sometimes allowed them to mals on plantations. At about seventyan hire themselves out and keep a portion of their enslaved African-American could expect to earnings. From the early 1700s on, some whites retire, although some continued to worka opposed this practice. The state legislature passed reduced load. a law making hiring outillegalin1845. On the plantations, children were expected Nevertheless, it continued because it benefited to work from an early age on. Children herded all the parties: the master, the enslaved African- animals, fetched and carried, and didmany American, and the person who hired the labor. other small jobs. Children about yourage enter- Hiring out was most common in the high ing their teens took on adult responsibilities. demand occupations, such as carpenters.

20 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 33 During enslavement, African- t Americans were hired out in a dt variety of jobs on the coast and elsewhere. Many continued to work at this kind of labor well after the Civil War. This 1939 photo shows can- nery workers arriving at work on St. Helena Island. Library of Congress LC-USF33 30430 - MI

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Some African-Americans worked in occupa- Records show that in the years before the tions which put them in competition withwhite Civil War, 1,000 different occupationsemployed workers. White workers felt that they were losing African-American artisans and craftspersons. We the chance to earn a living. Some mastershad have not mentioned other crafts, likewheel- even bought shops for theirenslaved African- wrights, who made wheels for wagons and car- American workers. Masters required workers to riages, or coopers, who made thebarrels in pay them only part of whatthey earned. In 1742 which nearly everything was shipped in those a group of white ship's carpentersasked the leg- days. As you can see, the role of African- islature to take some kind of action against their Americans in building South Carolina andthe enslaved competitors. In 1756 the legislature United States was enormous. passed a law that imposed a fine of five pounds a day on any enslaved African-American working The Value of Enslaved Labor by himself. The law did not work verywell. Enslaved labor could still stay in business ifthe Highly skilled enslaved African-Americans were master hired one white for every twoAfrican- worth a great deal of money. According to news- Americans he used. paper ads of the time, askilled worker sold for In the early 1800s, some whites calledfor a twice as much as someone with noskills. tax on free black workers as well.The difficulties Tragically, sales often separated these artisans faced by white working people in getting good from their families. Owners sometimessold jobs led some well-known white Southerners to them because of debts, retirement, death, or a argue that enslavement shouldbe abolished. change in residence.If a large number of They felt this would create more skilled jobsfor enslaved people were to be sold, generally a whites. Some employers, such as WilliamGregg newspaper ad would simply statehow many and in Graniteville, opened factories whichwould what ages. The assumption was that theywould employ only white workers. As morewhite be already trained. In time, the trade ofenslaved immigrants came to America, free blacksfaced people became a less respectable occupation. even more difficulties. Someleft the countryTraders began to call themselves commission altogether to go to Africa. White artisans even agents, brokers, or auctioneers. societies which Estimating the pricesfor which these gave money to the colonization today's helped African-Americans leave. enslaved African-Americans were sold in

THE CREATION OF EARLY SOUTH CAROLINA 21 dollars is difficult. We can see whatsome of the went up. One carpenter was sold for $1,750,a relative sale prices were for people with different very high price. A newspaper ad in the 1850s skills. Some were sold privately, andsome were offered a young woman who could cook,sew, sold at auctions. A Charleston shoemaker's value wash, and iron, for $1,000. The price included was listed at $350 in 1806. Sales prices ina her infant child. By 1860 prices climbedeven Charleston newspaper in 1811 included the fol- higher. Few artisans could be bought for less lowing: a cook for $420, a tailor for $350,a fish- than $1,200. Masters claimeda similar price as erman for $500, a young field hand for$450, and compensation for enslaved Africans who diedor an elderly coachman for $250. Prices rose after were injured serving in the Civil War or who the War of 1812, with skilled workersgoing for escaped to the Union side. People whowere an average of $400 to $650. Artisans, such ascar- healthy, had good morals, andwere hard workers penters, millers, and tailors, were sold for about were highly valued. $800 to 900. By the 1840s skilled workerswere selling for even more. The prices forcarpenters were higher than most other occupations. Prices Material and Cultural Heritage listed during this period range from about$700 Whether we think about the importance of to $1,000. A bricklayer sold for about $800. work, the dollar value of work, the skills,or just There is a story of a blacksmith whowas the vast amount of labor needed, Africanswere bought by friends to keep him from being sold vital in the building of South Carolina. Not only away from his family. He worked off the cost ofdid they bring skills and provide most of the his freedom. The price he and his friends hadto labor, they brought with thema culture of work. pay was high for that time. It came to $1,630. That culture had a great impacton the culture of His friends mus: have loved himvery much. He South Carolina and the culture of the nation. must have loved his family very much. African styles of work influenced American styles After 1850, with expansion intowestern of work. In later chapters, we will lookat other lands, demand for enslaved Africansrose. Prices kinds of cultural contributions.

22 AFRICAN-AMENICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 40 YVY CHAPTER 3 Resistance to Enslavement

In this chapter we will look at howAfricans each of these areas. Each area had differentlaws. reacted to enslavement. At this point, however, Even within the American South manydiffer- we must start talking exclusivelyabout African- ences existed. Enslavementin South Carolina Americans rather than Africans. The tradeof was somewhat different fromVirginia. Even enslaved Africans continued well into the 1800s, within our state, conditions varied fromplanta- even after it was illegal, but mostof those who tion to plantation. There were alsodifferences were enslaved were born inAmerica. So most between life on the plantations and life inurban were then American by birth aswell as African areas like Charleston. In a veryreal sense, each by ethnic background. enslaved person's situation was unique. From the early 1700s until around 1790 In spite of these differences, allenslaved African-Americans made up a majority of theAfrican-Americans shared a common situation. state's population. However, between about1790 Legally, they were property. They belonged to and 1820 whites held a slight majority. By1820 the owner, or "master" or "mistress," to usethe whites were once again a minority because of an terms of the day. Those who wereenslaved had invention. Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin no civil rights, except theright not to be killed in 1793. The gin allowed seeds tobe easily without good reason. Even this was no guaran- removed from the green seed type of cottonthat tee. A master or any white personwho killed an grew inland. This made cottonprofitable there, enslaved person could tell the court thathe was so cotton growing movedinland. Growers used only protecting himself. The law was always on more and more African-Americansto work the the other side if you were enslaved. Yourfamily new inland fields and runthe plantations. could be separated anytime your ownerchose to Numbers increased. African-Americans were a sell any of you. Even marriages were notlegally majority of the state's population from1820 binding. If you got "out of line," youcould be until 1930. By the Civil War, about 400,000 whipped with a lash. "Out of line"included African-Americans were enslaved in the state. almost anything. "Impudence" or"insolence" They were almost 60 percent of the state's popu- were typical offenses. This meantthat you did lation. However, most whites were not ownersof not show proper respect.That could be some- those who were enslaved. Out of roughly thing as simple as saying the wrongword or giv- 300,000 white residents, about 37,000, or alittle ing the wrong look at the wrong time.In other more than one in ten, were owners. words, you were always in dangerof physical punishment.SometimesenslavedAfrican- Americans were even made to punish eachother. Conditions Owners sometimesput some African- Before we look at resistance, we mustknow Americans in charge of otherAfrican-Americans. something about what it was like to be enslaved. More often lower class whites worked assupervi- It was not the same everywhere. Thosewho were sors. They were all called"drivers" or "overseers" enslaved in South America, in the Caribbean because they saw over the work that wasto be Islands, and in North America faceddifferent sit- done. These overseers also had the powerto pun- uations. Enslaved people grew different cropsin ish those under them.

RESISTANCE TO ENSLAVEMENT 23 41 In addition, as enslaved people resisted the tation always involved a kind of "cat and mouse" masters' efforts to control them, the legislature game. Masters were searching for the best way to passed more restrictive laws. The lawsgave the getwhat they wanted.EnslavedAfrican- masters more control. This made lifeeven more Americans often tested the limits of theirmas- difficult. ter's control. Enslaved people foundways to Even under the best of conditions, the lives resist the master's will. In this way enslavedpeo- of those who were enslavedwere hard. Enslaved ple showed their humanity, the desire ofthe people had little controlover what they did each human spirit to be free. They were unwillingto day. Because the purpose of plantationswas to let the masters define who theywere. make money, even "kind" masters wouldtry to This kind of resistance is another kind of get as much work as possible out of those they contribution. It helped set the stage for eventual enslaved. legal freedom. Resistance showed that enslavement was neither natural nor desirable. If those Enduring Enslavement enslaved had complied totally with theirmas- ters' rules, the job of the anti-slaverymovement When you think about this,you might wonder would have been much harder. Emancipation why all enslaved African-Americansdid not might have come much later. revolt. Masters liked to think that thosethey enslaved were loyal and content. Masters likedto think that only a few enslaved peoplewere really Different Forms of Resistance unhappy. You will even hearsome people say How did enslaved African-Americans resistmas- this kind of thing today. ters' efforts to control them? Therewere many The evidence shows that thiswas not true. ways, ranging from small, quiet gestures to large, No human readily accepts being deprived of free- complicated, and terrifying revolts. dom. As Americans we believe that "liberty"is an First, African-Americans did things that inalienable human right. Even if theperson who reminded them of Africa. By holdingon to their "owns" another human tries to be kind, the African customs, they were saying several things human spirit demands freedom. Noone wants to to themselves and perhaps to their masters. "We live in a cage, no matter how "nice" it is. Asyou may be enslaved, but we are not just slaves. We will see, although you may hear stories about have some control over our lives. Ourroots are kind and gentle masters and mistresses,many worth preserving." One example of thiswas the were extremely cruel. Those who lived under use of drums. Drums were an important part of their harsh rule had much to endure. They African life. They were used in manyways, rang- endured both physical and mental pain. ing from the funeral ceremony to the joyous Inasense we could argue thatthis dancing that so amazed their whiteowners. endurance was one kind of contribution. Most Enslaved Africans in early South Carolina made enslaved African-Americans did not rebel openly. and beat drums as they had done in Africa. The By enduring and doing the hard workevery day powerful rhythmic beating reminded them of of their lives, they contributed to the wealthof "home." However, it did more. It causedmany the state. Of course, they also created the wealth whites to worry. Were the drums sendingmes- of the white masters and mistresses. The priceof sages? Were the drums inspiring the drummers that wealth was ever so high. with a sense of power? Whites could not besure. After the uprising called the Stono Rebellion, the Resisting Enslavement colonial government banned theuse of drums by those who were enslaved. We will lookat This does not mean that those who endureddrums again in a later chapter. were always "docile," or timid. Certainly the We know from the records of masters and masters had most of the power on their side. mistresses in South Carolina that those they They had"slavepatrols,"militiatroops, enslaved often frustrated them. Masterscom- weapons, laws, and courts. But those who were plained that their enslaved African-Americans enslaved, like "firer Rabbit," hadways of improv- were "lazy" or slow to learn. They complained ing their chances a little. In fact lifeon the plan- about broken farm tools. They complained of

24 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

42 In access to boats as well ashorses might make it irresponsibility and forgotten instructions. plan revolts. By short, those who were enslavedseemed to be easier for African-Americans to planta- traveling longer distances than theycould on hindering the operation of the farm or with other tion or household in every waypossible. Masters foot, they could meet and plot sometimes wondered whether enslavedpeople enslaved people. "acting." Running away was a way of "stealing" one- really were this way or were just who Usually the masters decided it was notacting. If self."Fugitives," "runaways," or those they would be escaped from their plantations were aserious masters admitted it was acting, As long as saying that those they enslaved wereextremely problem for South Carolina masters. intelligent. Admitting that would makeit harder the enslaved person was gone,the master was to keep these peopleenslaved. In addition deprived of labor. The runaway wasalso experi- conned. encing the sensation of beingfree. One South nobody likes to admit they are being diary about Some masters understood thatthose theyCarolina master complained in his enslaved were skilled at resisting theirwill. If a someone who had run awayfor the third time. should she or he work As a result the master had"lost" almost a year's person is enslaved, why work at this hard or help the master make moneyunless she worth of work. He added that losing or he gained somebenefit? The smart thing was rate was causing him to lose money. of real trouble. So As we have noted, most runaways were to do just enough to stay out state master had a fifty the master might try to reward"good" behaviors. men. But one Palmetto year old female who was"on the run" for over a Tlie master might give the enslaved person more built a camp in the time off. The enslaved person might get a"hand- year. One group of runaways me-down" item of clothing. She or hethen hadmiddle of some thick bushes andunderbrush worth the reward. deep in the woods. They usedthis hideaway as to decide if more effort was livestock and food Since African-Americans wereindividuals, some their base camp as they took did work harder for these smallrewards. Others from farms in the area. relationship Runaways who stayed away formonths or only pretended. In either case the at least two reasons. was almost alwaysfilled with tension. years were rare. There were Other forms of resistance were more open First, whites assumed that anyAfrican-American belonged to roaming the countryside was a runaway."Slave and aggressive. Taking things that the roads the master or other whites was one wayof strik- patrols," as they were called, were on of this so much all the time and used dogs to tracktheir quarry. ing back. Masters complained rewards for that the state passed a law in 1722 todeal with Whites in these patrols received theft of corn catching runaways. Eventuallyhunger might the "robbing of hen-roosts" and the house or barn. If and rice. No doubt hunger wasthe main cause. force runaways to approach a What was stealing in the eyes ofthe master was seen, they were sure tobe pursued. Second, life not stealing in the eyesof those who were on the run waslonesome as well as hard. they worked Separation from loved ones washard to endure enslaved. From their point of view, back on their hard for very little. Anything theycould add to forever. So most runaways came this was just a way of easing theunfairness of own. They thenfaced whatever punishment the master chose to inflict. their situation. hoping to In the early years, enslavedAfricans were Most runaways fled to the cities, animals. The avoid notice. On the otherhand, some fairly allowed to keep horses and other called authorities stopped this practice whenthey real- largegroupsoffugitives,usually taking "Maroons," lived in freedom in the swampsand ized that some enslaved people were for long periods. horses and changing the brands sotheir owners mountains. Some remained free people some- In 1861 authorities found onesuch group near could not identify them. Enslaved apparently been times sold or traded horsesand other goods for Marion in a swamp. They had profit. Some even sold stolen goods towhites so there for many months. caught with The most extreme form of resistance was they would not have to risk being Rebellions were a part of the goods. open violent rebellion. the South Carolina scene fromthe very begin- African-Americans were also forbidden to the Spanish have boats or canoes. Theauthorities feared that ning. Rebellion dates back to

RESISTANCE TO ENSLAVEMENT 25

4 WV)

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41. 1' Va. .10111 111111.... -...-1111- ao. .!as.:or . "IL 11111eam, ..- :We .1MM/ft.,7"? . - : 7:1 Sketch of an enslaved African attempting to flee in the NewWorld and being caught by white soldiers. Courtesy William Loren Katz collection, care of Ethrac Publications, 231 W.13th St. N.Y., N.Y. 10011. explorers who came to what isnow South effects. A cook had many chances to poison the Carolina in 1525, nearly a century anda half master or his family. South Carolina law made before the English arrived. this a capital crime. Conviction meant the death Sometimes violence was self-directed. Some sentence. Even teaching secrets of poisonous of those facing enslavement preferredto kill plants was a crime. themselves rather than lose freedom. By their Fire was another available and effective deeds they were saying "giveme liberty or give weapon. Arson, the deliberate setting of a fire to me death" long before Patrick Henry was saying destroy property, was hard toprove. Whites those words. Suicide was relativelyrare, but it did feared it. Sometimes enslaved people destroyed happen. Suicide was most likely to happen early crops. They could target any property belonging in enslavement. One such case occurred in 1807 to a master. This included homes and other when two boatloads of Africans newly arrived in buildings in the city of Charleston. Over the Charleston starved themselves to death. Onerea- years Charleston suffered several major fires. As son those enslaved were chained to the decks of long as enslaved people lived there, whitessus- ships was to keep them from jumping overboard. pected them to be the cause. Charlestonianscon- Many would rather drown than be enslaved. victed enslaved African-Americans, whether Whites were especially afraid that enslaved guilty or not, of arson in several Charleston fires. Africans would poison them. Africanswere often The punishment was either deathor being familiar with the powers of certain plants, for deported. In 1754 for example, awoman named good or ill. A little experimenting could show Sacharisa was burned at the stake for setting fire them which American plants had harmful to her owner's house in Charleston. In the mid

26 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

44 is because 1820s, a series of fires led to a virtualpanic in the place, it would not be surprising. This the chances of success were veryslim. Those in city. Several enslaved African-Americans were first. In convicted and executed for setting them. rebellion might gain the upper hand at The most dramatic form of resistanceand the long run, however, the powerand organiza- most frightening to whites was massrebellion. tion of the whites, with the government ontheir events in side, were too great. So when arevolt was You may have read about two such better. The South Carolina, the Stono Rebellionof 1739 and attempted, things became worse, not the best example of this is the most seriousrevolt in the Denmark Vesey revolt of 1822. These are When it was most famous. But there wereothers. None of the 1700s, the Stono Rebellion. them were on the scale of Nat Turner'srebellion over, the colony'sAssembly passed the Slave massive revolt Code of 1740. It tightened controlsand put in Virginia in 1831, much less the closer on the Caribbean islandof Hispaniola in the harsher penalties in place. Let us take a 1790s. In fact, when we look at the longhistory look at this event. of enslavement in South Carolina, we may wonder at how few revolts and attemptedrevolts The Stono Rebellion there were. about A careful study of the StonoRebellion of 1739 There may well have been revolts might ask which we have no record. But if only afew took suggests some answers to questions we about rebellions in general. Forinstance, why did revolts happen when theydid? Was 1739 a Sketch of an escaped African-American whois hiding in good time for enslaved African-Americansin the the swamps and ready to defend himself fromwhites who state to think about an uprising? would recapture him. Courtesy William LorenKatz col- 13th St. N.Y., Those who were enslaved probablyoften lection, care of Ethrac Publications, 231 W. beyond N.Y. 10011. thought about revolt. Some never went thought. They must have made theirplans over a long period. Theywaited for the best time to act. We will never knowhow many such plans were made but notcarried out because those making the plans decided that "discretion was the better part of valor." Theyknew failure would cost them their lives. Theyknew it would make things worse for those stillliving. Picking the right time was important. The late 1730s seemed to be a"good" time. Why? First, in the decade of the1730s, some 20,000 Africans were broughtinto South Carolina. This doubled their number inthe state. The result was a two to one ratioof blacks to whites. As we might expect, manywhites were worried about this. They had good reason.At this time one extra "contribution"African- Americans were making to SouthCarolina was to make whites very nervous. Second, England and Spain were at war.This meant that the English colonyof South Carolina and the Spanish colony of Florida werein a hos- tile mood toward each other. Fromtheir base at St. Augustine, the Spanish wereplanning ways to threaten their English neighbors tothe north. One of these ways, which theSpanish king had authorized, was to encourage enslavedAfrican- Americans in Carolina to escape toFlorida. In

RESISTANCE TO ENSLAVEMENT 27 the months before the Stono Rebellion,several tions. Some were able to convince thewhites small groups of African-Americans escapedand that they had been forced to join therebels. headed toward Florida. Theywere obviously They were released. The restwere shot. aware of the Spanish invitation. Some made it to More than twenty whites and about the St. Augustine. Some were caught and released.At same number of blacks died in the rebellion. At least one was executed. least thirty rebels had escaped ina group and Finally, a new law was togo into effect on were still at large. Some who had fled the battle September 29, 1739. It required all whitemen to were hiding out alone. Still others were trying to carry firearms to church on Sundays. Theget back to the plantation. Thegroup that Assembly had taken this action because ofthe fear remained at large posed a danger to whites.So in that enslaved people mightuse their time off the next several days,a massive manhunt was from work on the Sabbath to starta revolt. Those conducted. Even with all of the militia unitson who were enslaved had heard about thisnew law. duty, cornering the main body of rebelssome They realized it would reduce future chances. thirty miles farther south tooka week. In the bat- Early on Sunday morning, September9, tle that followed, most of the rebelsfought to 1739, about twenty enslavedmen gathered near their deaths. However, some escaped.Whites in the Stono River, about 20 miles fromCharleston. the area could not rest easily for severalmore Many of them were from the Angola regionof months. Rebels were still being captured thenext Africa, which meant that they probablyspoke spring. One remained at large for threeyears. the same native language. Their leaderwas The Stono Rebellion failed. What if it had named Jemmy. They tookguns and ammunition succeeded? Had Bull not beenon the road, it from a store nearby, killing the two storekeepers. might have been successful. Withmore time, Then they headed south, urging othersto join hundreds, even thousands, of South Carolina them. As their numbersgrew, they looted and African-Americans might have rallied around burned several houses. They killedsome of the this small band of rebels. What ifthey had white residents. As their confidence and enthusi- marched all the way to St. Augustine? We donot asm grew, some began to beat drums and chant know what the Spanish authorities would have about gaining liberty. This drewmore enslaved done with them. With thismany arriving all at people to join them from nearby plantations.For once, could the Spanish have reenslaved them the moment they were no longer enslaved.They all? This might have been the beginningof a were rebels engaged in revolution. long lasting, even permanent, African-American By coincidence, William Bull, the colony'sLt. community in Florida. White Carolinians might Governor, was returning to Charleston from Beau- have rethought their notion of buildinga colony fort that day. Around eleven o'clock he andhis with enslaved labor. Whites might have turned aides suddenly came upon the procession.By now instead to the slower, but safer, method of luring the rebels must have numbered between fiftyand other European immigrants to the colony. There 100. They charged the Lt. Governor'sparty. Being was one such plan, called the "township plan." It mounted on horses, Bull and his aides escaped.If was rejected in favor of continuing to use the rebels had killed Bull, the rest of thestory enslaved labor. Enslavement would probably might have been very different. Bull alerted have survived. However, with much smaller whites in the area. Then he wenton to Charleston numbers of enslaved people, the idea ofsetting and raised a larger force. Meanwhile therebels them free might not have seemedso drastic. The stopped near the Jacksonboro ferry and waitedfor Civil War, the bloodiest war in the nation's his- others, hearing their drums, to join them. tory, might not have been necessary. In short, Around four o'clock that afternoonan perhaps South Carolina history and the nation's armed and mounted troop of whites rodeinto history might have been very different. the rebel camp. Those rebels who hadguns fired and began reloading. Unarmed rebelstried to escape. The whites dismounted and fired a volley Resistance in the Era of the into the main group of rebels, killing fourteen. American Revolution Several more were surrounded and captured. Ideas about justice and freedom inspiredwhite They were briefly questionedas to their inten- Carolinians to rebel against their English rulers.

28 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

46 These ideas could be just asinspiring to African- Resistance in the 1800s if the enslaved Americans. What would happen African-Americans continued to resistenslave- people decided to join theRevolution? What if have described until the African-Americans decided to have arevolution ment in the ways we Civil War ended. Despitecontinued efforts, of their own? of how to gain advantages in this whites never solved the problem The British saw possible total control. Fom time totime, whites faced situation. They tried to recruitenslaved African- resistancerebellion. Americans to join them inputting down thethat most drastic type of In exchange for the Two such times were July1816 in Camden and rebellion in America. June 1822 in Charleston. promise of freedom, someenslaved South is scarce. side during the Evidence on the Camden revolt Carolinians fought on the British African-Americans We will discuss However, it is clear that several American War for Independence. planned to launch a violentattack on their mas- this more in the chapter onmilitary service later According to a white African-Americans saw the ters and other whites. in the book. Other woman who hadknowledge of the plot and from rallies held by whiteCarolinians to denounce arrested, the British laws and tried to the testimony of those who were the Stamp Act and other rebels intended to take their revengewithout join in. One group paradedthrough the streets of detected, but for some time shouting about lib- mercy. The plot was Charleston. Enslaved blacks afterwards whites in the area were uneasy. erty shocked whites!At least one African- larger revolt nearly such behavior. At Six years later, a much American was executed for took place. For severalmonths a group in that time liberty was forwhites only. Another plan. A free from the unrest, Charleston carefully laid an elaborate casualty may have also resulted African-American named DenmarkVesey led but it is not certain. In 1769 anenslaved woman hundreds of enslaved stake in Charleston for poison- them. The plan called for was burned at the people to escape to the Caribbeanisland of Santo ing her master. been free since the fighting had begun in Domingo. Africans there had By the Spring of 1775, successful revolt in the 1790s.This was the most Massachusetts between Britishsoldiers and colo- attempted in excitement and talk ambitious and detailed revolt ever nial rebels. This caused much South Carolina. NativeAfricans and South among whites inSouth Carolina. What would involved. beginning. Carolina-born African-Americans were become the War for Independence was Both plantation workers andcity dwellers were It would soon spread acrossthe nation. excitement a freeincluded. The total number wassomewhere In the midst of this around 9,000. The plotterscollected weapons. African-American named ThomasJeremiah may The date of the revolt wascarefully chosen. It was have carried his enthusiasmfor freedom too far. when the moon would cast he was known, was to be Sunday, July 14, It cost him his life. "Jerry," as almost no light. Vesey's skill innavigation, which a fisherman and aharbor pilot. He was perhaps belonged to a ship's captain the richest member of his racein the colony. He he learned when he as a young man,would make the escapepossible. was well known inCharleston for his heroic ser- the plan would June of 1775, he was We will never know whether vice fighting fires. In have succeeded. Twohouse servants who had arrested for plotting rebellion.Although others told their masters. crime confessed, Jerry been recruited by Vesey's men who were accused of this Arrests and interrogationsfollowed. Whites were did not. He was convictedand hanged. Some suspects, because The court evi- able to identify only 100 as whites thought he was innocent. Vesey refused to reveal any names.Of these, dently felt it could not takethe chance of letting hanged. More pilot could have been thirty-four, including Vesey, were Jerry go free. His skill as a were sold out ofthe state. used to help the British navigateinto Charleston led the government of In fact, the British In the aftermath fear harbor and attack the city. South Carolina to takeseveral steps to prevent tried to do this one yearlater. In June of 1776, a authorities closed the back by General future revolts. First, the British invasion was turned church of the Reverend MorrisBrown. Several of Moultrie's men. The outcomemight have been including Denmark Vesey, different with the help of someonewho knew the leaders of the plot, were members ofthe African MethodistChurch. the waters in the area.

RESISTANCE TO ENSLAVEMENT 29 Whites assumed that rebels used the churchas a Georgetown officials warning them notto hang meeting place. The authorities thought thiswas so many people that too few workers would be enough reason to close it. left to harvest the ricecrop. The next year the The government took othersteps as well. legislature sent $5,000 to helppay the cost of the These included generous rewards for theinfor- investigation and the securitymeasures. mants and amendments to the state's slave code. There were other rumors about revolts.Over One new law required all sailorsof African the years many arrestswere made. Whether these descent whose ships docked at Charlestonhar- were actual plots or just the imaginations of fear- bor to be kept isolated from the localAfrican- ful whites is hard to tell. One suchcase occurred American population. Whites hoped thiswould in Columbia in 1805. Of course, keep ideas about revolution none of the plots away from local succeeded. However, when we consider themall, African-Americans. However, this showshow we can see it is a mistake to think that African- whites misunderstood those they hadenslaved. Americans willingly accepted enslavement. The desire for freedomwas in them already. Some, like the informants,were either loyal to masters or too afraid to revolt. Most African- Escape to the North Americans considered the odds againstescape If you could not rebel andwere unwilling to and rebellion and chose patience andhope over endure the injustice of a life of enslavement,you boldness. They were realists. But therewere might try to escape. While mostrunaways were always those who dreamed great dreams andhad caught, some did make itto safer places. the courage to act on those dreams. However, even if you made it toa non-slave state So-netimes it was just a matter of losing in the North, you were not tottlly safe.Congress your temper. One example of this took place in had passed a fugitive slave law in 1850to help 1824, two years after the Vesey plot. TheAfrican- Southern masters get their "property" back.The Americans enslaved on the Charles Pinckney law was passed in an effort to compromisewith plantation reached the limit of theirendurance white Southerners and keep the nationtogether. with the white overseer, Mr. Dawsey.When Since 1793 masters had the right tocross state Dawsey insisted that they fence in theirhogs, lines to capture runaways. Butmany Northern they refused. When he hada fence built, they states passed "liberty laws" that maderecapture burned it. Then Dawsey shot two ofthe hogs. impossible. So Congress tried to help the white One man became so angry that he threatenedto South by promising national help inrecapturing send Dawsey "to hell." Dawseyordered an runaways. It did not work. Many Northerners African-American overseer to restrain theangry refused to enforce the law. Somerunaways made man. The overseer refused. When Dawsey shot it to Canada. Many changed theirnames and the man, other angry people chasedDawsey. started new lives. Dawsey was lucky to escape with his life. in the mid 1820s, a different kind ofrevolt took place in Charleston. Over severalmonths The Abolitionist Movement arsonists set a series of fires in various placesin Others who escaped joined in another formof the city. Investigators found flammablematerials resistance. This was the "abolitionist"movement. at some of the fires. This was a sure sign ofarson. An abolitionist was a person who hated enslave- Arrests were made. Testimony led to severalcon- ment and worked to destroy it. Whites in this victions and executions. But the whitescould movement welcomed blacks, especially if they not be sure they had caught all the arsonists. had escaped enslavement. They couldtestify from Georgetown was the site of the next threat- personal experience about the South's "peculiar ened revolt. In 1829 agroup of would-be rebels institution," as slavery was sometimes called. devised a plan and set a date. One of thosewho One such South Carolinianwas Robert had been recruited betrayed the rebels.About Purvis. Purvis was born in Charlestontc an twenty African-Americans were arrested. Many enslaved mother and a white father. However,he more were questioned. The investigation became was unusual because his escape was easy. His so widespread that the Attorney General, James father, who was wealthy, provided for himgener- Petigru, became worried. He wroteto theously. He even attended Amherst Collegein

30 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

48 This political cartoon, entitled "A Practical Illustration of the Fugitive Slave Law," shows how reluctant Northerners were to enforce laws that would force them to help return African-Americans who fled the South in the 1850s. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide B- 69 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy the Library of Congress.

PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION OF THE FUGITIVE StAVELAW.

short answer Massachusetts. Purvis settled inPhiladelphia, How did they survive? The and became an active abolitionist.He was the seems to be that mostof them followed a middle committee,a path between giving in andrebelling. That is, president of the first "vigilance masters wanted. group that raised money tohelp the "under- they did not do everything the real railroad, of However, they did not risk toomuch by open ground railroad." This was not a have found course. Nor was itunder the ground. Rather, it rebellion. Each enslaved person must to help enslaved people his or her own way of balancingbetween these was a secret organization like most of us. escape to the North. Ittried to protect them from extremes. In this sense they were the Fugitive Slave They compromised betweenwhat they really being reenslaved as a result of They were practi- Law. Purvis also was one of theleading organiz- wanted and what was possible. Anti-Slavery Society. Other cal. Even so, they needed supportand encour- ers of the American from the burdens of South Carolina African-Americanswho escaped agement. They needed relief Robert Purvis life. They found support andrelief in their fami- from enslavement owed a debt to and stories. and others like him who helped pavethe way. lies, their religion, and in their songs If we think of families inthe traditional American sense, we may thinkthat enslaved Ways to Survive DailyLife African-Americans hardly had families atall. nearly 200 Marriages among them were notlegal contracts. African-Americans who lived during when a man years of enslavement(1670-1865) were faced The master might hold a ceremony barely imagine. and woman on the plantationwanted to marry. with challenges that we can them. Either Most did not escape. Theirlives were physically However, this did not legally unite almost anyone living partner could be sold far away,breaking up the much harder than those of for children. today. Also, their minds andsouls were bur- family unit. The same was true control them Africans were not usuallyaccustomed to the dened. Many whites who tried to (one did not treat them as human.Those who sang European, or Christian, idea of monogamy Seen" were husband-one wife). Many masters weremore "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've produced expressing their true feelings. interested in how many babies were

RESISTANCE TO ENSLAVEMENT 31

4J than in who the fathers were. Finally, the hard ters chose names for the black childrenas well as work kept both parents very busy. It left themso their own white childrenon their plantations. tired that sometimes they couldnot give their Masters did this to show just how much control children much attention. Couldstrong families they had. Enslaved families stubbornlyresisted. exist under such conditions? They had their own secretnames they used with Amazingly, the answer was often, though each other. not always, yes. We can see this in thenewspaper Family was not the onlysource of support. advertisements taken out byowners of run- Religion,music, and stories helped enslavedpeo- aways. Many of these ads told the reader that the ple survive from day to day. Each of theseoffered runaway was thought to be headed to where his a kind of mental escape. We will lookmore kin were living. In other words, the saleof one or closely at religion, music, and literature laterin two members had split the family. One member the book. For now, let us end this chapter witha had escaped to try and put the familyback story that African-American families frequently together. Such strong family tieswere not limited told as they gathered together aftera long day of to parents and children. The ties included other hard labor. After you read it,you may want to relatives, like grandparents, aunts, anduncles. think about why this was sucha favorite story. Ties even included non-kin who livednearby. We call this an "extended family." Thistradition has survived. We will see it in therest of the When All Africans Could Fly book. African-Americans (and others) still have This story was remembered bya man on extended families who help share the dutiesand John's Island in the 1940s. It had been the joys of family life. passed down for generations. Thestory There are many benefits from this kindof began with the notion that longago in family. Thinking about resistance to enslave- Africa the people could fly. After being ment, one important benefit is that the grand- enslaved and brought to America, they had parents and other older folks can teach the forgotten how. On one of the plantations young ones about who they are. Elders canpass where they were taken, theoverseers were on the family stories and traditions, and keep the very cruel. The people had to work so long ties between the present and the past alive. This and hard that many died. New enslaved was very important for African-Americans. They Africans were brought from Africa. Among were living in a world that had no respect for them was an old man. One day he shouted them or their way of life. If they didnot preserve something the white overseers couldnot their ways, who would? understand. His words helped the people Within the family children learnedthe remember the power they once had. Upon secrets of getting along in a world in which they hearing the words everyone gotup. The old had no legal power. The family showedthem man raised his hands. The people all that even though most whites showed disre- jumped in the air. However, they did not spect, family members were precious to andwor- fall back down. Rather, they soared into the thy of respect from each other. The family taught air. They soared higher and higher, until the them how to "put on the mask." Thismeant pre- whites could not see themanymore. tending to be someone different when theywere with white people. Family taught them thatthis [There are a number of longer versions of thisstory. was not who they really were. Families tookcare One of the best of these is an updated and attractively of children's emotional and physicalneeds. illustrated version entitled "The People Could Fly," Mothers grew vegetables told by Virginia Hamilton in The People CouldFly: in small gardens. American Black Folktales, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Fathers hunted and fished to add to thelittle 1985). Others include ""All God's Chi llen Had food that masters provided. Private timein the Wings," told by Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps cabin with the family alloweda kind of escape in The Book of Negro Folklore (New York: Dodd, Mead from the hated roles of "slaves." Anythingthat and Co., 1958),"People Who Could Fly," told by could show family pride was importantto them. Julius Lester in Black Folktales, (New York:Grove Weidenfeld, 1969) and "Flying People" in American For example, choosing a name fora new baby Negro Folklore by J. Mason Brewer (New York: was a way of saying "we are a family." Somemas- Quadrangle/New York Times Book Co., 1968) J

32 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 50 ',VT CHAPTER 4 FreeAfrican-Americans in EarlySouth Carolina

African-Americans who were not enslaved were We can tell this from earlier colonialtax records. color had about called "free persons of color." Whothey wereThe number of free persons of not more readily definedthem than who they doubled in the past twenty years. not white and not These figures tell us two things.First, most were. Ob-'iously, they were been enslaved, but they were not trulyfree. Nor were African-Americans who were free had once other hand, they enslaved. Somehow they had gainedfreedom on they really citizens. On the them free. were not alienseither. They were people intheir own, or their owners had set limbo. They lived in a kind of noman's land Second, the war to free Americafrom the British South Carolina, had enabled some to gain freedom.We will talk between the two main groups in War in a whites and enslaved African-Americans. about the impact of the Revolutionary color were not later chapter. Economically, the free persons of free before all poor. Some were wealthy.A few were even But what about those that were held legal title to the Revolution? In the early1700s, it was not "masters" themselves, who human property enslaved African-Americans. Socially,fitting in to unusual for a master to free his in which they lived was in his will. That is, after hisdeath, as his property any part of the society his family, some or all of hard for them. Some ofthem identified with was divided among Others those he had enslaved wouldbe setfree. theirAfrican-Americanneighbors. those he had thought of themselves as being morelike whites. Sometimes the owner provided for Americans, their enslaved. In 1797 John Oxendine'swill stated Finally, unlike other "free" apprenticed out to reduced,ratherthanthat young Bill was to be opportunitieswere twenty-five. increased, as time passed. Shortlybefore the Civil learn a trade and freed at age Hannibal Dearington was set freein his owner's War, the South Carolina legislatureseriously considered enslaving them. Yet they,like theirwill. He also inherited partof the plantation. endured and sur- Another African-American, freedin 1783, was enslaved brothers and sisters, inheritance to buy vived. This chapter tells their storyand their able to save enough from his and free a woman and child. contributions. At that time people did not opposethe mixing of whites and blacks asmuch as they did How They Became Free later. There were even someinterracial marriages. the first official Mulatto childrenthose with onewhite and one The Federal Census of 1790 was likely to be set free. counting of the American population.It listedblack parentwere the most Carolina as just under By 1850 nearly half of thefree African-Americans the population of South mixed blood. Many of 250,000. African-Americansaccounted for about in South Carolina were of listed asthe leading families in Charlestonhad a mixed 109,000. Of this number, 1,801 were family, were of "free persons of color." That isonly one in every heritage. The Noisettes, a wealthy the state. So we aremixed French and African ancestry.Francis L. sixty African-Americans in post-Civil War talking about a very small part ofthe population. Cardozo, a politician in the lived in the period whom you will meet later,had an African Over half of this small group Kin loch, a rich Charleston area. But their number wasgrowing. and Jewish heritage. Richmond

FREE AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN EARLY SOUTHCAROLINA 33 5i Mann-Simons cottage. Celia Mann bought her freedom from enslavement in Charleston and walked all the way to Columbia. There she worked as a midwife and bought this house, which still stands at 1403 Richland St. JQ and serves as a museum. Reportedly, when General Sherman's army took Columbia near the end of the Lea X. Civil War, Ms. Mann allowed her wealthy white neighbors to hide in her basement. Photo by Aimee Smith.

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'...01t millwright, had ancestors from Scotlandas well A very few African-Americans became free as from Africa. Two rich real-estate speculators, because they had done something that deserved the Dereef brothers, claimeda Native American a special reward. Saving a master's life or protect- woman as an ancestor. ing his children from harm might A few African-Americans earn such a came to South reward. One had to be lucky to have thatoppor- Carolina during the Colonial periodas inden-tunity. One also had to be lucky to survivethe turedservantsratherthanasenslaved. risks that it might involve. Indenturing servants was acommon practice A few of those who were enslavedwere per- among whites. It required individuals to work for mitted to earn their freedom. Somemasters a certain number of years to pay for the cost of allowed their enslaved African-Americansto earn their transportation and livingexpenses. At the money by selling things they had made. Others end of a set period of time, theywere free. A were allowed to hire themselves out during their number of the free Africans settled in the coastal free time. Because there was not much freetime, areas of South Carolina. In the post-colonial this took many years. If enoughmoney could be period, some free African-Americans indentured saved, the enslaved person couldeven buy his or themselves for a period of time in orderto buy her own freedom. Then, if the ex-masterwas the freedom of their families.In Edgefield willing, the newly freed person couldsave more County records show that Frank, whowas free, money and buy freedom for his wife and chil- was indentured for sixteen years. He was proba- dren. There was no guarantee. The master could bly buying the freedom of his wife andchildren. change his mind or raise the price. Love was certainly not free. It required hard work Occasionally the state purchased the free- and long years of endurance. Anotherman dom of an enslaved person who had performed indentured himself for sevenyears to earn free- an act of public service. A man named "Ariel" dom for his wife. Sadly, she diedone month after risked his life to put out a fire that would have she obtained her freedom. destroyed St. Philip's Church in Charleston. He

34 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE received his freedom and a cash paymentfrom man until 1891. However,boxing did become a the legislature. Two men who testifiedin court in very popular sport duringthe 1800s. Many other the Denmark Vesey Revolt trial wererewarded African-Americans went on to achieve great suc- with their freedom and a cash gift. Onebecame cess in the sport. wealthy enough to purchase two housesand four lots. Restrictions on Freedom Some free Africans were immigrantswho During the 1700s free persons ofcolor were left came to the United Statesfor the same reasons they that immigrants have always come. Asthe result alone to live as best they could. Of course number of had to endure racial prejudice.During that of a revolution in San Domingue, a their lives whites and blacks arrived in the UnitedStates. period the government did not make living was more difficult. The government evengave grants After the revolution there, making a of difficult and many people feared fortheir safety. of land in the upcountry to a few free persons white authori- color. For example, a freeAfrican-American So many free Africans arrived that 300 acres in ties became alarmed. They fearedthat so many named Matthew Chavous received free persons of color might lead enslaved persons 1752. free as well. In By the 1800s life became moredifficult for of color to think they should be The state 1794 the state legislature passed alaw forbidding African-Americans in South Carolina. West Indies. first stepped in to control the freeingof African- the entry of free Africans from the Americans in 1800. From then on a courtwould have to approve all acts of"manumission," the Tom Molyneux: Boxing toFreedom legal term for granting freedom.There was actu- freedom. Here ally a good reason for this at the time.A number We often talk about "fighting" for themselves is a case of a man who boxedhis way to free- of masters used manumission to rid domand tofame! Many earlyAfrican- of old, sick, or even dangerous persons.Once Americans, both free and enslaved, wereboxers. freed, masters had no further legalresponsibility. For sport and entertainment, mastersheldThis allowed masters to benefitfrom the matches between boxers from differentplanta- enslaved persons' labor as long asthey were deal ofstrong and useful. tions. Sometimes masters bet a great the law money on who wouldwin. One enslaved boxer, Although the original intentions of Tom Molyneux, was freed byhis Georgetown may have been good,the state soon took total match against a bully control. South Carolina made freeing anyonedif- owners after he won a 1820 a new from a Virginia plantation. Molyneuxleft South ficult no matter what the reason. In There he was law added restrictions. An ownerwho wished to Carolina and headed for New York. him out of the all his matches. free someone either had to send a great success. He won "trustee." A trustee Boxing was quite popular inEngland. So state or have him live under a Molyneux decided to try his luck there.He won was someone, often aclose friend, who owned boxers. All the enslaved person and held theenslaved per- eight straight fights against British While the person the losers tried to hide their namesbecause los- son's property in trust for him. loss of prestige. was still technicallyenslaved, he would live as ing to a nonwhite meant a the risk Molyneux's next fight was againstthe world though free. Oi course there was always December of that the trustee would violate the trust ordie. heavyweight champion. It was special per- 1810. More than 20,000 peoplewatched the Laws restricted travel. Without mission, African-Americans could notleave the matchfornearly anhour.Unfortunately, fractured state and then return. Once out,they had to stay Molyneux fell against the ring post and allow free African- his skull. As a result, he lost thematch. In 1811 out. Nor would the state Molyneux's health Americans living outside SouthCarolina to enter the two men had a rematch. hard for them to had suffered from his earlieraccident, and he the state. Of course this made it minutes. He carry on business or seerelatives and friends. lost this match after only nineteen for never again experienced great successin the ring, Whites thought there were good reasons anothPr these changes. As you learned in anearlier chap- and he died in 1818. There was not Many free major boxing match between ablack and a white ter, rumors of revolts were common.

FREE AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN EARLY SOUTH CAROLINA 35 African-Americans could read. Keeping trackof African-Americans committed certaincrimes, what they were readingwas hard. Whites were they could be sold into enslavement by afraid that free African-Americans the state. were giving They were not really free. What freedomthey their enslaved neighbors ideas aboutfreedom. had was always in danger. The more free African-Americanstraveled and The law required all free African-Americans read, the more ideas they mightget and spread. to have white guardians. Guardianswere in some Whites were afraid free African-Americansmight ways like masters. But guardians hadno legal even help plan revolts. The fact that Denmark obligations to look after free African-Americans. Vesey was a free man seemed to prove this point. The purpose was to assure whites thatAfrican- So, free African-Americans became lessand Americans would pay their debts andnot cause less free. They could ownproperty but they trouble. Some businesspeopleeven insisted that could not vote. Theywere not citizens but they all contracts be in the guardians'names. did pay taxes. They could testify in court but not There was more. In 1792 the state passeda against a white person. If a whiteperson claimed law that required all free African-Americans that an African-American belongedto him, thebetween ages 16 and 50 topay a $2.00 "head law assumed the whitewas correct unless the tax" each year. This might not sound likemuch African-American could prove himwrong. If free today, but it was a lot of money then. It mightbe

Most free African-Americans were farmers and had to work very hard to buy and maintain their freedom. Thissketch, however, may have shown life somewhat later andwas published in 1878. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slideD-37 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). Harpers, Archives. Courtesy S.C.

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36 ATRKAN-AMENICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

54 goods to Fanner using an ox driven cart. Farmersused whatever kind of animals they could to get Constance B. the market or bring the things they neededfrom the country store. Reproduced from Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. SlideCollection, slide E-8 (Sandlapper PublishingCompany, 1989). Courtesy the Darlington CountyHistorical Conunission. several weeks' wages, if you earned wagesat all. Ways of Making a Living Some people traded their labor forfood and a roof With restrictions like these, life wasnot easy for over their heads. Theytraded for the things they They had a free African-Americans. They had towork very needed and rarely saw any money. standards of very hard time paying taxes.In addition to this hard just to rise above the living had to pay those who wereenslaved.MostAfrican- special tax, free African-Americans also Americans lacked the skills to do morethan all the taxes required of white citizens.Sometimes physical labor, which paid verylittle. Even so, their earnings barely covered all the taxes. survived at all If free African-Americans could not pay the fact that free persons of color servitude for in a state where whites enslavedfifty-nine of their taxes, they could be sold into important. They proved a period of time to earnthe money. If the tax col- every sixty blacks was that African-Americanscould "make it"in lectors chose to cheat, freeAfrican-Americans they could even had no recourse. In one case the taxcollector America. If given half a chance, funds. Some make it in South Carolina. and sheriff in Charleston stole tax pre-Civil of this money was the taxes paidby some free Many free African-Americans in War South Carolina were farmers.Most of these African-Americans.Thirty-onefreeAfrican- and thirty Americans almost 'were enslaved as aresult. owned small farms between ten time. acres. These smallfarms did not produce Fortunately, the theft was discovered in Free African- Authorities could impose special taxes on a enough to make a decent living. American farmers often had todo other work as whim. After the Denmark VeseyRevolt in 1822, They had Charleston created a municipal guard.The pur- well. They had a lot of competition. protect whites. But to compete with enslavedAfrican-Americans pose of the guard was to who were hired out for labor.They also had to whites did not pay for it. Taxes onfree African- who did not face as Americans paid for the guard. compete with white workers

FREE AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN EARLY SOUTHCAROLINA 37

BEST COPY AVAILABLE Many of the mid-wives who had been using onlytraditional folk medicine were also trained in westernmedical practices. This is a 1930s picture of a group of "grannymid-wives." Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., of S.C. Slide Collection, slide 1-61 (Sandlapper The History Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy Waring HistoricalLibrary, Medical University of S.C., Charleston. many restrictions. Surviving was a real accom-The state provided no support. Withoutsome plishment. government support, most schools for African- Some free African-Americans wentway Americans did not last very long. beyond mere survival. They found realprosper- Folk medicine was one field thatwas open ity, as difficult as that was. Some contributed to African-Americans in early South Carolina. much more. Let us look ata few of these. Those in medicine did not have the kind of for- Because education and training wereso lim- mal training that physicians have today. There ited, there were few professionals. For thefew were very few formally educated doctors in who did achieve professional careers, education South Carolina of either race until the1900s, was the key. Thomas Bonneau of Charleston especially in the rural areas. Butmany people operated a school for free African-Americanchil- knew enough about the treatment of diseasesto dren from1803 1829. to William McKinley also make their living in this way. Among thesewere operated a school in Charleston. Two enslaved the "root doctors" we talked about in thefirst Africans taught classes at the Charleston Negro chapter. Midwives, whomwe will talk about later School from1743to1765.FreeAfrican- in this chapter, are another suchgroup. Many of Americans operated at least fifteen schools in these people would seem much like modernday Charleston during the period from 1800to 1860. medics or physician's assistants. These African-Americans performed heroictasks. In at least one case, a man earned his free-

38 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

BEST COPYAVAILABLE dom through medicine. Cesar was an enslaved where in the range of $36,000. (You canmake a African-American who was freed by the state leg- rough calculation of this as follows. At aboutthe islature in the mid-1700s. He had discovered a same time in history, BenFranklin bought three cure for a rattlesnake bite. It musthave worked, loaves of bread for two pence. Each loafwould for in addition to his freedom, he was granted an cost about a dollar today. It takes twe, pence to annual payment by the legislature. The cure was make a shilling and twenty shillings tomake a published by newspapers both inside and outside pound sterling.) We do not know how Primas of South Carolina during the late 1700s. came to have all this money,but clearly he was a Free African-Americans found opportunities wealthy man. Thomas Jeremiah, a fishermanand in other areas. Many became skilledartisans, boat pilot in Charleston, was said to beworth such as carpenters, tailors, hairdressers, bricklay- more than 1,000pounds. William Ellison of and owned ers and butchers. In Charleston,three quarters of Sumter County patented a cotton gin the free African-Americans were artisans.Only a thriving plantation. Borninto enslavement, fifteen percent of the city's overall workforce Ellison had over 100 of his fellowAfrican- was composedoffreeAfrican-Americans. Americans working for him in 1860. He pur- However, twenty-five percent of the city's car- chased two notable pieces of property. One was penters, forty percent of the city'stailors, and the home of former Governor Steven D.Miller. seventy-five percent of the city's millwrightsThe other was a house that had belonged to Sumter. were free African-Americans.They were known Revolutionary War General Thomas for their good work. Even when large numbersof Both of his daughters married white men.All white immigrants arrived, most white customers these were clearly exceptions. Mostsuccessful continued to buy from African-American arti- free African-Americans used a trade orskill to sans. Thomas Day was acabinet-maker in earn a living. Charleston in the 1800s. The quality of hiswork Free African-American women had evenless was so high that wealthy clientsfrom both South opportunity than the men. One occupation Carolina and Virginia ordered his custom-made open to women wasthat of midwife. Midwives labor and furniture. helped pregnant women through their An 1823 directory of Charleston, whichhad childbirth. Then they took care of themother the largest population of free African-Americans, and baby. In a time when there were noAfrican- listed thirty-five different occupations.Almost American doctors and too few white ones,this half of the skilled free African-Americans were was a vitally importantservice. Both white and carpenters or tailors. In some cases askill was black women used the services ofAfrican- handed down in a family from generation toAmerican midwives. This was especially soin generation. Robert Ingliss, the last of seven gen- rural areas where doctors were scarce.Payment erations of barbers in one Charlestonfamily, was usually whateverthe "customer" could midwives died in 1957. afford and not always money. Often were paid in farmproduce or small livestock. Some free African-Americans were successful skilled arti- in business. Others became wealthythrough pur- In general, fewer women were chases of real estate. Among these wereThomas sans. Most of the skilledcrafts were considered Bonneau, who owned six houses and aplanta- "men's work." However, a number ofthe women tion when he died. Richard Hollowayowned were cooks, seamstresses, ordressmakers. A few twenty-twohouses.Startingascarpenters, women made and soldhandicrafts. Holloway and his family became known fortheir Eliza Lee was a cook whose contributions quality work. Soon they were buyingland and extend far beyond the state. Americansshould becoming "well-to-do." The Kin lochs,also of remember her whenever they enjoy apickle. A Charleston, were another such family. They were Charlestonian whose "Mansion House" was plan- located near the hotel of the famousJehu Jones, millwrights who eventually owned several The tations. she was skilled at pickling and preserving. John Primas owned a 100 acre farm inthe story is that her two sons leftthe state to seek a Beaufort area. He bought it in 1731 for100 better life. When they had troublemaking a liv- pounds sterling. Today, that would be some- ing, they began to pickle foodsusing her recipes.

FREE AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN EARLY SOUTH CAROLINA 39 A man by the name of Heinz heard about them. were both financial and social. White society was He bought their recipes and the right tomass not open to them. Their enslaved neighbors produce them. Heinz pickles are now history! occupied a separate class. So free persons of color Jehu Jones, another free African American, formed groups of their own in which to socialize began his career as a tailor. Later he boughta and help each other. One type of organization boarding house in Charleston. His wife Abbywas was the fraternal society. an excellent pastry cook. They soon owned one Many of these organizations were exclusive, of the most popular hotels in Charleston. The just like white organizations. The best known of success of this business made it possible for Jones these was the Brown Fellowship Society. The to buy many lots on Broad Street. This was the Brown Fellowship Society was founded in 1790 center of business in Charleston. to help African-Americans. Membershipwas Jones' Hotel even had an internationalrep- open only to lighter skinned "free brown men" utation. According to one customer, most impor- and their descendants. This is why thename was tant people who visited Charleston stayed at "brown" rather than "black." Of course this kind Jones' hotel. There they found the comforts of of exclusiveness was based on prejudice itsmem- home and the best food in the country. An bers learned from white society. This would be Englishtraveler recommended that"Every unacceptable today. The Brown Fellowship Englishman who visits Charleston, will, if he be Society's membership was limited to fifty people. wise, direct his baggage to be conveyed to Jones' They met once a month. The society had itsown Hotel." Successful as he was, Jones latergave up school and its own burial ground. Both of these his business. He left Charleston for. New York. A were limited to members. If a member died, the newspaper in Liberia, Africa, offered him the job society saw that his children received an educa- of editor. When this did not work out, he found tion. Widows and orphans would be cared for. he could not return to South Carolina. Thestate The Brown Fellowship Society lasted into the law we mentioned earlier barred him from doing 1900s. so. He had to sell all of his Charleston property. Other free African-Americans who were The fact that a man as prominent as Jones would well-off established similar groups. Among these choose to leave the state in the first place tellsus were the Humane Brotherhood and the Unity a great deal about the life of free African- and Friendship Society. Many of thesegroups Americans in South Carolina. The state losta were like the white Masons. They had their own very good businessperson. secret rituals and customs. Membership gave While most African-Americanswere not prestige to the invited few because they had to wealthy, many of those who were used their pass tests to join. The groups provided members wealth to help others. Maria Creighton, forwith a sense of respect for each other, respect example, left her estate to the Baptist Church in they did not get from the white community. By Charleston to help poor African-Americans. pooling their resources, members could alsopro- George Creighton, who may or may not have vide a kind of "insurance policy" for each other been related to Maria, migrated to Liberia in and their families. For example, the Humane 1821. He paid the way for the enslaved people Brotherhood helped to support their members who were legally under his control to migrateas and their families when there was illnessor well. Morris Brown bought and freeda number death. It provided money on a weekly basis to of enslaved African-Americans. the families of imprisoned members. Some African-Americans helped the stateas Some groups were mainly charitable. The well. In 1779 Joe Farquarson lentmoney to Minors Moralist Society, organized in 1803, South Carolina to help pay the cost of the Revolutionary War. (Facing Page) Copy of hand written 6 December 1823 Petition of John L. Wilson on behalf of free African- Organizations American merchant Jehu Jones to allow him to travel to see his family in New York and to return. Records of the Because they were so few and so isolated, free S.C. General Assembly, Petitions, 1823 #18. Courtesy African-Americans needed each other. The needs S.C. Department of Archives and History.

40 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE JV DOCUMENT V: PETITION TO SENATE S.C. Department of Archives & HistoryJehu Jones: Free Black Entrepreneur

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FREE AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN EARLY SOUTH CAROLINA41

fir J helpedtocareforfreeAfrican-American darker sisters and brothers. The idea of unity orphans. The Christian Benevolent Society,orga- among all African people was not strong among nized in 1839, provided for thepoor. These them. Yet, they too inherited the African idea of groups filled a real need that would otherwisean extended family and helped each other in have been ignored. many ways. Some of the wealthier free African- Americans even supported the Confederate cause Future Leaders during the Civil War. But after that war when enslavement was abolished, the men and women The story of the free African-Americans of South who had been free became leaders of anew Carolina before the Civil War is nota happy one. movement for African-American rights. They Free persons of color were few in number. They began to feel a greater sense of unity. Those they had to overcome tremendous odds to haveany helped get an education and find successpro- success at all. They were socially insecure as well. vided the basis for future fights for freedom for Because they lived in a society that valued white all. After the Civil War, they became the leaders skin, many of them were prejudiced against their of African-American society in the state.

42 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 60 YVY CHAPTER 5 EarlyAfrican-American Arts

Africans were forcibly brought to the New World iar to many young people eventoday. If you and made to practice customs that were newand look, you can find many of these storiesin strange to them. Because of this,for a long time libraries or in bookstores. people thought African heritage had beenlost. In We have only a few records of thethoughts recent years we have learned thatthis was not and feelings of African-Americansduring the true. Many traditions survived therough passage early days. However, those who couldtake pen across the ocean. In some casestraditions and to paper preserved a few of thestories of early customs have been transformed. In some casesAfrican-Americans for us. The story of Louisa they were borrowed by whites. Other customs are Picquet, an enslaved African-American,helps us virtually unchanged even after hundreds of years. understand how much people sufferedwhen Customs were temporarily misplaced, not lost. separated from their families. She wasborn in Every ethnic group has something special to Columbia and sold four times duringher child- offer. In this chapter, we will look at thecultural hood. Sold away from her motherin New heritage that Africans brought to America.The Orleans, Picquet was freed after hermaster's part of the culture we will look at isthe arts. This death. She moved to Ohio. There shemarried a includes literature, music, handicrafts, food free African-American. Perhaps shecould have longed to preparation, and architecture. been happy with her freedom. But she find her mother. She searched for many years. Just before the Civil War, she foundher. Sadly, Literature Louisa Picquet did not have enough moneyto After their arrival in the New World, few Africans purchase her mother's freedom. With thehelp of had the chance to learn to read and write.The her husband, she campaigned toraise money. telling of stories had always been an important Finally, mother and daughter werereunited. Her part of their culture. Before longlaws were story was published as a seriesof interviews passed which made it illegal to teachenslaved between Louisa and an AME minister.People Africans to read and write. Then the tellingof who read the interviews felt greatsadness and stories became an important way tokeep their horror at what she had suffered.They helped pub- Africanculturealive.Sometimes enslaved persuade the AME Church to take a stronger Africans told the stories through music. As sto- lic stand against enslavement. ries were passed on from one person toanother, the stories often changed. Sometimesthey were Music improved, but the basic ideas remained important. The folklore of a numberof West African Africans brought their distinctivemusical tradi- the Hausa, tions with them. Rhythm wasimportant in societies, including the Mandinka, clap their and the Fulani, became part of Americanculture. African music. People would either hands or play drums and otherinstruments. Tales of hares and of tricksters were common. Many These evolved into stories about BrerRabbit. You They used different combinations of beats. will read more about those later in thebook. The African songs have harmony, where one person "Anansi the spider" stories of the Akan arefamil- sings and other people repeat thephrases or add

EARLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTS 43 61 a chorus. These patterns and this repetition worship as they had in Africa, singing and danc- became part of American music. ing. They clapped their hands or stomped their Most of the music of enslaved African- feet when they had no drums. Americans probably was vocal. The style of A "call," which was like a loud yellor singing that Africans liked best was the "call and scream, had several purposes. It could be used to response" or "leader/chorus" style. A leaderget someone's attention or to let off steam. would sing or call out a line, and thegroup While no one is quite sure of the origin of spiri- would repeat it or respond to it. Back and forth tuals, some scholars think that the firstones the song would go. developed out of the "cal..1 and hollers." As Enslaved African-Americans sang while they Africans learned English, they added English worked. Songs expressed both happiness and words. The words may have been English, but sadness. The tradition of singing while working the way the words were pronounced and therep- was African. Work songs dealt with all kinds ofetition in singing phrases of words over andover topics, from chopping wood to pulling barges. again were African. The tempo of the various songs matched the Some scholars think that spirituals devel- speed at which work was done. It helped keep oped from the hymns and psalmssung by the work at a proper pace. It also helpedpass the African-Americans. You may remember that few time at work that was often quite dull and hard. efforts were made to convert the first arrivals. By Singing and laughter often went together, forthe mid-1700s, this had changed. Enslaved music was .a way to lighten the load and forget African-Americans were being converted to troubles for awhile. The custom of singing while Christianity. They began to sing the white working continued even after the Civil Warany- hymns. Singing was one way to express their sad- where people worked together. Most African- ness without upsetting the whites. The hymns Americans in the South still worked on farms were English, but they added African elements, where group labor was often used. such as humming and singing in falsetto. Play songs were used for games and for Spirituals were very popular among the lighter activities. These songs also influenced the enslaved African-Americans. They told of the later development of spirituals, blues, and gospel better world that awaited the believer "by and music. One scholar, Charles Joyner, believes that by." They also reminded the singers and listeners through the later revival meetings, white reli- of the behavior that was needed to get them to gious music picked up the most popular charac- that world. Finally, the songs spoke of God's jus- teristics of African music. These included the tice and the fate of those lost in sin. Some have "leader/chorus" style we have alreadymen- said that these songs were a way of forgetting tioned. In the American South, African musictroubles. Others say they were used to buildup blended with European forms. The blendingcre- the self-esteem of the enslaved by reminding ated a unique African-American Southern music. them of Jesus' love and the equality of all in The early dances and music had African fea- God's eyes. Both are correct. African-Americans tures. So did children's "ring games," where chil- found both relief from their burdens and hope dren stood in a circle and played differentgames. for a better day in these songs. They also People who study African culture have noticed expressed the idea that those who had treated that the "religious shout" had African origins. them in unChristian ways would feel God's The religious shout was very similar to the fren- wrath some day. The songs promised that they zied circle dances used in Africa for both reli- would not always be enslaved. gious and non-religious purposes. The term The masters heard these songs too. So the "saut," or "shout," meant to "walkor run words could not be too clear. Consider the words around." A "shout" was a dance that overflowed in this song. with energy and joy. The shout was full of cries of happiness. This dance was an almost frantic "Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt's religious response to the receiving of the word of land. God. Sometimes religious conversion ceremonies Tell old Pharaoh, let my people go." used the shout. Evenafterconverting to God is talking to Moses, as in the book of Christianity, enslaved African-Americans would Exodus in the Bible, Pharaoh is the king of

44 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 62 Egypt, who holds God's people in slavery. Butfor struction. Groups like the Fisk JubileeSingers the African-Americans who sang this song, from Tennessee popularized these songs.One Pharaoh referred to their masters or white people popular spiritual was "No More AuctionBlock in general. God wanted them to be let gofrom for Me (Many Thousand Gone)." Some thinkthis slavery! One daysoon they hopedHe would song was the basis for theworld famous civil make it happen. Many saw the CivilWar as rights song "We Shall Overcome." God's answer to their prayers for freedom. During their enslavement many African- Spirituals came to the attention of the white Americans learned to play musical instruments. American public during and after the CivilWar. When they had a little free time,enslaved Some music collectors first heard the songs sung African-Americans enjoyed dancing and playing byAfrican-Americansrowingthemfrom homemade fiddles. At Christmas and Easter Beaufort to St. Helena across Port RoyalSound. many African-Americans weregiven more time The custom of singing while rowingoriginated off. They celebrated this festive timewith the in Africa. One person would sing themelody. music of fiddles and sometimes banjos. Then each of the other rowers would sing adif- Enslaved African-Americans with a musical ferent part of the song. No doubt singingwhile bent sometimes were taught to play sothey working made the rowing easier. "MichaelRovv could entertain the planters and theirfriends. the Boat Ashore" is said to have been apopular Most of the fiddlers were probably taught toplay rowing song, especially when the rowing was by other enslaved African-Americans.Sometimes hard. You might imagine yourself rowing as you enslaved musicians were hired out. Atcasual planta- sing this song. social events in the towns and on the Charlotte Forten, a free African-American tions, they played a variety ofinstruments, from the North, came to St. Helena Island to including fiddles,flutes and French horns, teach. Due to health problems, she stayedonly Planter families enjoyed dancing to the"jigs." eighteen months. During that time she collected These jigs were very much liketraditional many spirituals. The AtlanticMonthly published African music. Musicians played several notes them in May of 1864. A number ofwhite repetitively in a monotone. They heldthe bow, Northerners who were in the South alsocol- or stick, in theright hand, and knocked or lected spirituals. In June of 1867 theAtlantic bounced it softly against the strings. Theeffect Monthly published the spirituals collectedby was much like that of adrum. Thomas W. Higginson. He had commanded Sometimes planters and their friendsasked African-American troops in South Carolina. You enslaved African-Americans to sing forthem. will learn about him and his troops inthe next The term "juba" had a long tradition goingback from the African chapter. to the Bantu language. It came The words and meanings of the songs were word "giouba." This referred to an Africandance often misunderstood because they werein often performed in South Carolina andthe West Gullah. The whites who collected thespirituals Indies. The term also had several other mean- did not understand Gullah. Theythought it was ings, including to beat time or to pat.Among merely improperly spoken English.Actually, enslaved African-Americans, juba came torefer Gullah has many African words. Thecollectors to leftovers which were all mixedtogether at the also lost much of the way the musicsounded. end of the week for a meal. Eatingmixed Because tape recorders did not exist, we maytogether leftovers that may have beenpartially never know for sure whatthe music sounded like. spoiled was bad enough. Butinaddition After the Civil War, African-Americans enslaved African-Americans had to sing songs formed their own churches. Now theycould and play African games for the entertainmentof include their own traditions in theirreligious the planters. Enslaved people often made up a music. They did foot-stomping andhand-clap- song with a double meaning tohelp them get ping while they sang. Many songs werequite through this event. The song expressedtheir dramatic. Many were sad. Some songs werefeelings without letting the whites knowwhat much like the old work songs, butothers were they meant. They sang variations onthis song sometimes more like European music.This second kind of with such excitement and cheer that song became quitepopular during Recon- the owners had them perform it for guests.Older

EARLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTS45

G people tapped on their legs with a drum-like ways to create a drum sound. They either rhythm while younger people danced. clapped their hands or used common everyday Enslaved African-Americans were sometimes items. Scholars think that mortars and pestles, exposed to classical music while traveling with instruments designed for rice cultivation, were their masters or attending the young menaway used as drums. Mortars were often made out ofa atschool.Asskilledmusicians,African- hollow log, a fine "instrument" for a drum. Americans learned toplay classicalmusic Drums also were usually made out of hollow logs quickly. Sometimes they played it for whites at in America, a custom that survived into the more formal occasions. Sometimes African- 1900s along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. American fiddlers played classical pieces before Cane fifes were first used in Africa, where the start of theater productions. they were an important part of the music. Brought to the New World, Africans continued Musical Instruments to use the same method to make fifes. First, they hollowed out the cane. Then they made holes for A number of musical instruments were popular. fingers and for the mouth. Today fifes and drums Some scholars think that African instruments are played together for the enjoyment of the lis- were actually brought over on the ships with the teners. People often think of a fife and drum first captives. Of all the African instruments, corps as one of the most American types of musi- drums were the most important. As we have cal groups. Perhaps so, but it has African roots. already noted, drums were used for communica- Most people would be surprised to learn tion as well as for music. In Africa a wide variety that the ancestor of the hillbilly banjo is African. of drums were used in music-making. In America Records from the time before the American the materials used to make the drums were dif- Revolution show enslaved African-Americans ferent, but the traditions remained. We have playing homemade instruments similar co gui- learned a little about how drums were made tars. The instruments described were made from from an old drum found in Virginia. This drum gourds and had strings. A century later, former was probably made before the year 1700 and was enslaved African-Americans recalled using a kind placed in the British Museum in London in of banjo made from a wood frame. It had strings 1753. The drum was made of American materi- made of animal gut and animal skins for the als, cedar and deerskin. But it is distinctly African head. in style. The ancestor of the banjo is the one-strand Masters banned drums because they feared or one-string, which was made of a string drums would be used to carry messages of revolt. stretched out over a board. One-string instru- In the early 1700s, English planters banned ments were common in Africa. This particular drums in the West Indies. French and Spanish instrument makes the "drone" sound which is speakingcolonies,however,rarely banned also found in the banjo. It is also plucked likea drums. As we mentioned in an earlier chapter, banjo. West Africans commonly use several simi- South Carolina banned drums, horns, and other lar instruments. While the modern banjo has "loud instruments" in 1740 after the Stono evolved and changed, its roots are foundacross Rebellion. Before that time enslaved Africans the ocean in Africa. were oftenmilitary drummers. After1740 How did the banjo get from the coast to the records rarely mention drummers until the mountains, where there were few African- American Revolution. However, Europeans wel- Americans? Perhaps African-Americans who took comed Africans as drummers in military bands. part in building the early railroads in the moun- During the Revolutionary War in America,a tains brought it. Or perhaps it came from the number of enslaved African-Americans escaped minstrel shows in the mid-1800s. Minstrels enslavement in Charleston and became drum- broughtthemusicofenslavedAfrican- mers in the Hessian regiments who fought on Americans to the entire country. Or perhaps the the British side. Civil War played a role. People who hadno con- Even when drums were banned among the tact with each other before shared traditions. enslaved African-Americans, people found other Soldiers may have returned home with a new

46 AFRICANAMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 64 musical instrument. In any case, over the years white society adopted the banjo as its own. Ironically, this most African instrument is today played by very few African-Americans.

Handicrafts Because the African-Americans who came tothe New World were enslaved, their handicraftshad to be useful rather than decorative. Theydid not have the luxury of making things that were merely pretty. Many crafts were similar tothose in Africa. Showing that a craft or technique was handed down directly from parents to children is not always possible. But we canclearly see that African influences survived enslavement.Today we can appreciate thebeauty and usefulness of what is left of these ancient crafts. African pottery making traditions were c, quite different than those of Europeans.In Africa,mainly women practicedtheart. However, men also were potters in some areas. White owners taught theearliestAfrican- American potters. In the early 1800s, pottery making began in Edgefield and Aiken Counties. Dave the Potter Storage Jar, 1862. Alkaline glazed The first such pots were made at a placeknown stoneware. Leproduced with Permission of Tonyand as Pottersville in EdgefieldCounty. The most Marie Shank. From "Conflict and Transcendence: African famous of the enslaved potters was a manknown American Art in South Carolina," organized by the learned to read and write Columbia Museum of Art. Another example of Dave the as Dave the Potter. He Potter's work can be seen in slide H-11 The Historyof through hisearly work. His owner, Abner the S.C. Slide Collection. Landrum, worked Dave as a typesetter onhis newspaper until it went outof business. After that, Landrum put Dave to work in the pottery Face vessels are another type of pottery business. Dave made hundreds of jars, and many made by many of the Edgefield potters. Face ves- of them still exist. We know Dave's workbecause sels came in a number of sizes. Some were he signed it with his name, the date,and his intended as water jugs, some as cups or pitchers. owner's initials. Sometimes Dave included abrief In some cases we do not know howthey were poem. The poem told the purposeof the jar. His intended to be used. jars were quite large and unusuallywide at the Face vessels have been found all overthe shoulder. One can hold more than forty gallons. United States. Europeans made themfor cen- It is the largest piece found in theSouth. Dave turies. However, the face vesselsfound in the must have been a very strong man tohandle the Edgefield area have African features. Theylook a amount of clay needed. Dave died atthe age of great deal like African art. Thestyle is very much eighty-three. While Dave was the best known, like Bakongo wooden sculptures found inZaire many other enslavedAfrican-Americans worked and Angola. Records confirm thatenslaved in the pottery industry of that time.Scholars African-Americans did this type of work. Inthe think that as many as 140 potters wereworking 1800s enslaved people from that area ofAfrica in the Edgefield area between 1820 andthe Civil were brought to theUnited States. A group that War. You can see some of their work ondisplay arrived in the 1850s ended up living inthe in the McKissick Museum in Columbiaand the Edgefield area. They may have influencedthe Edgefield County Museum. style of pottery.

EARLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTS 47 65 some resemblance to African art. Enslaved pot- °,... ters may well have taken a European style and adapted it to the art forms with which theywere most familiar. After the Civil War, pottery making became less important in the Edgefieldarea. African- Americans continued to work in some of the pot- teries that survived. At least one potter became the owner of his own business in the Greenville area. The tradition of basketmaking isan old one that survives today.If you take a trip to Charleston, you will see ladies making baskets even now. Today's baskets are mainly decorative. In the early days, they were strictly work-related. Africans brought basketmaking to America when they first arrived. The coiled-grass baskets made today in South Carolina arevery much like the ones made across the ocean in Africa.

44_ However, the bread trays, flower baskets and other items sold now are modern spinoffs ofan old craft. Basket design has changed down through (Above) Monkey Jug, made about 1862, maker unknown. time. Thefirst Alkaline glazed stoneware, made of kaolin. Reproduced baskets made by African- with permission of Tony and Marie Shank. From Americans were probably "fanners," whichare "Conflict and Transcendence: African American Art in South Carolina," organized by the Columbia Museum of Art. (Right) Sorting the materials for a sweet grass basket. Skills that came from Africa in making sweetgrass baskets can still be seen today. Photo by Aimee Smith.

Another African connection comes from one group of face vessels called "monkey jugs." This term, which had been used since the late 1700s, came from a slang expression for quench- ing thirst. Monkey jugs were vessels used to hold water. Some think that the enslaved people working in the fields drank water from theseves- sels. We know that enslaved Africans in the ti Caribbean made monkey jugs around 1800or \' earlier. Many enslaved Africans were brought sL -11- from the Caribbean to South Carolina. So they may have brought the monkey jug tradition with :71777"4.9 them. That tradition stretches back to their ) African ancestors. tk Another type of pottery made in the 41-f Edgefield area is the figural vessel. Rather than just showing a face, these show a whole body. r ,

The true roots of this style are unknown. r Europeans had long made pottery that depicted a human being. However, the pottery again bears

48 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE People making sweet grass baskets at the Penn School, St. Helena Island in the early 1900s. The school helped preserve ancient crafts. Courtesy Howard Woody, the S.C. Postcard Archive, South Caroliniana Library, USC.

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round and wide. As we explained in anearlier During the Civil War, Jack Frowers, anenslaved chapter, these were used to separate ricegrains African-American on a South Carolina planta- from the smashed husks.African-Americans tion, wove himself a basket boat. Heused it to made taller baskets for storage purposes.Both of escape to the Union lines.He nailed a piece of these types of baskets had to last. So they were wood to the bottom and used pieces ofwood to probably made with stronger materials than you help keep its shape. would find in the baskets you could buytoday. After enslavement ended thebasketmaking both work bas- tradition continued. As African-Americans strove By the 1700s people were making baskets to kets out of tough materials and "show"baskets to make a living, they used woven from flimsier grasses. Carrying a basket onone's hold fish and produce sold inCharleston. Small probably not farmers needed baskets to carry and storetheir head was customary. Handles were baskets for part of the design until the early1900s. household goods. Some people made Men made most of the heavierbaskets. use on those plantationsthat survived. Sea Women and children usually madethe show Islands residents may have used somebaskets in baskets. Basketmaking was usuallydone just the limited rice production that continued even Demand was into the 1900s. Basketmaking became acraft before it was time for the harvest. 1904. high. Many enslaved African-Americansmade taught at the Penn School near Beaufort in baskets that their masters sold to otherplanta-The Penn School's support helped preservethis tions. Some of the enslavedAfrican-Americans most African of crafts. We andfuture generations These they can appreciate it for along time to come. also made baskets in their free time. hard, sold for themselves. In the late 1800s, when times were for a vari- basketmaking became a tourist-relatedactivity. As in Africa, people made baskets began to ety of uses. Baskets were madefrom different People in Mt. Pleasant, near Charleston, materials and different weaves for storinggrain, make sweetgrass baskets and sellthem by the trapping fish, and storing sewingmaterials. road. Eventually entire familiesbecame involved People "made do" with what they had.Fanners in the business. Small childrenmade the bot- were sometimes even used ascradles for babies. toms as they learned theskills needed. Few

EARLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTS49 Gi fi South Carolina that had snakes wrapped around them. They may have been used insome way to try to banish illness. Perhaps the designs have their origin in the ancestral homeland, where decorated staffs were sometimes a sign of authority. The sticks did not retain this function in the Americas. But they sometimes were tied to religion and superstition. Many African-Americans made quilts, both t during and after enslavement. Even though quiltingisa European technique, African- Americans often decorated the quilts usingan African design. Sometimes they used whatwe might think of as a "crazy quilt" pattern. Many, however, used distinctly Americanor European patterns. One type of quilt that became very popular among African-Americanson the coast of South Carolina and elsewhere is the stripor 0 string quilt. The quilter sews the pieces into strips. Then the quilter pieces them together into a quilt. African textile workers wove cloth into narrow strips. We do not know whether this .technique had adirectinfluence on the American quilters. But American strip quiltsare similar in appearance to these African textiles. Africans commonly improvised and used boldly contrasting designs and colors. We see some of this influence in African-American quilts,especially those made in the Sea Islands. Records of enslaved ironworkers go backas A finished sweet grass basket shown off by its creator. far as the 1700s. In a rural society, Today these beautiful baskets are works of artmore someone had intended for display rather than every dayuse. to make the shoes for the horses, the hoes for Reproduced from Constance 8. Schulz, Ed.,The History agriculture, and the axes for chopping down of S.C. Slide Collection,slide H-10 (Sandlapper trees and chopping wood. Enslaved African- Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy S.C. State Americans also made guns. Some of theguns Museum. found their way into the hands of other enslaved African-Americans during the various rebellions. Two enslaved blacksmiths made manyweapons "show baskets" made of the fragile materialssur- used in Denmark Vesey's rebellion in 1822, vive from old days. Even so, we are fortunate including swords, pikes, and bayonets. Scholar that we can still enjoy these beautiful baskets John Michael Vlatch points out that the whites made by modern basketmakers. gave the craftsmen lots of practice making Walking sticks are probably the best known spears. Ornamental spearheads adorn the tops of type of African-American wood-carving. Afiican- many fences. American walking sticks cannot be directly Enslaved African-Americans created much linked to any African roots because decorated oftheornamentalironworkforwhich canes are found among the peoples of Europe as Charleston and New Orleans are famous. They well as those of Africa. Carved walking sticks probably did the actual work even when the were also common in the West Indies. The canes, white owners did the design. The Sword Gate in usually decorated with snakes, show the wood- Charleston was designed by Christopher Werner. carving talents of African-Americans. "Conjure He owned five black artisans and employed five sticks" was the name given to walkingcanes in whites. One of the enslaved artisans, Toby

50 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

68 Richardson, was known for his high quality Philip Simmons. We will look at Simmons'work work. Because of his skill, he probably played a in a later chapter. role in creating this beautiful gate. ManyAfricanswereskilledboaters. Many African-Americans worked under Enslaved Africans who could man the boats were white supervision and used Europeandesigns. valued highly. Many enslavedAfricans came But by the mid 1800s, about twenty-five percent from communities where fishing was a wayof of Charleston's black ironworkers werefree. life. They brought valuable boatmakingskills African-American ironworkers still dominatedwith them. While we tend to thinkof Native the profession in the years after theCivil War. Americans building canoes, African-Americans They shod horses and fixed wagon wheelsin also built them. Both Indians andEuropeans addition to crafting decorative ironwork. The tra- knew how to make a boat from asingle log. dition has been carried on to the presentday in However, double log canoes have been a com- Charleston with the work of the renowned mon sight along the African coastfor hundreds

Walking sticks with Two pictures of a cane, made sometime in thelate 1800s, anonymous. Note the detail of the work. unique carved designs were a part of everydaylife, yet art at the same time. Reproduced withpermission of Louanne the Columbia LaRouche. From "Conflict and Transcendence: AfricanAmerican Art in South Carolina," organized by Museum of Art.

EARLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTS 51 Africans brought to America brought with them skills in boating and fishing. Many enslaved Africans were called It upon to use these skills. After freedom came, they continued the tradition. These fishermen are working on their gear in a 1939 photo at St. Helena Island. Library of Congress LC-USF33 30432-M2.

of years. Africans use them for fishing.Double Carolina and Georgia to Florida. There, in 1738, log canoes consist of several logs joined together. the Spanish governor gave them landnear St. The double log boats built in Africawere larger Augustine. A fort and a townwere built. and more stable than the single log boatsbuilt Although its real name was "Gracia Real deSanta by the Indians. Enslaved African-Americanscar- Teresa de Mose," most people called it Fort Mose. ried on the tradition, building boatson the plan- The dugouts r,be the ancestors of the tations and often painting them bright colors. racing canoes built after the Civil War and the Africans picked up additional boatmaking oyster boats still used today. The dugouts ofpre- skills along the way to South Carolina.Africans Civil War days may also be the ancestors of the in the West Indies quickly became fishermen,a "bateaux"beingbuilttodaybyAfrican- respected occupation. Indians there maderaft- Americans in the Sea Islands. These modern-day like boats of several logs attached together, called boats are built of boards or planks. But they have "pirogues." The pirogues were similarto the many similarities to those built several hundred canoes found in West Africa. Once again, it is years ago. impossible to be sure of the origins ofa tradition. As this book was being written,an archaeol- Similar techniques existed in differentparts of ogist was building a replica of one of the flat-bed the world. Some scholars believe thatAfricans boats at Middleton Plantation in Charleston. By living in the West Indies adopted the pirogue's doing this he hoped to learnmore about how design. Since not many Indians survived the these boats were originally made. Unfortunately, arrival of the Europeans in the West Indies, the builders did not expect to try itout in the enslaved Africans became the boatbuilders. The river. However, a television documentarywas to use of these boats spread to the east coast of thebe made on the project. Perhaps this effort will United States. In the 1700s and 1800s, enslaved shed some light on the work of the African- African-Americans in South Carolinawere build- Americans who built such boats longago. ing boats of a similar style out ofcypress. Few roads existed in some of the coastal areas. African-American oarsmen provided trans- Food and Its Preparation portation by guiding boats fromone place to Everyone likes to eat. One of the joys of living in another. Some used dugout boatsas a means of America is experiencing the variety of foods and escape from enslavement. In the early 1700s, the different ways to cook it. Food preparationis some fled by boat through the swamps of South an art we all can enjoy. American food and cook-

52 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 70 Each ethnic lar part of their diet. The dietwould usually ing styles are a blend of cultures. Africans were group has brought certainfoods and styles of improve somewhat after the seeds, brought to the New World and readiedfor sale. cooking to America's shores. Okra, sesame have var- black-eyed peas or cowpeas, and watermelon are The diet on the plantation would originated in Africa. Nut ied depending on the owner'swhim and among the foods which the best situations, soups and fish stews werefirst enjoyed in Africa. resources. However, even in Gumbo, both the word and the dish, isAfrican. there is no reason to think the enslavedAfricans African word, feasted. They often added to theirlimited diet by The yam is an African plant and an gathering in from the Wolof language. hunting, fishing, gardening, and influenced their limited free time. Former enslavedAfrican- Food from other cultures also when he was Africans. Chili peppers and tomatoes,for exam- American Jacob Stroyer related that ple, became a part of Africancooking. Explorers a child on aplantation, enslaved children were them to fed corn flour, which they calledmush, and sour and traders from America brought the mush Africa. The African diet included a numberof dif- milk, called hard clabber. Even though ferent types of grains, which werecooked into was sweetened withmolasses, the children dis- Africans liked it. The clabber was far morepopular. By breads, cereals, pancakes, and puddings. Rice, ate a wide variety of vegetables.African influence comparison, a Sunday meal was a treat. may have led theEuropeans to include more began. vegetables in their diet after enslavement Nutcake vender. This street vendor proudlyshows her After all, Africans and theirdescendants were wares of homemade nutcakes, a verypopular item for doing a great deal of the cooking. those passing by in the early 1900s. CourtesyCol. Robert There was little meat in the WestAfrican J. Karrer, the S.C. Postcard Archive, SouthCaroliniana diet. People usually ate some kindof a grain, Library, USC. such as rice or manioc, with a saucemade from boiled vegetables, such as eggplant,baobab, or beans. Some of these became part ofthe African- American diet in the New World.They also became part of the white Southerndiet. Another grain, sorghum, which may beAfrican, was boiled and made into bread by Africans. The main dish would be cooked in alarge iron or earthenware pot. It wasplaced on the floor. People would sit around it and eat,picking up food and dipping itinto a spicy vegetable rel- ish. They would drink from agourd or bowl. These same eating patterns werelater found among the African-Americanpeople on the Carolina coast. They were more isolatedfrom European influences. Europeans, onthe other hand, usually used utensils andcooked their food in metal pots. They servedtheir food in woodentrayscalledtrenchers.However, Europeans had begun to use ceramicdishes by the early 1700s. EnslavedAfrican-Americans used both gourds and iron pots,depending on what was available. Despite the wealth of foods towhich their ancestorshad beenaccustomed,enslaved African-Americans did not eat a verybalanced diet. On the slave ships, beans andrice were staples. Occasionally the enslavedpeople were given fruits and vegetables. Meat was not aregu-

EARLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTS53 71 other communities white settlersmay have considered rice too expensive for the enslaved. In these places whites sold rice for income. Corn,a Native American contribution to the diet,was cheap. The enslaved Africans adoptedmany of the Indian ways of cooking it. The idea ofcorn- meal mush, or boiling corn, probablywas African. Corn is not a complete protein by itself, so the enslaved people needed beans or meat if they were to have adequate nutrition. Beans and meat were often lacking. What meat they had was usually fatty, tough, and often not well preserved. The tradition of cooking food fora long time arid adding a little meat for flavor iscer- tainly African. This became a traditionamong later generations of all Southerners. Some vegeta- blesthat became popular among African- Americans and white Southerners, suchas turnips,cabbage, and collards, came from Europe. In some cases, African styles of cooking were adapted to the American environment with its different plants. In Africa foodwas sometimes wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in the ashes of the fire. In America cabbage leaveswere substituted. Highly spiced food was popular in Africa. Plantation cooks continued this tradition. Today this kind of cooking is popularamong both blacks and whites. Until recently, little was known about the lifestyleof the enslaved African-Americans. Archaeologists have begun to excavate in the areas where they had their homes. They have discovered that enslaved African-Americansusu- ally cooked outside and ate on the floor like their African ancestors. Of course, outdoor cooking Dinner anyone? African-American cooks learned to cook made sense for people who lived inwarm cli- with whatever foods were availableperhapseven an mates. occasional alligator! The spices and cooking techniques Food was often cooked in a kind of earthen- they brought from Africa and passed down throughgener- ware pot. Today we call these pots "colonoware." ations created a distinctive style of cooking. Courtesy Dorothy M. Hucks, the S.C. Postcard Archive, South Most of the colonoware that archaeologists have Caroliniana Library, USC. foundwasmadebeforethemid-1800s. Commercial pottery became widely available after then. If you take a pottery making class, bacon, and cow peas were all cooked together. your pots will probably be fired in a closed oven, This simple and nutritious dishwas called "hop- or kiln. Colonoware was different. It was fired on pin' John." It is popular today throughout South an open hearth. Colonoware was not usually Carolina. decorated with designs or patterns, but often The foods and cooking that developedwere `:here was a symbol, a cross or an "X," sometimes a combination of those of Africans and of Native placed on a circle, found on the bottoms of the Americans. Rice and corn became staples of the bowls. This symbol is like the "cosmograms,"or diet. In some areas rice alone was the staple.In religious symbols, found among the Bakongo

54 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 72 the people the small pots were probably used tofix sauces culture in what is now Zaire. Many of enjoyed in Africa. brought to South Carolina came fromthis region and relishes similar to those Enslaved African-Americans probablyused iron of Africa. iron pots Food was cooked slowly in thecolonoware pots to boil their grain. Unlike pottery, flavor to the food. heat up and cool down quickly.Earthenware pots. The pots added a unique food that is meant to For a long time, researchers thoughtthat Native pots are good for cooking and sold simmer, to cook slowly for a long time. Americans made these hand-built pots of them to the enslaved Africans. Thestyle is quite Archaeologists excavating the remains Some enslaved Africans' homes have nowfound many similar to those used by Native Americans. is also evi- scholars began to be suspicious whenthey dis- examples of colonoware pots. There pieces dence of children imitating their parentsand covered that many of these flat-bottomed well as were similar to thosemade in Africa today! For making toys, small pots, and figures, as example, a jug found in an Americanriver real pots which could be used forcooking and making in storing food. Our understandingof these aspects looked like the jugs people are still limited. We Nigeria. People may have brought somepieces of their life and culture is still quite found in American on ships fromAfrica. Pots have just begun to study it seriously. would have been needed to hold waterand for storage purposes on the ships. Architecture Some traditions from the WestIndies were probably mixed with those of theAfricans. In Many African influences arefound in American architecture. Africans brought familiarstyles of the early 1700s, nearly one-thirdof those to the enslaved were Indians. Pottery making was com- building to the New World, both Caribbean and the mainland of NorthAmerica. mon in the West.Indies.Free Native Americans of building may have providedinformation to the African - Carrying over familiar traditions Americays about where to findgood clay. seems logical. EnslavedAfricans were often left of to themselves to buildtheir own homes. Among Enslaved Africans also may have used some African in origin the Indians' pots. Archaeologiststhink that the the housing features which are found were or African-influenced arethe type of roofs large colonoware pots they have clay mix- used mainly for cooking, not storage.Some of (thatched with gables), type of walls (a

Colonoware Bowl, maker unknown, made sometime between 1790 and 1830. Low fired clay. Reproduced with permission of the S.C. Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology. From "Conflict and Transcendence: African American Art in South Carolina," organized by the Columbia Museum of Art.

EARLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTS 55 73 BEST COPY AVAILABLE ture), dirt floors, smallroom size, rectangular to Africans who taught the technique to their shape of houses, and the front porch.Their children. The "mud walls," actuallya clay plas- housing styles were ideal for theirclimate and ter, were found in many homeseven when wood lifestyle because they were not difficult to build was available. The "wattle-and-daub" walls,as or to rebuild when they moved. A central fire,or the technique is called,are found in the same hearth, was good for keeping insectsout before area of Africa as the other architectural tech- the invention of screens. niques we are discussing. These wattle-and-daub The enslaved Africans whowere brought to walls and thatched roofs with gableswere com- South Carolina found themselvesliving in a mon among enslaved Africans in Haiti as well. familiar climate. Building houses similarto those They were also found in rural Europe andamong that worked well in awarm, humid climate Native Americans. So we cannotsay for sure across the sea made sense. In a time when there which tradition influenced African-Americans was no such thing as air-conditioning,you home-building styles. Several rural peoples hada would not spend much time indoors.Therefore similar tradition. However African-Americans you would not need a very large house. Scholars handed down from parent to child theknowl- studying African culture today have foundmany edge of how to build this kind of house. Enslaved similarities between houses built in Africaand Africans who crossed theocean in chains must those built in America by Ai-cleans. Somemasters have carried such knowledge with them. knew and objected to enslaved Africansbuilding Many enslaved African-Americans choseto "African" houses on their piant3tions.But many use dirt floors even when floorboardswere an whites were doubtlessunaware that both option. Both rural Europeans and Africans had enslaved and free blacks may ha`re merely been developed techniques of makinga hard floor by following African traditions when theybuilt mixing clay with other substances: Thisis their houses. There are records ofenslaved another example of how people living thousands Africans building one-room homes, oftenwith of miles apart can find similar solutionsto simi- thatched roofs. They claimed thesewere like lar problems! Again, the origins of the approach their African homes. In the South CarolinaSea used by African-Americans is unclear. Islands, people often built homes withthatched We have already described the tradition of roofs well into the early 1900s. building small houses like those in West Africa. The tradition of thatched roofswas familiar Like the West African homes, African-American

Many types of building displayed African influence, including this small "critter barn" photographed in the 1930s. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide H-IS .mmr r (Sandlapper Publishing Si Company, 1989). Courtesy South Caroliniana Library.

56 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 74 Sketch of typical floor plan of a "shotgun" style house with a small porch on the front. They can still be seen aroundthe state today. One of the most frequent places they can be found are in what used to be mill villages built around textile mills.

houses had small roomswithout windows. were comfortableliving close to their relatives in African rooms were usually square,with sides ofa compound.The house received its name houses often had because it was said that you couldstand at one 10 feet on the average. African shotgun through to two rooms. EnslavedAfrican-Americans,of end of the house and shoot a course, did not alwayshave the optic::, of build- the other end. they did have were Most people would be surprised tolearn as ing two rooms. The rooms cool drink usually about the same size andstyle as those they sit on their front porch, sipping a found among the Yoruba people inWest Africa. on a warmnight, that they have African- lived in com- Americans to thank for thiswonderful innova- The Yoruba people often simply did not have pounds. Compounds are groupsof houses tion. Homes in Europe Yoruba were one porches like those found in theUnited States. located close to each other. The the American South of the earliest and largest groupsof Africans to The early homes built in have influ- lacked this innovation. Thefront porch may arrive in the New World. So they may Caribbean. The style enced the building methodsadopted by later have arrived by way of the did not become popular untilHaitian refugees arrivals.Indeed, enslaved African-Americans in the late 1700s. Large side often lived in groups of houses onplantations came to Charleston compounds of theporches were adopted there. Aversion of the that seem very similar to the in both the Yoruba. We can still findcompounds in rela- porch, the veranda, was popular Island. Caribbean and in Africa, wherethere were many tively remote places like St. Helena African-Americans may Houses were typically rectangularin shape. long, hot days. Enslaved those found all have added porches to theirhouses long before Again, these are very similar to front porches were along the coast of West Africa.These long, nar- their masters did so. The large uncommon in white societyuntil the 1800s. rowhouseswerefound amongAfrican- Americans for generations afterthe Civil War as well. This style, often referred to asthe "shotgun Survival of CulturalTraditions house," seems to be at leastpartially African in introduced you to origin. It may have come tothe mainland by In this chapter we have many of the craftsand cultural traditions that way of Haiti.Shotgun houses are long houses when they came to with several rooms in a row.These houses lack Africans brought with them accustomed to. the New World. In many casesthe origins have the hallway that many people are However, some of the To get from one end of thisrectangular house to long since been forgotten. walk through all traditions survive. In some casesAfrican tradi- the other, you would have to European and Native the rooms of the house. Thisdesign forces people tions have joined with each other. if they American traditions to form aunique Southern into fairly close contact with origins. do not like that contact, theyhave to go outside. American culture with multiple Perhaps this style developed amongpeople who

EARLY AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTS 57 YVY CHAPTER 6 The CivilWar

of the Civil African-Americans played a very largerole Americans still argue about the cause of this terrible war. War. Some say the main cause wasthe question in determining the outcome They argue that Although the Union certainlyhad the most of enslavement. Others disagree. favor, actions of the North and South differed over manyother important advantages in their African-Americans offset some of thefew advan- issues, like protective tariffsand states' rights. another tages the Confederateshad. In addition, African- However, all these issues in one way or show how much involved enslavement. In addition,after January Americans now had a chance to became an official they really wanted freedom.Unlike the revolts of 1, 1863, ending enslavement decent chance to Union goal. On that datePresident Lincoln's the past, they finally had a Emancipation Proclamation went intoeffect. As fight and win. This is the storyof their contribu- you should know, thisproclamation freed all the tions during the Civil War. enslaved people in the rebellious areasof the South. Clearly, from that point on, aUnion, or Learning About the War enslavement in the Northern, victory would end needs to know South. This gave African-Americans astrong and In order to influence events, one what is taking place. How muchdid the enslaved deep interest in the outcome of the war. African-Americans know about what washap- The Civil War was the bloodiestand most Though not the pening at that time? Most could notread. Many bitter war in American history. talk too freely in their first war fought on American soil,it did more owners were careful riot to homes, farms, and presence. damage to American civilian African-Americans businesses than any other war in ourhistory. The Despite these barriers, found ways of keeping upwith the war news. wardeeply divided states and evenfamilies. One Beaufort man rememberedhis father crawl- Which side would win was not atall certain, listen to the master even though the Northhad more manpower and ing under the house to fighting on reading the paper aloud to themistress of the industry. The Confederates were maid their home turf. This gave them someadvan- plantation. A woman who worked as a land better. They were remembered having an uncle whocould read. tages. They knew the When the master did not wanther to know what nearer to their supplies.The whites who lived would spell out the fighting took place willingly gave he was talking about, he near where the words to his wife. You mayremember your par- the Confederates help andinformation. The too young to Confederates also had the easier task.To win, all ents doing this when you were good as read. Well, this young woman maynot have they had to do was not lose. A tie was as certainly could memo- a win. As long asthe Confederates held offthe been able to read, but she they could hold on rize! She pretended not tolisten, but memorized Union, they were winning. If her uncle and told long enough, the Union mighttire and leave the letters. Then she went to the Union could him the letters. He explainedtheir meaning. them alone. On the other hand, enslaved African- not win with a tie. To win,the Union had to As the war progressed, Americans heard of battles being wonand lost. conquer the Confederates.

THE CH/11. WAR 59

7 They saw Confederate soldiers returninghome to recover from wounds. White South Caro- linians could not conceal their excitementor distress when they received war news. After all, the war was the most important event in their lives. Enslaved African-Americans learned by watching and listening. Even though enslaved South Carolinian had strong feelings too, most were careful to keep their feelings secret. To do otherwise couldhave been dangerous. Showing too much feelingcost eighteen year old Amy Spain of Darlingtonher life. Late in the war, as General Sherman'stroops were marching across the state, Spain and others heard Union troops were coming. Theystopped work. They told the masters inno uncertain terms that they were now free. Amywas accused of using foul language and of theft.A Con- federate military patrol arrested her anda number of others. The soldiers whipped themen and sent them back to their homes. Amywas particularly stubborn. After her whipping she cursed the soldiers. The Confederate military tried herand sentenced her to death. Only two hours later, Amy Spain was hanged in Darlington'stown square.

Work Slowdowns and Stoppages What contributions did South CarolinaAfrican- Americans make to the war? The first kind of contribution involved laborlost labor. Even more than before the war, the South needed their labor. African-Americanswere needed to grow the crops and keep the economy going. White men could offer little help becausemost were fighting. As time passed more andmore whites went off to war. Theywere not around to see that the work on the plantations was done. Now the conduct of the enslavedAfrican- Americans depended on their loyalty to themas- ters and their obedience to the masters' wives. Enslavement had always beena contest of wills Lincoln in Frogmore. A modern painting using house- between the owners and those enslaved. Now paint on roofing tin by Thomas Samuel "Sam" Doyle power was shifting in favor of the enslaved. (1906-1985) captures the sense that Lincoln dramatically Some of them continued in the oldways. They changed the lives of the people of Frogmore. It shows worked out of habit, fear, Lincoln coining to recruit African-Americans for the or respect. Others saw that this was a new day. Union Army. Although Lincoln did not actuallycome, those who lived there felt he came in spirit. Reproduced Enslaved African-Americans took advan- with permission of Louanne LaRouche. From "Conflict tage in several ways. Some refused to follow and Transcendence: African American Art in South orders. The older men and thewomen who Carolina," organized by the Columbia Museum of Art. were trying to run the plantations gradually

60 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

77 or Enslaved peoplecourage to do whatthey had long dreamed lost more and more control. their own freedom worked at their own pace, orthey refused to doing. They struck a blow for James Ham- by walking toward the Yankee army. work at all. Like many masters, Carolina, this mond of Beech Island foundcontrolling the Early in the war in South his plantation meant going to the coast nearBeaufort. There, in enslaved African-Americans on November 1861, the Union forcestook control of more difficult.When they heard the soundsof changed. Although they did the Sea Islands. The whitesfled inland. Ironically, war, their attitude treated African-Americans not flee, they nolonger feared him. They let at first the North also him know that they would nowdecide for as property. However,this time African-Americans he had decided had a self-interest to be treated asproperty. The themselves many of the things effect. If these peo- for them in the past. Fugitive Slave Law was still in ple were still legally the propertyof American citizens, they had tobe returned. However, asthe Fleeing Enslavement property of the enemy,they did not have to be people reacted to the sent back. Northern troopsallowed them to The second way enslaved of war." "new day" brought on bythe war was leaving remain as the "contraband long years of The phrase "contraband ofwar" dated back the plantation. Now, after many particularly arrogant enduring insult and injury,thousands found the to an incident when a

much enslaved African-Americans fled tothe Union side taking with them as Whenever they had the opportunity, many The History of S.C. Slide from their former "masters." Reproducedfrom Constance B. Schulz, Ed., as they could carry South Carolinian Library. Collection , slide B-89 (SandlapperPublishing Company, 1989). Courtesy

THE CIVIL WAR61 gr,;LAer

h.,

Volunteers form the First S.C. Regiment justafter receiving the flag they would be fighting of the United States of America. Reproduced under, the "Stars and Stripes" from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., TheHistory of S.C. Slide Collection, slide B-100 (Sandlapper Publishing Company,1989). Courtesy S.C. Historical Society.

Confederate officer calleda temporary truce. He then rode to the Union side and Providing Informationto demanded that Union Troops the Union troops return enslavedAfrican- Americans who had runaway. The Union officer A third contribution that African-Americansmade refused, saying that itwas not customary prac- to the Northern side was providinginformation. tice to return to one'senemy the "contraband of Union troops did not know the terrain.They did war." This meant that, in effect,those African- not have sympathetic civilians to helpthem as Americans who had fledwere free. Actual legal did the Confederates, but Uniontr000ps did get a freedom came more thana year later through lot of help. Enslaved African-Americansknew the the Emancipation Proclamation. land. They knew about Confederatetroop move- Word spread from plantationto plantation. ments. They knew where supplieswere stored. Soon enslaved African-Americans allover the When they provided this kind ofinformation, it state knew that the Yankeeswere bringing free- hurt the Confederates and helpedthe North. As dom with them. All they hadto do was get to they went to the Union lines forfreedom, they the Union side. So they flockedto the Beaufort took with them a great deal ofinformation that area early in the war. No other major Union would help the Unionarmy win their freedom. attacks on the state took place untillate in the war. When General William T. Sherman's huge army entered South Carolina from Savannahin Fighting For the Union early 1865, African-Americans flockedto his The fourth and most dramatic side. way of responding to the "new day" was volunteeringto serve in

62 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE November 1862,Sea Southern states had morevolunteer soldiers, the Union Army. In however, because the UnionArmy saw so little Islanders became the firstenslaved African- until near the end of Americans to enlist as soldiersin the Union action in South Carolina the war. Army. What better way tothank an army than to in all volunteer to fight for it? Nearly 200,000 African-Americans how men served in the Union. This wasabout ten percent Northern whites were not sure Many of those also who had been enslavedwould respond to theof all the Union's troops. Almost all whites certainly had a South Carolinaconnection. Most demands of military service. African-Americans who becameenslaved were in those days feltprejudice toward blacks. So experiment. transportedthroughthestateand many the Union Army conducted an fledfrom They formed the FirstRegiment of South NorthernAfrican-Americans had officers led this enslavementinSouthCarolina.African- Carolina Volunteers. White 400 different engage- unit, with Colonel ThomasW. Higginson as its Americans fought in around ments with Confederateforces. They suffered commander. and showed great bravery. The volunteer African-Americansproved to very high casualties be excellent soldiers. Theyfought with great dangerous conditions. courage under some very Photo of civil war veteran SmartChisholm, by Elise Colonel Higginson led themin their first action Harleston. In his old age he said he wasready to go in January 1863. Followingthe war he wrote a again. Courtesy Edwina HarlestonWhitlock. From book about the exploits ofhis unit entitled Army "Conflict and Transcendence:African American Art in Columbia Museum Life in a Black Regiment. Hehad high praise for South Carolina," organized by the what his men accomplished.He wrote that they of Art. fought their way down intoGeorgia and Florida, had many battles withConfederate troops, and always won. He and hisofficers felt that using African-American troops wouldbe a key to winning the war because theyhad more personal reasons to fight.They were fighting for their own people. He found them to bebraver and to fight 4 troops. He said he .*4. harder than the best white , would not even try to dowith white soldiers what he had successfullydone with the African- American soldiers of the FirstRegiment of South Carolina Volunteers. Prince Rivers, who was onceenslaved, became a sergeant in the FirstRegiment. He was asked if most enslavedAfrican-Americans would fight for their freedom. His answerreflects cen- turies of distrust betweenwhites and blacks."Yes sir," he replied. But headded that African- American soldiers had tobe absolutely certain that whites were asking them tofight for their own freedom. Riversfought hard and well. After the war he helped hisformer fellow soldiers organize a group to buyland. He later became a state legislator and ajudge in the small town of Hamburg, which once stood nearwhere North Augusta is today. The FirstRegiment of SouthCarolina Volunteers was just the beginning.A total of 5,462 South CarolinaAfrican-Americans served in the Union Army duringthe Civil War. Other

THE CIVIL WAR63

1. U Any African-American wearinga Union uniform Although Shaw and his had to be brave. The South had men did not take announced that the fort, they wona more important victory. captured African-American soldierswould be They defeated the prejudiceof many Northern treated not as prisoners ofwar, but rather as trai- tors. whites who doubted their abilityand courage. They would bekilledimmediately. Angelina Grimke Weld,a South Carolina-born Although the South didnot always follow through on this promise, white abolitionist, noted theeffect this battle many were killed had on public opinion. Shesaid it forced "all immediately after capture.If anything, this men to see the sin and shame of enslaving caused African-American Union such soldiers to fight men." General Ulysses S. Grantwrote, "by arm- even harder. By the end of thewar, twenty-one ing the Negro we have gained African-American soldiers a powerful ally." won the Congres- The popular motion picture Glorytells the sional Medal of Honor. story of the 54th in a most dramatic The African-Americans who way. enlisted in the African-Americans who live in Charlestontoday Union Army were experiencingsomething new. were deeply moved by this story that took For the first time they knew the place full meaning of in their own back yard. Theirexcitement led freedom. Now they had the jobof winning freedom for others. Those others them to form a reenactment unit,complete with included their uniforms and equipment, to helpcelebrate and own families and friends. They respondedby fighting with a fury that remember the sacrifices of the 54th. their own officers Despite all these heroics, prejudicewas still found shocking. Theywere also winning new alive. The Union Army paid respect from whites. After hearing African-American about their soldiers less than white soldiers.There were performance, the editor of the NewYork Times other battles yet to bewon. Some of these battles was impressed. He wrote that theirdeeds were would continue formore than a century. reducing prejudice. He wenton to say that anyone who did not think African-Americanshad courage was being provenwrong by theirRobert Smalls actions as soldiers. Individuals also found dramaticways of con- The most famous unit ofAfrican-American tributing to freedom. One suchperson was soldiers in the Union Armyprobably had only Robert Smalls. Born into indirectties an enslaved family in to South Carolinathe 54th Beaufort, Smalls and his family hadbeen taken Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.This unit was to Charleston at the time of the commanded by the young white war. Their mas- Colonel Robert ter hired out Robert and his brother Johnto work Shaw of Massachusetts, butits soldiers were all as assistant pilot and assistant engineeron a African-Americans. Their actionon the evening steamboat named the Planter. of July 18, 1863 removed The brothers any doubts about their learned the waters of Charlestonharbor well. courage. Shaw had asked his superiors foran Robert devised a plan to deliver assignment that would put his the Planter and regiment to the its valuable cargo into the hands ofthe Yankee test. He got it. fleet that was blockading the harbor. They were ordered to lead He planned an assault on very long and carefully. The night of May12, Battery (Fort) Wagner, whichprotected the city 1862 was to be the night ofaction. The white of Charleston. The only approachwas over a nar- Confederate officers were all off the ship row stretch of sand, guarded by for the a heavily armed night. Because the boat madesupply deliveries to Confederate force. Aftera march of several Fort Sumter at all hours, starting hours, the men of the 54th the engine late charged into the at night aroused no suspicion. Thewives and guns of Fort Wagner. Crossfire from FortSumter children of Robert and John boardedthe boat. hit them as well. Despite thisfurious hail of fire, This also arousedno suspicion because the which cut their ranks to shreds,most of the men women often brought supper to their charged on until they swarmed men. Soon into the fort the Planter slowly moved intothe harbor and itself. Colonel Shawwas killed. Without him the headed toward Fort Sumter. men fought on until the failure of other units to Around four o'clock in the morningSmalls reinforce them made retreatnecessary. sounded his signal whistleas he neared the

64 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

81. He guided ships through thedangerous coastal South Carolina waters. After the warSmalls turned to politics. We will learn moreabout that later in the book. Although his story wasquite dramatic, Robert Smalls was just oneof thousands who helped the Union winthe war.

Susie King Taylor , tr,k,..-C^i , of individual xt4 We know little about the activities ,`: African-American women in the CivilWar. One woman we do knowabout is Susie King Taylor. Few women played as great arole as Susie King Taylor. Her account, written in 1902,gives us the story of the war from awoman's point of view. Unlike most African-Americansof her time, Susie learned to read and writeduring her childhood in Savannah. Along withher brother and sister, she lived with hergrandmother. A friend of her grandmother taughther to read even though this was illegal. So she andher brother learned to hide their books whenthey walked to their lessons. Later on thisskill served her well when she traveled withAfrican-American Union soldiers. Many of the soldiers wantedto learn to read and write. She gave themlessons when they were not working orfighting. Susie King Taylor was one ofthe 500,000 enslaved African-Americans whoescaped to the Union forces during the war. InApril 1862 she escaped with her uncle and hisfamily from Civil War hero, state legislator, U.S.Congressperson, pub- Savannah, Georgia. She marriedEdward King, lic servant, and delegate to the 1895Constitutional who became a soldier withthe FirstS.C. Convention, Robert Smalls, who was onceenslaved, saw Volunteers. Although the regimenthired her as a a full cycle of risinghopes and failed promises during his laundress, Susie King spent mostof her time life. A Gilbert Stuart painting.Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The Historyof S.C. Slide nursing the wounded andthe sick. For more Collection , slide C-135 (SandlapperPublishing than four years she servedwithout pay. Clara Company, 1989). Courtesy GibbesMuseum of Art, Barton, founder of the AmericanRed Cross, may Charleston, S.C. have inspired her. Barton metKing when both were in Beaufort. SusieKing had little fear of illnesses such as smallpox,which killed many sol- Confederate held fort. The drowsyguard must nearly forty years sight. By the time he diers. Writing her recollections have nodded at the familiar later, she related that sheregularly drank sas- realized what was happening,nothing could be Planter's engine and safras tea to stay healthy. done. Smalls revved the King experienced all the horrorsof war first- raised a white flag on her mast.The flag signaled the disease and ships. Luckily for hand. She felt the cold. She saw surrender to the waiting Union the horrible wounds of the troops.She saw the Smalls, the Union Navy heldtheir fire. Smalls troops of military sup- discrimination faced by African-American turned the Planter and her cargo fighting for the Union. At firstthe army issued plies over to the United StatesNavy. the enemy could he voluntar- the men red clothing, which Congress rewarded Smalls, and easily see from a distance. The menreceived no ily served in the U.S. Navyfor the rest of the war.

THE CIY1L WAR 65

Uti BEST COPY AVAILABLE pay at all for the first year and a half. In order to other ways, short of actually fighting.Others support their families, their wives hadto do stayed where they were, at least untilthe Union washing and baking for the whiteofficers. In troops came near their homes. Butsome helped 1863 the Union Army offered themen half-pay. the Confederacy. Most hadno choice in the mat- They turned it down. Despite thesupport of ter, although a very few did volunteerto fight on their officers, the Union Army didnot give the the Confederate side. The men full pay, including what they Confederacy used were owed in most African-Americans as forced labor,building back pay, until 1864. and maintaining defenses. At times badly wounded men had too little White South Carolinians worriedabout the food to eat. Often King had to be creativeto help loyalty of their enslaved work force.They had them. Some of the meri. asked forsoup, but there reason to worry. Enslaved people had revolted in was none to be had. So she madea custard from the past. When the Confederate condensed milk and turtle Congress con- eggs. She had no idea sidered drafting white men into thearmy, some how it would turn out, but itwas a great success objected. They worried that the draft with the soldiers! would take too many whites away from their task ofsuper- King traveled with the troopson some ofvising the enslaved African-Americans.This the long marches through SouthCarolina, would make revolt easier. Toanswer this fear, the Georgia, and even into Florida. Fillingin wher- government said that it would not draftanyone ever she was needed, she learned to clean andwho owned twentyor more enslaved people. reload weapons. She learned to shoota musket. The government also permittedanyone drafted Sometimes she cooked for the soldiers. Whenthe to avoid service by providingsomeone else as a troops were stationed near Beaufort, she often substitute. This law obviously favoredwealthy visited the soldiers whowere hospitalized. white citizens over poor whites. Under wartime conditions, you needed The value of 400,000 enslaved peoplecould ingenuity. Staying warm was difficult duringthe be great if they could be put to workin the war long winter nights. The military didnot allow effort.The Confederatestategovernment fires at night because this could alert the enemy. wanted to make the best use of all this labor.So Susie King found a way. She tookan iron mess- it forced owners to givesome of their enslaved pan full of hot coals from the daytime fire,cov- labor to the war effort. The legal ered it with another term for this is pan, and brought it back to "impressment." The enslavedmen who were her tent. No one couldsee any light, and she was impressed did many tasks. They built not cold. and repaired roads, bridges, railroads, and forts.They After the war King and her husbandmoved built Fort Sumter, where thewar started. Others to Savannah, where she taught school and where who were impressed worked in factories.Many her son was born. When her husbanddied, she also served in the Confederate Army, worked as a laundress to support her although child. Later almost none in traditional military roles.Most of she moved to Boston, where sheremarried and the cooks for the ConfederateArmy were helped organize a chapter of the Women'sRelief enslaved African-Americans. So Corps. Susie King Taylor were many of was a remarkable the those who handled the horsesand mules for woman. the supply trains. Some whites wanted to make betteruse of African-Americans in this vast army of enslaved labor. Theywanted to the Confederacy arm them as sWiTrs. The idea caused a greatcon- troversy in the Confederacy. It raised At the time of the Civil War, about many ques- 400,000 tions. Would enslaved soldiers fight? Wouldthey African-Americans were enslavedinSouth turn on their fellow soldiers in gray? What would Carolina. As you learned earlier, 5,000 South be done with them after the war?How could Carolina African-Americans served in theUnion enslavement be continued if enslavedmen were forces during the war. Asyou have read, they armed and fighting for the Cause? The fought hard and fought with debate courage. Tens of lasted a long time. The Confederates oftenliked thousands of others helped the Unioncause in to claim that their enslaved African-Americans

66 AiRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE enslaved soldiers. Although the Southdid form a few small companies, the effort was toolate. The war ended before anyhad a chance to fight. Would it have worked? Probably not.That any large number of African-Americanswould willingly serve the cause of theConfederacy is hard to imagine, especiallyafter the Union promised to end enslavement.

Revenge As the "bluecoats" of the UnionArmy pushed further into the state late inthe war, many enslaved African-Americans now hadthe chance for revenge. Many of them struckback at the masters, the overseers, and atthe system of enslavement itself. On some plantations angry African-Americans took the whites'possessions. They destroyed anything theycould not take. However, the Union soldiersdid much more looting and burning than the"freedmen," as African-Americans who were no longerenslaved were called. Surprisingly,with few exceptions, freedmen rarely physicallyattacked whites. Some freedmen showed pity ontheir former owners. For example,Joe was an enslaved African-American on the Darlingtonplantation of A.C. Spain. This was the sameA.C. Spain who had enslaved Amy Spain, whosehanging you read about earlierinthischapter. When Sherman's troops passed throughDarlington, Joe hid all of Spain's livestock,including mules, horses, cattle, and even hogs, inSwift Creek Swamp. Joe passed up a goodchance to ruin his former master.

Looking Toward Rebuilding While the overwhelming majority of African-Americans Most African-Americans werenot thinking chose to side with the Union forces if theyhad a choice, rebuild their Henry "Daddy" Brown, a free African-Americanbrick about revenge. They wanted to mason, chose the Confederates.He served with them as a lives and families in freedom.Their labor had drummer. This photo was taken a few yearsbefore his created the wealth of the state inthe first place. death in 1907 as he posed with his olddrum in front of However, the war had destroyedmuch of that the Confederate memorial in Darlington.Courtesy the wealth. Perhaps now, with a littlehelp, they Darlington Comity Historical Commission. could rebuild the state and their ownlives as a free people. As they looked tothe future, they would finally were loyal. However,the Confederates must have wondered whether their dreams had some real doubts be.. ause they were soreluc- come true. tant to trust them withguns! Near the end of the war, theConfederates became so desperate that theydid try to use

THE CIVIL WAR 67 VVV CHAPTER 7 Reconstruction

for later For a brief period followingthe Civil War, and rights, they built a foundation African-Americans exercised their politicalrights change. The economic, educational,and social This period, from1868 institutions African-American politicalleaders as American citizens. created would some day support a newcivil until1877,is called Reconstruction. Because African-Americans were a majority in the state rights movement. and because they were politicallyorganized through the Republican Party, theycontrolled The 1868 Constitution Republicans lost state government. In 1877 the by white political power. After that state government no Although it was widely condemned State offi- political leaders, the 1868Constitution was longer protected African-Americans. written in cials began to take away more and morerights. probably the best constitution ever This period of slow loss came to aclimax in South Carolina. A majority ofthe men who whites wrote it were African-Americans.Many of the 1895.Led by Governor Ben Tillman, Governor Ben rewrote the state constitution.The major pur- ideas in it were so good that when to make sure that Tillman rewrote it in1895,his white supporters pose of that rewriting was 1868 African-Americans would never again havepolit- demanded that some of the things added in be left in. ical power. Following the Civil War, whites inSouth Reconstruction and what came after were to the remarkable periods in the state's history,filled Carolina attempted to return the state people dis- Union without givingAfrican-Americans any with historical controversy. Some the13th torted what happened to servetheir own pur- politicalrights.Theyratified Amendment that ended enslavement.But they poses. The majordistortion was that African- politi- Americans ruled very badly.Believing that refused to budge an inch in granting any distortion allowed whites to justify takingblacks' cal rights beyond endinglegal enslavement. place, white Instead, whites wrote a newconstitution that rights away. Even if misrule did take denied the right to vote toall except white actions were illogical. To say that some corrup- legislature tion among African-Americanpolitical leaders males. When the white dominated from all met, it passed laws, called"Black Codes," that justified taking away political rights could not African-Americans makes as much sense aselim- greatly restricted rights. Non-whites few men travel freely. They had to pay a$1,000 bond just inating all men from politics because a Non-whites were forced to take political bribes. to leave the state. happened. wcrk from sunrise to sunset, exceptSundays. This chapter is the story of what leave their place It centers on three majorthemes. First, African- They could not have visitors or contribu- of work without permission.They had to obtain American political leaders made many have a business. They even tions. Much came out of Reconstructionthat is a special license to they lost political had to use the term "master"when speaking to still with us today. Second, their employers. In other words,whites tried to power for several reasons.White prejudice and mistakes by Republican leaders wereboth recreate enslavement all overagain in a different important. Third, even thoughthey lost power form.

CHAPTER TITLE 69 U J -011111.

alcAbk

Immediately after the Civil War, the white South triedto reinstitute a modified form of enslavement by legalcontracts and codes that regulated the behavior of freedmen.Here a plantation owner reads a contract that will bind merly enslaved to work for him for those he for- a year. Reproduced from Cor.,,tance B. Schulz, Ed., The History ofS.C. Slide Collection, slide B-113 (Sal:Mapper PublishingCompany, 1989). Courtesy S.C. Historical Society.

This clearly was not what the Civil Warwas twenty-one who was a resident of the state. In all about. Having won thewar, the Union addition, the new constitution allowed thepeo- expected the South to end enslavement,not ple to elect a number of state officeholders. recreate it. Congress took action. It passed the Under the 1865 Constitution, offices likethe 14th Amendment, which granted allcitizens Secretary of State and the Attorney Generalwere equal rights and equal protection understate not elected. Rather, they were chosen by the leg- law. When South Carolina's whitegovernment islature. For the first time, the number ofmem- refused to ratify the amendment, Congressbers each county would have in the Houseof demanded that it be accepted. Congressabol- Representatives was based on population alone. ished these unfair new governments,returned Wealth would r i)t be a factor. Thismeant that the state to military rule, and forcedSouth rich coastal areas like Charleston wouldno Carolina, along with other southernstates, to longer have an unfair advantageover other write new constitutions. This timeAfrican- counties that had more people but lessmoney. It Americans played a central role. included a complete bill of rights for thefirst In early 1868 a new convention met forthat time. Speech, assembly, and other rightswe take purpose. Its members included forty-eight whites for granted today were protected. Thegovern- and seventy-six blacks. The ideas theyplaced in ment could no longer jail people for debt. The the new document werevery progressive. Constitution protected the property of married The author'of the new constitution women by preventing its sale to pay their hus- extended the right to vote toevery male over bands' debts. It protectedsome of everyone's

70 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

(3G BEST COPY AVAILABLE property. The courts could not takethe first African-Americans were a majority in the $1,000 in property and $500 in personal posses- S.C. House for the entire period from1868 to sions to repay debts. Poor people of all races 1877. Just under half of the membersof the S.C. especially benefited from these measures. Senate were African-Americans for mostof the The 1868 Constitution went beyond political period. Whites mocked them and chargedthat and property rights. It gave governmentthe job of they were ignorant and unfit to govern.The facts improvilig life for all citizens. To dothis,it do not support this charge. They weremuch bet- directed the state to create and maintain afree ter educated than whitesgenerally believed. public school system. All races and all classes were They were better educated than mostwhites in to have equal access to all publicschools and col- the state. Nine in ten were literate and onein ten leges. It allowed the state to borrow moneyfor had a college education. held public projects, like roads, canals, andbridges. We should note that many whites Many of these ideas can still be found inthe office in this period. Even though a majorityof state's constitution today. Rights, protections,and the voters were black, they werewilling to elect obligations of state government are central princi- whites to office. Blacks chose to elect white gov- ples of good government. We owe Reconstruction ernors to head the state,though they did elect leaders, including African-Americans, a greatdebt. two African-Americans aslieutenant governor. White voters were not nearly asopen-minded. Let us look at a few of the uniqueindividu- als who held some of these positions.Joseph Leaders Rainey was the first African-American to ever Who were the leaders who helped createthis hold a seat in the U.S. House ofRepresentatives. new constitution? Who werethe leaders who He was born in Georgetown in 1832.After his would govern the state under it?Over 250 father was able to buy freedom for thefamily, African-Americans held state or local office dur- they moved to Charleston, wherehis father ing Reconstruction. They held awide range of became a successful barber. After getting asmuch state offices: Alonzo J. Ransier in1870 and education as he could, Joseph, too, became abar- Richard H. Gleaves in 1872 held the officeof Lt. ber. At the outbreak of the CivilWar, the Governor, Jasper J. Wright held a seat onthe Confederate Army forced him to workbuilding Supreme Court, and Francis L.Cardozo, and defenses for the city. He and his wifeescaped to Henry Hayne held the office of Secretaryof State. Bermuda, where he once again became a success- Eight different African-Americans served asU.S. ful barber. While working he didall that he Congresspersons in the period until 1877. could to increase his education. Heasked his

Joseph Rainey House. This house, still standing in Georgetown, is where Joseph Rainey, S.C.'s first African- American member of Congress, was born in 1832 -a and where he died in 1887. Rainey served in Congress longer than any other African- American from the state. tea' 4 Photo by Aimee Smith.

CHAPTER TITLE 71 8 customers for books to read and had them help defeated him. He had evidence that fraudcost him with reading and writing exercises. After the him the election, but officials rejected his appeal. war he returned to South Carolina and helped His last days in politics were at the 1895conven- write the new constitution. Republicanswere so tion. There he argued eloquently for equalvot- impressed with his work that they elected himto ing rights for African-Americans. Itwas to no the state Senate. When a vacancy occurred in the avail. The convention ignored him and the other U.S. House, he was nominated and elected. four African-American delegates. Smallsspent his Listening quietly helped him learn about how last years in a federally appointed positionas Congress worked. He also helpeda number of ex- customs collector in Charleston. Confederates regain their political rights. In 1871 Small's final act was typical of his life of dar- he made his first big speech, supportinga law ing adventure. In 1911 he heard thata white that would stop the Ku Klux Klan and otherlynch mob was about tokill two African- groups from attacking people. He continued in Americans jailed in Beaufort. He sent peopleto the House until the election of 1878, when he key points in the city and spreada rumor that was defeated. No other African-American served the city would be burned if themen were longer in Congress than Rainey. In 1993 the resi- harmed. The ploy worked. The white sheriff dents of Georgetown named a park in his honor. posted extra guards and turnedaway the mob. In You have already learned about Robert 1913 he died in his sleep in thesame home Smalls as a Civil War hero. Hewas born into where he and his mother had lived when they enslavement in Beaufort in 1839. After being were enslaved. moved to Charleston, he was hiredout. He There is some historical doubt about the worked at a variety of jobs around the docks, and background of Robert Brown Elliott. He claimed eventuallylearnedsailmaking. He married Boston as his birthplace. He also claimed that he Hannah Jones, a beautiful hotel maid. After their was a sailor in the U.S. Navy during the Civil child was born, he bought his family's freedom War. However, some evidence exists that hemay for $800. When the war started, the Confederates have been a British subject who decided tostay forced him to work on a supply shipas its pilot. in the United States. He may never haveeven While working on the supply ship he performed been a U.S. citizen. All this is uncertain. What is his daring exploit of stealing the ship and taking certain was his abilities. Many people considered it to the Union forces. He went to Washington him an intellectual giant. Hewas a powerful and helped convince Lincoln and his advisors speaker. He served in the state House andas head that African-Americans should be allowedto join of the Republican Party. He served severalterms the fight. After the war he helped write thenew in the U.S. Congress. While in Congress hewon constitution and was elected to Congress. He praise from national newspapers for his eloquent took office just a few months after Rainey and speeches. He resigned twice from the U.S. House. served until defeated in 1878. The first time was in an unsuccessful attemptto Smalls did get back into Congress, however. win a seat in the U.S. Senate. The secondwas So many African-Americans lived in theeastern when he came home to try and reunite the part of the state that the white Democrats could state's Republican Party, whichwas falling into not always win elections there, even through the disarray. He was forced out of politics after think- use of guns and fraud. Democrats redrew con- ing he had been elected attorney general in gressional district lines so that most of the 1876. He probably did have the most votes. But African-American voters would be ina single dis- once whites took over state government, no one trict. This meant that, at best, African-Americans with power would back his claims. His last politi- could elect only one member of Congress from cal actions were as a lawyer. He successfully the state. In 1884 Smalls won that seat. Whilein defended a number of fellow Republicans who Congress Smalls showed that he cared about all were taken to trial by the new Democrat con- the people in his district. He did notcare if they trolled state government. In his finalyears of life, were white or black. He tried to keep the taxes he worked as a lawyer in New Orleans. low. He tried to help those who had lostproperty Richard Cain was Southern by birth, but he during the war. In 1886 a white Democrat spent most of his life before the Civil War in the

72 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE North. He became a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and served as a minister in Brooklyn, NewYork during the war. After the war his church sent him to South Carolina. Here he entered politics. He spent a great deal of energy helping farmersobtain land. He helped write the 1868 Constitution.That same year Charleston voterselected him to the state Senate. All the while he editedand published the Missionary Record, a weekly newspaper that supported Republican causes. In 1872 voters elected him to the U.S. Congress. In Congresshe strongly supported laws that would protect the civil rights of African-American citizens.He denounced calls for African-Americans to return to Africa. He said whites should beashamed to have used his people's forced labor tobuild wealth but then want them to go away afterfree- dom came. Even after the Democrats took over the state government in 1877, hemanaged to retain his seat in Congress. Then hechanged his mind. He felt that too much had been lost.He sponsored a bill to help pay boat passagefor African-Americans back to Africa. With great foresight he spoke out for women's right to vote, forty years before women finally won thatright. The Republicans failed to renominate himin Bishop 1878. He spent his final years as an AME One room school house. Many of the schoolsbuilt to pro- out of the state. vide public education were only one room schools.They were crude at best and allowed tobe segregated by race. Unfortunately, for the greater part of the next 100 years, Policies of the Reconstructionist white authorities did nothing to improve schoolsfor State Government African-American children. This example of a one room school house for African-American children waspho- The new government elected in 1868tried to tographed near Summerville in 1938. Library of Congress keep many of the promises of the new constitu- LC-USF34 50522. tion. It faced two major problems. First, the state had little money available for anything.Second, most of the responsibility tolocal areas. As a whites who had fought against the Union while opposed the new government every step ofthe result some areas had pretty good schools African-American polit- others had poor ones. Yet despite allthe prob- way. Neverthel-ss, many ended, South ical leaders of this period had great vision.The lems, by the time Reconstruction they Carolina had a system that includednearly 2,800 policies they attempted and the institutions More than began are essential for South Carolina today. schools with just over 3,000 teachers. 123,000 students attended, over 50,000of whom were whites. Public Education African-American leaders were very moder- In 1870 the legislature passed alaw that ate in their demands. They evenallowed separa- attempted to create a real statewide publicschool tion of the races in schools. Theirmoderation system. It set up school districtswith elected stands in stark contrast to the radicalracism of trustees for schools. Funding was themajor prob- many whites who woulddrive them from power lem. The state provided a little money,but left a few years later.

CHAPTER TITLE 73 Claflin College's Main Building in 1899. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection,slide 1-24 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). Library of Congress.

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The principle of public education proved Claflin's charter recognized and confronted this to be a popular idea. In 1876 both parties, widely held, yet mistaken, idea. the Republicans, who were mainly African- In addition to other courses of study, Claflin Americans, and the Democrats, who were almost provided some legal training. It had one of the all whites, endorsed the idea of public schools. most able jurists of the time as the chair of its Both wanted a statewide property tax to support legal program. Judge Jonathan Jasper Wright had the schools. Although public schools hada very been a justice on the S.C. Supreme Court for rough and shaky beginning in South Carolina, seven years. White political leaders forced him African-Americans were in charge when the state off the bench after the 1876 election. In 1881 he first created schools on a state-wide basis. This joined Claflin, where he remained until his was a great contribution. death five years later. We might say that South Carolina's loss was Claflin's gain. Higher Education Claflin College played a role in the creation of S.C. State College. In 1872 the state legislature In 1869 the legislature granted a charter thatcre- createdtheS.C.AgriculturalCollege and ated Claflin College in Orangeburg. Itwas a pri- Mechanics Institutein Orangeburg. Federal vate school begun by Methodist Episcopal minis- money from the land grant college program ters. The charter stated that no one would be funded it. Its 116 acre campus and experimental refused admission because of ", ace, complexion, farm was located next to Claflin. Fora time its or religious opinion." The reference to "complex- board met jointly with Claflin's. Teachers taught ion" was necessary because over theyears of at both schools at the same time. When the state enslavement, African-Americans had begun to reorganized the higher education system in distinguish among themselves on the basis of 1878, both were simply called Claflin College. darkness of skin color. They had been taught that For many years they shared the same president. lighter, or "brighter," was better. A lighter skin The schools were not separated again until meant that more of one's ancestors were white. 1895. At the 1895 Constitutional Convention, This was not necessarily so. Genetic chancecan the few African-American delegateswere able to create great differences in the skin color ofpeo- use whites' own fears to create a separate state ple with identical ancestors. Ofcourse skin color funded school. Claflin was a church-run school. has nothing to do with intelligence or character. Whites saw Northern Methodists as too radical

74 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE JU on racial matters. Playing onthis fear, black dele- Next to Benedict is another church created gates were able to convince the whitemajority to school, Allen University. This schoolbegan separate the schools. Separation ended any pos- entirely within the state. It started asPayne sible Northern Methodist control. It also gave Institute in 1871, founded by the AMEChurch African-Americans their own state funded insti- in Abbeville. In 1880 the state churchmoved it tution. State leaders gave the school theawkward to Columbia as Allen University.By the turn of name of theColored Normal,Industrial, the century, it consisted of two large brickbuild- Agricultural, and Mechanical College ofSouth ings and thirteen African-Americanfaculty. It Carolina. Professors had to be "Southern men had given degrees to over 500 students.Like and women of the Negro race." Fromthese Claflin College in Orangeburg, Allen alsohad a beginnings S.C. State University evolved. law program. Daniel Augustus Straker ranthe Churches established two private schools in law classes. Straker had attended lawschool at Columbia during Reconstruction. In 1871 the Howard University in Washington, D.C. In1882 American Baptist Home Mission Societycreated he came to Allen, where he earned thereputa- Benedict Institute. It is named for its original tion as one of the best lawyers in the state, even benefactor, Mrs. Bethesda Benedict, who lived in though he practiced in courts that openlydis- Rhode Island. Much of the funding for the criminated against his race. school, however, came from African-American For a few years during Reconstruction,what Baptists all over South Carolina. The drivingis now the University of SouthCarolina in force in raising these funds was its second presi- Columbia was integrated. In 1873 an African- dent, the Reverend Lewis Colby. Recognizingits American student entered the school. Anumber growth, the legislature chartered the schoolin of white students and facultyimmediately left 1894 under its present name, BenedictCollege. the school. More African-Americanstudents and

(Top) Benedict College. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide 1- 20 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy Howard Woody, from the Howard Woody Postcard Research Collection. (Bottom) Allen University's Chappelle Administration building in a 1922 photo by Richard Roberts. The building was designed by a well-known African - American architect and named after former school president Bishop W.D. Chappelle. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed , The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide 1-18 (Saildlopper Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy Roberts family.

CHAPTER TITLE 75 Dl faculty came to the school. Except forsome government. Regardless, the state did benefit in white Northern professors, all the whites left. the long run. Unproductive land was transferred When the Southern whites regained control ofto people who made it productive. Those who state government in 1877, they closed the school bought it became taxpaying citizens. down. Later they reopened it as an all-white school. To be sure, traditionally black colleges and Life on the LandEnduring universities did not have the resources of theAgainst the Odds white institutions. Yet they performed wonders What did all of these changes mean foraverage with what they did have. Many of the people African-Americans in South Carolina? For some you will read about who made great contribu- it meant little. White landowners gave them tions to both the state and the nation received contracts that turned them into "peons." A peon their education at one of these schools. is a person tied to the land by debt. Theywere free in the sense that they wereno longer the Land Distribution property of whites. But they still worked land that was not theirs. They still had to endure mis- One of the first actions of the new legislatureerable working conditions. They could not elected in 1868 was creating the S.C. Land escape. Under law, leaving was an attempt to Commission. This new agency was created to avoid paying a debt. If caught, authorities could keep one of the most important promises of the place them in prison. 1868 Constitution. The commission was to sell Sometimes landowners could lease such bonds and use the money to buy land. Then the prisoners to work as convict labor. For many commission was to divide the land into small there was no escape other than death. This, of farms and sell them to freedmen. course, was true of many poor whites as well as The commission served its purpose. Whileblacks. This situation continued for nearly 100 in business from 1868 to 1879, it sold small years until World War II. farms to about 14,000 African-Americans. They History books often ignore what these were poor and began with almost nothing, but changes meant for those who were able to buy they helped lay the economic and social founda- land. While some of these people did fail and tion for the civil rights revolution that would lose their land, many others did not. Thovcands come nearly 100 years later. of families endured, survived, andeven thrived Whites charged that the commissionwas in some instances. What they did against terrible hopelessly corrupt. Many history books say little odds is an often untold story, but at thesame else. That a great deal of money was wasted and time an important story. Let us look ata few of lost is true. What white critics ignore is thata sig- the hundreds of places where the ignored story nificant part of the losses benefited white can be found. landowners. Corrupt white and black "carpetbaggers" from the North did not just steal the money. The commission bought most of the land The Penn Center and from white plantation owners who were unable St. Helena Island to make profits from it anymore. Given thegen- African-Americans first began obtaining land in eral poverty that existed, they would not have the Beaufort area during the Civil War. When been able to sell their land to anyone ina private Northern troops captured the area in 1865, the sale. In addition, the land was often overpriced. army took the land. General William T. Sherman For example, the land commission bought land led the Northern troops. The plantationowners, in what is now Abbeville County for $10an acre numbering just over 1,000, had fled. Aftera cou- when the going price was only $2 anacre. The ple of years of confusion, the government white family that sold it made five times what it decided to seize the land and sell it tocover was worth. The African-Americans who bought it unpaidtaxes. The government solditto also received a benefit as the commissionnever Northerners and to some of the more than insisted that the buyers pay the full $10an acre. 32,000African-Americans who hadbeen Of course, paying the difference was left to the enslaved there.

76 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

942 (Top) A Fourth of July celebration on St. Helena Island. f Those African-Americans who were able to obtain land on St. Helena Island kept it and passed it down from one gener- ww ation to the next. They built a '01 strong sense of community by help:ng each other. Here they celebrate Independence Day together as a community. Library of Congress LC-USF33 30417 -M1. (Bottom) The first building of the Penn School in an 1890 photograph. From the Penn School Collection. Permission granted by Penn Center, Inc., St. Helena Island, S.C. In the Southern Historical Collection of the Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. This picture can also be seen in The History of S.C. Slide Collection,.(Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989) as slide 1-3.

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Missionaries and teachers soon began arriv- One of the schools created by Northern ing to help the new owners. This became known Quaker missionaries that lasted the longest was as the Port Royal experiment. It was anexperi- the Penn School on St. Helena Island. in 1862 ment in the sense that white Northernerswanted Ellen Murray and Laura Towne came tobegin to see if African-Americans were capableof sup- the school. Ms. Towne so fell in love withthe porting themselves in freedom. In a sense Port area that she stayed the restof her life. The Royal was a rehearsal for the Reconstructionschool gave a basic education to the peopleof policies the North followed after the war. the island. It also served as a center of commu- Following the war, some of the former plan- nity life. It helped create a sense of community tation owners were able to get their landback. and cooperation. Although farms weresmall, African-Americans held on to some of it. The the people worked hard and survived. Residents S.C. Land Commission sold some other land in built new homes, added second floors, and the area to freedmen. Freedmen bought addi- replaced wooden shutters with glass windows. tional land in private sales. By 1890 African- They even had Venetian blinds, small musical Americans owned three out of every four acres organs, and sewingmachines. Northern visitors on St. Helena Island. gave much of the credit tothe Penn School, but

CHAPTER TITLE 77 9.3 Promised Land Promised Land lies in what is now Greenwood County,just over the line from Abbeville County. This small farming communitycame into being in1870 when theS.C.Land Commission offered for sale 700 acres in small farms ranging from fifty to one hundredacres. By the end of 1872, just under fifty families had bought farms there. They called it Promised Land because they had bought it for only $10 down with the promise to repay the rest. Promised Land was different from St. Helena Islandinseveral ways.First,the African- Americans in Promised Land had virtually no help from outsiders. Once they obtained their land, they were on their own. The close-knit community they created and maintained was evidence of their own skill and ingenuity. Second, it was in the central part of the state where there were relatively fewer people of their race. Safety and security was a greater problem for them. Finally, Promised Land was much less well-known and much less studied by outsiders. Promised Land was established in 1870 with land bought This is partially because of how they solved their from white landowners and sold to African-Americans. security problem. They lived quiet lives that The community remains today. Photo by Aimee Smith. minimized contact with white society. As a result they were lesslikely to suffer any attack. Isolation was their best defense. a great deal of credit should also go to those who Allen Goode was one of the first settlers in lived there. Promised Land. He was active in the Republican Later on, the Penn School became the Penn Party in the 1868 election, the first one in which Center. It continued to help the people of the Sea African-Americans were allowed to vote. Whites Islands. The Penn Center also serves as a confer- were already trying to use force to prevent blacks ence center. Dr. Martin Luther King and other from exercising their rights. Goode was a target civil rights leaders met there to plan strategy in of this violence. On the day of the election, the 1960s. Goode was working as a precinct manager. When In the 1950s new problems began to arise he tried to stop some white men from threaten- for the people of the Sea Islands. First, pollution ing voters, they shot him. Though he survived, damaged the oyster beds that provided a living no one was ever arrested for the crime. Two years for the residents. Many people left thearea. Then later he brought two oxen, four cows, six hogs, in the 1980s developers began to build golf and a horse to Promised Land. He was one of the courses and luxury resorts. Property taxes rose. wealthier new residents. Like Goode, most of the Many people could not pay and lost their homes. other residents had lived in the area all of their The Penn Center has responded to these prob- lives. They chose to stay in order to be close to lems by setting up the Penn Schoolfor family and friends. Preservation on St. Helena Island. This new The very first year Promised Land was set- school will teach leadership skills to area resi- tled; the residents built a school. All the trustees dents. People will also learn how to work with of the school lived in the community. Every government to pm .ect the environment. Finally, child who was not absolutely needed for work in the school will train Sea Islanders for better jobs the fields went to school. About ninety children in the resort industry. crowded into the school's only room. Thus

78 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE began a tradition that still exists. A sociology ers, both black and white. Oncein debt, farmers professor at Lander College noticed in the 1970s were forced to grow morecash crops to pay that that students from Promised Land seemed to debt. Unfortunately, the worn-out soil rarely pro- work harder than other students in her classes. duced enough cotton to offset the cost of fertil- The children of Promised Land were expected izer and food for the family. The more cotton and still are expected to get a good education. farmers grew, the more fertilizer they needed, The farmers of Promised Land were wise in because cotton was particularly hard on the soil. planning their crops. Rather than borrow money People caught in that trap often lost their land. to buy fertilizer for cash crops like cotton,they TI-1farmers of Promised Land and their peers in grew only a little cotton. Instead,they grew most other places were smart enough to avoidthat of what they needed to survive. They grew veg- trap. They did not get rich, butthey endured. etables like beans, peas, sweet potatoes,and They kept their land for their children.They corn. They used some of the corn tofeed the made it possible for the next generation tobe a livestock. This way they did not have to buy very little better off. much from the store. They avoided debt.This also helped keep them isolated from whites. Rebuilding Families The genius of this kind of farming was that it kept them from getting trapped in the"crop One of the most cruel aspects ofenslavement lien" system that destroyed so many otherfarm- was what it did to families.Being "sold down the

A store around 1865 that supplied freedmenwith a few of the essentials they needed to survive in arural economy,. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The Historyof S.C. Slide Collection, slide B-114 (SandlapperPublishing Company, 1989). Courtesy Beaufort County Library.

CHAPTER TITLE 79 93 river" separated mothers from children andbecause they often were not free to return to fathers from mothers. It tore peopleaway from each other. Thinking they wouldnever see their those who loved them. Following emancipation first spouse again, they had remarried. What and for years after, African-Americans triedto remains of those thousandsofstoriesof relocate family members. While some did find heartache are letters. The words in those letters their lost relations, many never did. A whole speak of undying love. Obligations to new fami- generation of people searched until the end of lies forced that love to remain distant. Is it possi- their lives. All we have left today of those desper- ble for us to remember such great sadness after ate efforts are old newspaper advertisements. In all those years? African-American newspapers until the early Many freed from the chains of enslavement 1900s one can find ads placed by those whowere were now free to have a real marriage. Mass wed- "sold away" when young. They wanted to locate dings took place. Hundreds of couples said their a long-lost father, sister, mother, or brother. They marriage vows all together at the same time with typically ended the ads saying thatany informa- a real minister. Others registered with justices of tion would be kindly received. Indeed it would. the peace so that their marriages would be legal. Some husbands and wives whowere forcibly African-Americans wanted nothing more than to separated found each other again after the Civil become a part of society. They wereeager to fol- War. Even this good fortune was bittersweet, low the rules of this new free society.

A photo taken about 1866 of elderly African-Americans who hadjust escaped enslavement. Many of them, no doubt, never learned what happened to their families. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz,Ed.,The History of S.C. Slide Collection,slide G-73 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). From thePenn School Collection, permission granted by Penn Center, Inc., St. Helena Island, S.C.

80 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE The 1876 Election Most histories mark the 1876 election as theend of Reconstruction. The Democrats won afterral- lying around Wade Hampton as their candidate for governor. The Democrats did indeed win,but they may have won without having the most votes. The "win" was mainly the resultof fraud, violence,physicalthreats,disorganization among the Republicans, andthe Union pulling out troops who offered someprotection to African-American Republicans. Each election from 1868 till1876 was marked by a great deal of violence. Even before the first election took place in whichAfrican- Americans could vote, whites used violence. Benjamin F. Randolph was a college educated African-American minister who fought in the Union Army. After the war he came toSouth Carolina. The Republican Party elected him as their chair and as a presidential electorfor the 1868 election. He supported integration inthe new public school system.He understood the future, saying that "we are laying the foundation for a new structure here. We mustdecide whether we shall live together or not."The answer of radical whites was"not!" They ambushed him and shot him to death while he was campaigning in AbbevilleCounty. This was far from the only such incident. Monument to B.F. Randolph, who was murdered for exer- White radical Democrats formed groupscalled cising his constitutional rights. He was but oneof thou- "rifle clubs." The purpose of the so-called"clubs" sands who gave their lives for the political rights weall was officially supposed tobe social. Their leaders have today. The caption reads "In memoriamB.F. openly admitted that they were actuallypoliti- Randolph late state senator for Orangeburg County and Chairman Republican State Central Committee whodied cal. They existed to intimidate and, if necessary, at Hodges Station, Abbeville County atthe hands of to kill Republican voters arid supporters.This assassins on Friday, October 16, 1868." Photoby Aimee was called the "EdgefieldPolicy" because it was Smith. planned by ex-Confederate General M.W. Gary of Edgefield County. The Ku KluxKlan was a secret group thatalso used violence. Political politics instead. He lost the trustof many activity was a most risky business forRepub- African-Americans because of his efforts to licansorAfrican-Americans.Despitethese appease white Democrats. efforts, African-Americans organized andvoted. The 1876 election was marked by even more With the support of the state government,they violence than previous elections. Oneof the formed militiasto protect themselves. The worst incidents took place nearAiken in the lit- Union Army troops that were still inthe state tle town of Hamburg a few monthsbefore the gave them a little additionalprotection. election. It is called the Hamburg Massacre.Two In the years before the 1876 election,the whites had a disagreement with anAfrican- Republican Party began to fall apart. The prob- American militia unit that was drillingin the lem centered around Governor Chamberlain.A road. The disagreement concernedthe simple white Republican who had come Southafter the matter of allowing the whites to passby. The war in hopes of becoming aplanter, he entered militiaallowedthewhite men topass.

CHAPTER TITLE 81 9 Afterwards, the white men complainedto a local destroyed the only chance the Republicans had. judge and alarmed other whites. About 200 The presidential election had also been in dis- whites from a number of rifle clubs showedup pute. Several states, including South Carolina, armed with rifles and a cannon. The whites had two sets of results. The Southern Democrats demanded that the African-American militia made a deal with Northern Republicans. They turn over their weapons. The militia refused and would allow Republican Rutherford B. Hayesto stayed in their barracks. The whites attacked. become president and Hayes would withdraw One attacker was killed. Then the whites opened federal troops. This was done on April 10, 1877. fire with the cannon and drove the militiaout. Chamberlain resigned, and the Democrats took The attackers captured a number of the militia over the legislature. Reconstruction was over. members. They chose five of their prisoners, lined them up, and shot them. After this battle African-American leaders Losing Political Rights pleaded with President Grant to send additional With control of the state government andno federal troops to stop this kind of violence. Grant military force to oppose them, white Democrats sent troops three weeks before the election. Then could do as they pleased. They used threats and President Grant ordered that the "rifle clubs" dis- fraud to easily win the 1878 and 1880 elections. band. They did, but after a short time they Then they began to find legal ways to takeaway reformed with new names like the Mounted constitutional rights. In 1882 they used the Eight Baseball Club or the Mother's Little Helpers. Box Law. This created a separate ballot box for The 1876 election was one of the mostcor- each office. Voters who could not read the labels rupt elections in American history. Some of the or who were misdirected and put their votes in worst fraud took place in South Carolina. Both the wrong box would not have their votes count. sides were guilty of breaking the rules. Available Whites passed restrictive registration laws that evidence suggests that the white Democrats allowed local registrars to crossnames off the probably were better at it. Edgefield and Laurens records. counties both counted more votes for the This was done despite Wade Hampton's Democrats than the number of whites who lived promises that he would protect the political there. rights of African-Americans. He could notcon- At the beginning of 1877, both Democrat trol the radical whites who took over stategov- Wade Hampton and Republican Governor ernment. Ben Tillman was their leader. Tillman Chamberlain claimed victory. The differencewas and his followers were not satisfied to just reduce that Hampton had more firepower behind him, the number of African-American votes. They and the Republicans were not as well-organized. wanted to completely eliminate all African- This was mainly Chamberlain's fault. Inan effort American votes. to appease whites, he had disarmedmany African-American militia units and had turned over weapons to white rifle clubs. By the time The Convention of 1895Six the election took place, the official militiawas Lonely Voices outgunned. The only thing that saved the At the 1895 Constitutional Convention, Tillman Republicans was the presence of the U.S. Army. and his followers did eliminate almost all After the election, two sets of legislators also African-American votes. They created barriers claimed victory. They formed twoseparate that would take half a century to break down. General Assemblies. When both managedto The idea was to create several ways to exclude gain entry into the capitol building, they metat voters who were likely to be African-Americans. the same time. Neither was willing to leave. They If one way did not work, perhaps another would. feared that leaving would turn controlover to How did these barriers work? If you wanted the other. Both governors issued orders. Court to vote, you had to be a resident of the state for fights took place over which orderswere legal. two years and of the county for one year. You This went on for several months. also had to pay poll taxes six months in advance. Then a political deal at the national level This eliminated many migrant workers and

82 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 93 sharecroppers who moved around a lot. You had don't propose to 'have any fair elections...the to pass a literacy test. Local officials ranthe testblack man is learning to read faster than the so they could choose whopassed and who did white...make it fair and you'll see what'll hap- not. Because poor whites feared thatthis might pen." It was not to be fair for a long time. eliminate their votes, the convention added provisions that could be used to protect them. You Reconsidering History could bypass the literacy test in one of two ways. First, you were exempt if you had propertyworth Generations of white and blacx South Carolina at least $300. Second, you wouldbe exempt if school children have read history books that told you could satisfy local officialsthat you under- themhowterribleReconstructionwas. stood the Constitution when a local official read Reconstruction was said to be the cause of the it to you. If you were African-American, you slow recovery of the state from the Civil War. would most certainly have a hard time satisfying The books blamed Yankee carpetbaggersand a white local official that youunderstood what African-Americans who were described as too he was reading. You might obtain a copy ofthe ignorant for the political power they had.This South Carolina Constitution and try this. In version of history increased white prejudice.It addition, the local election official could elimi- also encouraged African-Americans tothink nate you if you did not supply proofthat you poorly of themselves. had paid all your taxes for the past year. For good The truth is quite different. To be sure, there measure, you could lose yourright to vote for was corruption. Much of it canbe blamed on conviction of any of a long list of minor crimes. white Republicans who came South to exploit Present at the convention were six rather the situation. However, a number of modernhis- lonely African-Americans. Five of them were torians, white and black, have shown that many from the Beaufort area: Robert Smalls, Thomas African-Americanpoliticalleaders during Miller, William Whipper, James Wigg, and Isaiah Reconstruction acted with wisdom, vision, and Reed. The sixth, Robert Anderson, was from great restraint. One can compare theactions of Georgetown. They all spoke bravely against what white immigrants who had gained powerin the convention was doing. They pointed with cities of the North with freed blacks in theSouth pride to what African-Americans had accom- during Reconstruction. The African-Americans plished. They challenged the notion of white acted at least as responsibly as white Northern supremacy. They evenchallenged the whites to immigrants. In fact, one historian argues thatif arguing that doing so there is fault, it is that African-Americans gavein pass a fair literacy test, back harder. would give whites onlyaslimmajority. too easily. They should have fought Although they were outnumbered and lost, they Yet, despite the failure of African-Americans did convince a few whites to vote againstthe to keep political power, they left usimportant schools, restrictions. political institutions. Things like public Most delegates agreed with a white from property rights, and the right toelect leaders Berkeley County. According to the official jour- help all of us. nal of the convention, he bluntly saidthat "we

CHAPTER TITLE 83 VW, CHAPTER 8 Life After Reconstruction

The period between the end of Reconstruction in The Reverend Richard Carroll was one of 1877 and the middle 1900s was not a happy time the strongest voices for hard work andself-help. for South Carolina. While some economic A native of Barnwell County, he wasborn just growth took place, the state lagged behindthe before the Civil War. He was one of the many rest of the nation. Political and economicleaders African-American leaders in the state who failed to provide many opportunities for people attended Benedict College. While at Benedict he to better themselves. Politics centeredaround developedhis speakingskills.During the racial hatred. Politicians did not campaign on Spanish-American War, he served in the mili- any realistic economic programsthat might tary as a chaplain. Historians regardCarroll as improve life in the state. Rather, they usedthe SouthCarolina'sversionofBooker T. tactics of demagogues. That is, they won votes Washington because both had similar messages. mostly by appealing to white prejudice andfear. Whites were willing to listen to Carroll because This made the period especially hard for African- he never asked for social or even legalequality. Americans. All he asked was for his people to be given a At the same time, this was an important chance to work hard and increase the wealthof period for African-Americans in the state. It the state. paved the way for positive changes thatwould Other African-American leaders found fault begin to surface in the 1940s. A minimal amount with Carroll. They felt he asked for too little.The of wealth and prosperity were needed before any Reverend John Adams of Columbia argued in civil rights movement could start. Generationsof speeches that problems such as poor living con- people struggled to build that little bitof wealth ditions resulted from white attitudes and treat- in the late 1800s and early 1900s.The struggle ment. He felt that Carroll placed toomuch was generally very quiet. Ittook place every day blame on African-Americans. Despite these criti- in fields and modest schools andsmall busi- cisms, Carroll was a powerful voice for African- nesses all over the state. Thischapter tells the Americans in the period around the turn of the story of that struggle. century. Carroll's message to African-American audiences had two main parts. First,lie spoke of self- Coping with Discrimination improvement through strong self-disciplineand What were African-Americans to do afterlosing education. He felt that African-Americans had to the political rights for which so manypeople prove their worth to whites.Second, he urged his died in the Civil War? Many decided to stay, audiences to "go to the farm." Whites could have ignore politics, and do the best theycould the cities and factories. On the farm African- through hard work and self-help. Othersdecided Americans could be productive. Farm life also to leave. They sought opportunitywherever they had the advantage of minimizing contact with could find it. That pioneering spirit tookAfrican- whites. Americans from South Carolina to statesall over We will look at each of these two ideas. First, the nation and to nations all over the world. let us look at self-help through educatiorr.

LIFE AFTER RECONSTRUCTION 85

0 Educational Self-Help Many of thegraduatesof BookerT. Washington were determined that tic.. school After Reconstruction African-Americans had should not be forgotten. With the help ofthe a difficult time finding any public education. For Columbia Panhellenic Council, they formed the fifty years after the Civil War, onlyone public Booker T. Washington Foundation in 1974.It school in Columbia accepted African-Americans. may have been the first organization of its kind. This was Howard School, opened in 1867.It The Foundation helps to keep thememory of the served children of all grades until 1916. school alive in the community foryoung people, Columbia'ssecondpublicschoolfor many of whose families attended for several gen- African-Americans, Booker T. Washington High erations. Every year the alumni holda banquet School, was opened in 1916. This schoolwas one to honor former faculty and students. At least of the few in South Carolina to be accreditedby ten scholarships are awarded each year. Many the Southern AssociationofColleges and classes also hold their reunions at this time. In Schools. It was the only public high school for addition, over one hundred former students Columbia'sAfrican-Americansuntil 1948. come together annually and sing at the Koger Because African-Americans hadso few opportu- Center in Columbia. The Foundation has also nities to get an education anywhere in thestate, attempted to preserve the trophies and other some families even moved to Columbia. Others memorabilia from the school. Eventually they boarded their children with Columbia families. hope to display these in a museum. Graduates include many famous people, suchas Although educational opportunitieswere National Teacher of the Year Fannie Phelps limited, Columbia was better than most other Adams, J.C. Caroline, who broke Red Grange's places in the state. Before World War I,most football records,heart specialistDr. Edwin African-Americans in the state had no accessto Cooper, Gilroy Griffith, one of the firstexecu- any high school. tives hired by NBC, and Judge Matthew Perry. As a result, self-help was the onlyanswer. Civil rights activist Modjestka Simkinstaught Hard working people founded a number of pri- there for awhile, as did two children of photog- vate schools to educate African-Americans. These rapher Richard Roberts, whose workyou see schools educated many of the individualsmen- throughout this book. tioned throughout this book. African-American Booker T. Washington providedmore than colleges ran elementary and secondary schools just an education to African-Americans.It that educated others, Althoughwe will describe became a "cultural center" for the African- only a few of the private schools, therewere a American community, in the words ofone of its number of others scattered around thestate. graduates. Operettas and concertswere per- These include Laing High School in Mt. Pleasant, formed there. The John Work Chorus, named for Brainerd Institute in Chester, Friendship Normal the director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, provided and Industrial Institute in Rock Hill, Mather a musical outlet for the students. The school SchoolinBeaufort,Lancaster Normal and required every tenth, eleventh and twelfth Industrial School in Lancaster, Avery Institute in grader to sing in this chorus. Peoplecame from Charleston, and Coulter Academy in Cheraw. miles around to hear the 400 to 500 students Church sponsorship helped most of the schools sing spirituals at the yearly concert. Teachers open. took attendance for this important event. Girls At its peak in the 1930s and 1940s, Mather were required to dress in white,` and boys wore Academy served 200 students. The United blue pants, white shirts, and dark ties. Methodist Church founded it in 1887. Sarah Booker T. Washington High School closed in Babcock, a white teacher from the North, had 1974.Asaresultofintegration,African- taught African-American children in Camden American children were now able to attend after her arrival in 1867. She bought propertyon schools throughout Columbia. The University ofwhich to locate the growing school. After she South Carolina bought the campus and turned it returned North to be married to the Rev. James into the Booker T. Washington Center. Today it is Mather, she continued her interest in the school. a center for medical research, drama,. and early Because she knew. many important people childhood education. through her church, she was able to help. At

86 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE first, only whites taught at Mather Academy,but was too great. MatherAcademy is now just a over the years, both blacksand whites became memory in the hearts of its manygraduates. teachers at the school. They worked for very lit-Several weeks after Mather Academy was torn tle pay. Former students have said that attending down, the state government formed theSouth a school with an integratedstaff helped. It pre- Carolina African-American Heritage Council. pared them for a world where they would have The purpose of the Council is to preserve proper- to live and work with all kinds of people.Located ties that are of historical importance toAfrican- in Camden, Mather was the onlyAfrican- Americans. American secondary school in South Carolina to In a time when few professions were open to be accredited at that time. Many of its graduates, African-Americans,Bettis Academy, located in such as Congressman Jim Clyburn, went on to the small town of Trenton in EdgefieldCounty, grad- become successful professionals. trained teachers. About three-fourths of its As public schools began to improve, enroll- uates became teachers. In turnthey educated ment dropped in private schools. Manyclosed or other youngAfrican-Americans.TheRev. became part of the public education system inAlexander Bettis founded Bettis Academyin the 1950s. Mather outlasted most others. In 1983 1881. Formerly enslaved, Bett:5 could notread or the Methodist Church decided that theschool write. Bettis organized a group of people toraise had accomplished its purpose. Theyclosed money to educate themselves.Once they had Mather Academy and put the property upfor collected $300, Bettis convinced the group to sale. However, the property was not sold, andthe look beyond themselves. So they built aschool. buildings began to deteriorate. In 1993 thebuild- Bettis Academy began as an industrial ings were torn down, The cost ofrenovations school. What this means is that beyondbasic

Many private schools were built and run withthe help of African-Americans in South Carolinabecause public schools of the buildings on its campus were so poor. Bettis Academy inrural Edgefield County was one such school. This is one that remains today. Courtesy, Aiken Standard.1993 photo by Ginny Southworth. Faika4.i

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LIFE AFTER RECONSTRUCTION 87 1 0 reading and writing, it taught tradesand crafts, first native-born African-Americanwoman doc- such as carpentry or bricklaying.Gradually the tor. In 1938 Schofield became school added other a high school. courses. These included Because of its "semi-public" status, it chargedno cooking, home health care, typing,and cosme- tuition. It officially became tology. a public school in 1950.After school desegregationSchofield Eventually Bettis Academy servedchildren became one of Aiken County's middle schools. from first grade through the firsttwo years of A number of individuals madeimportant college. Graduates speak warmly ofthe "nurtur-contributions in the field of educationin the ing" environment they foundat an all-blackyears after Reconstruction. The number of school in those days. Bettisgrew until it had African-American teachers in the state tripled nearly 1,000 st,Idents. Its well-knowngraduates between 1876 and 1900. These people,taught by include AME Bishop Fred James. the Reconstruction generation and whitemis- Bettis Academy closed in 1952 whenSouth sionaries from the North, wenton to educate the Carolina began to providea public education for children who grew up in anew century. In some African-Americans. The countygovernment cases being an educator was a stepping stoneto turned the land where it stood intoa park. The further accomplishments. Therewere thousands, facilities will include softball, soccer, and football but we only have space for a few of theirstories. fields, as well as a picnicarea, jogging track, ten- Born in Georgia in 1876, Elizabeth Evelyn nis, and basketball courts. Wright was the seventh of twenty-onechildren. Francis L. Cardozo, an African-American As a child she attended a school whichmet only who had taught school in the North,founded three months a year. Schoolterms were often Avery Normal Institute. Afterseveral name quite short in those days. She went to collegeat changes,theschoolwasnamed. fora Tuskegee despite her poor health. She left college Philadelphia minister, Reverend Avery.He left in 1892 to teach in Hampton County,South the school enoughmoney to make a permanent Carolina. She returned to complete her college location possible. Opened in 1867at this site in degree and graduated in 1894. Shecame back to Charleston, the school became well-known Hampton County to build a school. Shefa across the country. It provided an education much opposition from both blacks andwhites. from kindergarten through high school.It was African-Americans had no hope that she could also a "normal" school. Thismeans it trained do it, despite the help offered her bya Maryland teachers. The school offeredan impressive range judge. Whites burned down the building of courses. They included politics, where economics, lit- school was to be held. They destroyedlumber erature, foreign language, math, accounting, his- bought to build a new school. She raisedmoney tory, philosophy, and physiology,as well as basic to buy new building materials by speaking education and teacher-training at courses. It taught churches in Hampton and ColletonCounties. teachers, who in turn taughtgenerations of Often she had to walk twenty milesa day. When African-Americans in Charleston. the owner of the property she had selectedfor a The Congregational AmericanMissionary school decided not to sell, she hadto start over Association ran the school. In 1947 itbecame again. Another teacher, Jessie Dorsey, helpedher part of the public school system. The school search for a new school site. Eventuallyshe closed in 1954. The Avery ResearchCenter for chose a site in Denmark. With the helpof some African-American History and Culture islocated whites there, she bought the land. In 1897the on its site today. Denmark Industrial School was organized. The When Martha Schofield,a white teacher on name was changed to Vorhees Industrial School St. Helena Island, became sick in1868, she in 1902, in honor of a contributor.Today decided to move to Aiken. There she foundedthe Vorhees is a college. Schofield Normal and IndustrialSchool.Its As African-Americans gainedan education, industrial courses included blacksmithingand they needed access to books. Susan DartButler, shoemaking. In addition Schofield trainedpro- who was born in 1889, helped make thatpossi- fessionals. One of its most famous graduateswas ble. She opened a free library forAfrican- Dr. Matilda Evans, who became SouthCarolina's Americans in Charleston. She started the library

88 AFRICAN-AMER1CANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE .1111111k

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Macbeth. A silver gelatin print. Reproduced withpermission of South A View of Room #2, 1900, by Arthur L. organized by the Caroliniana Library. From "Conflict and Transcendence:African American Art in South Carolina," Columbia Museum of Art. in her own home in 1927 and paidall expenses mob murdered his father. So he leftthe state to involved. As a result of her work, the Charleston study at Howard University inWashington, D.C. Committee of the Southern Commission on He earned a bachelor's degree and atheological Interracial Cooperation became interested.It degree. After briefly attendingAndover Theo- helped to establish the Dart Hall Branchof the logical Seminary, he worked forthe American Charleston County Free Library forAfrican- Missionary Association. He decided toattend Americans in 1931. Butler died in 1959. medical school and earned adegree from William A. Sinclair wore many hats. His per- Meharry Medical College. A manof many tal- He ents, he served as financial secretaryof Howard sonal experience taught him about injustice. this time wasborninenslavementin1858in University from 1888 to 1903. During Georgetown. Along with his mother, he wassold he entered the struggle for racialjustice. He Returning to away from his father.After Emancipation he helped create the NAACP in 1909. returned to Georgetown to live with hisfather. Georgetown, he became principalof the public He attended public schools and studied atClaflin school. There he helped educate another genera- and the University of South Carolina.With the tion. He was one of the few menof his time who end of Reconstruction,hisstudiesatthe emphasizedthecontributionsofAfrican- University of South Carolina ended. Alynch Americans in helping the North winthe Civil

LIFE AFTER RECONSTRUCTION 89 10.i War. He was also one of the few whosaw ous with her time. Adults learned reading from Reconstruction as a kind of goldenage, in which her. Her church could always counton her help. people tried to achieve equality. All his lifehe She also played an active and historic rolein spoke out against racial segregation. Sadly, hedid local politics. She held officeas a municipal not live to see much change. He died in 1926. judge. In 1978 she ran for mayor of Carlisle and Janie Glymph Goree became bothan educa- was elected. This made her the first female tor and a politician. She was born toa sharecrop- African-American mayor in South Carolina. As per family in 1921 in Newberry County. Because mayor she traveled to the White House and all the family had nine children, lifewas difficult. over the world. Many groups gave her awards. She had to pick cotton to pay for transportation She has been active in many professionalgroups, costs to attend school. Her teachers recognized like the National Conference of Black Mayors her ability, but she could not afford collegeeven and the World Conference of Mayors. Bothas a after winning a scholarship. By workingas a teacher and as mayor, she opened doors fortwo maid she earned enough money togo to college generations of African-Americans. at Benedict. She graduated at the top of her class AlthoughAfrican-Americanschoolsre- in 1948. ceived little help from the state, sometimes pri- For the next thirty-three years, Goree taught vate individuals helped schools flourish. In 1908 high school math in Union. Along theway she Anna T. Jeanes donated $200,000 to add indus- earned a master's degree. Shewas always gener- trial education to African-American schools. The

Painting of a tenant farm near Summerville. Reproduced fromConstance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide D-1 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989).Courtesy S.C. State Museum.

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90 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

105 Jeanes Foundation began in Virginia as an exper- African-Americans ran only a few stores.In 1880 of the imental program that eventuallyspread to six- African-Americans owned only about fifty in the state. Doing busi- teen other states. The firstJeanes Supervisor was more than 4,500 stores teacher ness was difficultwhen you had to depend on Virginia Randolph, an African-American complained in Henrico County, Virginia. Bythe 1950s over whites for your supplies. If you counties all about a bill or the quality of goodsdelivered, you 500 Jeanes Supervisors worked in supplies. If you over the South helpingand supervising teachers. could be cut off from any more Julia Berry became South Carolina'sfirst took your complaint to court, youhad to depend Jeanes Supervisor in 1912. Weknow little about on white judges andjuries to treat you fairly. became a super- Either way you were likely to lose.Even so, the her work. In 1913 U.S. Gallman business grew vising industrial teacher in NewberryCounty. He number of African-Americans in education during the late 1800s. By 1900 thenumber grew focused on industrial and agricultural farming com- and on sanitation. Jeanes Supervisorsworked tenfold to nearly 500. In the little schools. By 1947 munity of Promised Land, twofamilies opened with the State Agents for Negro The Baptists in there were thirty-seven JeanesSupervisors in stores to serve their neighbors. South Carolina. Jeanes supervisors took a highlyindividual- istic approach to their work.They tried to help Grinding corn around 1910 as had beenclone back on the the schools in every way possible.At first they plantation. New technology came slowly.From the Penn School Collection. Permission granted byPenn Center, worked to develop a relationship withthe com- Historical and repair Inc., St. Helena Island, S.C. In the Southern munity. The Supervisors helped build Collection of the Manuscripts Department,University of schools, handled health problems,and did any- North Carolina, Chapel Hill. This picture canalso be thing else that was needed.Although they seen in The History of S.C.Slide Collection seemed more like social workers attimes, they (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989) asslide D-13. helpedteachersimprovetheirteaching. Gradually the focus changed fromcommunity to educational services. Theysponsored many programs, includingreading workshops, children's art exhibits, and in-service programsfor teachers.

I Agricultural Self-Help Making a living on the farm washard in South Carolina. One of the greatest barriers to prosperity for both black and whitefarmers was the countrystore.These storesalmost always charged very high prices for goodsof very low farmers. quality.Theyfrequentlycheated 1 Cheating was hard to fight,especially when ift black farmers had to deal withwhite store owners. If there was adispute, white judges, juries, and white sheriffs always backed upwhite mer- charits. The only way to win was toavoid buying f from white merchants. ManyAfrican-Americans were subsistencefarmers who bought little. The more things youmade and grew for yourself, the less you had to buy. Other farmers were ableto deal with African-Americanstoreowners. I luwever,

LIFE AFTER RECONSTRUCTION 91 the community patronizedone store. Methodist Alliance that was growingacross the rest of the families gave their business to the other. South. This time meetingswere open and did African-Americans made several attemptsto not arouse as much white fear. John D.Norris bypass the small country store entirely.Even was a school teacher who worked as an organizer stores run by fellow African-Americans hadthe for the group. In an 1889 speechhe listed the problem of having to buy their suppliesin small purposes of the group. They were to teach patri- amounts. Buying in small volume meant higher otism, respect for the law, and love of home,to prices for the merchant and thecustomer. Sadly, help the poor, to promote education,to improve few of these efforts had muchsuccess because of farming methods, and toencourage members to white fear and opposition. In the late1880s, the be better husbands and wives. Norriscarefully Cooperative Workers of America triedto orga- noted that political powerwas not a goal. By nize in secret. They cried to setup cooperative 1890 the group had 30,000 membersin South stores. They saved money by joining forcesand Carolina and printed anewspaper. However, the buying supplies in large volume.Threats by group began to dissolve a year later. It tried to whites s on ended that effort. organize a strike by cotton pickers. Thestrike About a year later the ColoredFarmers' failed. Members began to lose faith anddropped Alliance began organizing in thestate. This was out. Within a few years the white Farmers' a parallel organization to the white Farmers' Alliance met the same fate. Despite these failures, self-help effortscon- Robert Shaw Wilkinson, second S.C. StateCollege presi- tinued. The professor of agricultureat the state dent, 1911-1932. Wilkinson promoted farmand home college in Orangeburg went around thestate cre- agents working in local communitiesacross the state. ating Colored Farmers' Institutes. His ideawas to Courtesy S.C. State Museum, the S.C. PostcardArchive, improve methods used by farmers. For example, South Caroliniana Library, USC. the institutes taught farmers howto make their own fertilizers. This made them less dependent on country stores. About the same time, A.E. Hampton began theColoredAgriculturalandMechanical Association in Columbia. Thisgroup spread the idea of holding agricultural fairs forAfrican- Americans. The main purposewas educational. Displays and exhibits taught those attending about better practices inmany areas. They

Lh- learned more about raising poultry, howto plant and cultivate crops, and how to makewhat they grew into products to sell and use in the home. They promoted self-sufficiency. Thiswas important. The more self-sufficient theywere, the less they went into debt. Soon African-American farmerswere holding fairs in counties all over thestate. Although education was the major long term benefit,those who came did have fun. Fairs held allkinds of races, from bicycles to sack races. Local bands competed in musical contests that includedboth marching and playing. Despite Jives thatwere very hard, people could smile and have fun. By 1900 African-Americans ownedor operated more than half the farms in South Carolina. However, they were mostly smaller thanfarms owned or operated by whites. Even though African-Americans only controlled twenty-seven

92 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

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(Above) Advertisement from an African-American newspaper, The Society Hill News on April 15, 1910 for a county cis Titge0iiH-444-4 fair. The emphasis on self- improvement is clear. Courtesy the Darlington County Historical Commission. (Left) A scene from the Richland County Colored Fair sometime in the 1920s in a photo by Richard Roberts. Courtesy Roberts family. This can also be seen inslide D-27 ti The History of the S.C. Slide Collection.

LIFE AFTER RECONSTRUCTION 93 The hoe culture method of agriculture required a great deal of human labor. This method survived wellinto the 1900son the small farms of South Carolina. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide 73 -4-1/4-'0 -- -_,-, \*,N:r ; " Collection,slide D-38 t4-aetlAft (Sandlapper Publishing 4 '4, -t'ftt Company, 1989), Courtesy ad . ft..fl; 7'4 S.C. Historical Society. V?'. r

percent of all the farmland, they used the land Owens of Barnwell County alsostarted with well. With only twenty;even percent of the land nothing. By 1881 he was they produced thirty-nine a member of the legis- percent of all farm lature. He owned aprosperous plantation, ran goods. These were hard workingpeuple. some stores, and had a large bank account. John Most of the African-Americanswho had Thorne had a 250 acre farm bought land after the Civil War on Edisto Island. All were able to keep of these men had a great dealmore land than the it. By 1900 African-Americansowned more than average 143 acre farm in South Carolina at the 15,500 farms. Another 3,300at least partially time. owned their farms. This stillwas less than twenty percent of all African-American farmers.Despite terrible discrimination and despitea legal system Daily Lives Away From theFarm that offered non-whites little protection, the per- The great majority of African-Americansfol- centage of African-American farmersowning lowed Richard Carroll's advice their farms had been increasing to stay on the since the end of land and leave the towns and citiesof the state Reconstruction. to the whites. In 1900 only about While most African-American one in five farmers did African-Americans in South Carolinaworked off well to endure and hangon to their land, a few the farm. That ratio did not change really prospered. One example greatly until was Ben Garrett the middle of the century. Mostof those away in Colleton County. He startedwith nothing from the farm made after the Civil War. Sixteen a living as maids, cooks, years later he owed housekeepers, child care providers, no debts and owned a farm of over 100 or gardeners acres. He for wealthier white families. Thousandsof others was even able to lend money to neighbors.Lewis made their way in business, industry, Duckett had a farm of nearly or in pro- 800 acres near fessional careers. They faced terribleodds. They Newberry. Some of it here:!d to tenants. On the part he worked himself, he helped pave the way for others whocame later. produced 800 They also created a small but significantmiddle bushels of oats, over 1,000 bushels ofcorn, and 61 bales of cotton in 1881. class. The wealth they accumulatedprovided a Joseph Alexander support base for later civil rightsmovements.

94 AillICANAMIKICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

1 0 $100,000 was Business, Skilled Crafts, andLabor upholsterers. A truck farm worth among the most valuablebusinesses in Char- After Reconstruction Randall D.George made a leston. In Columbia African-Americansowned fortune In business. His workersmade a variety and operated about twenty-fivedifferent retail of products from the sap of pine trees,things like stores, in addition to aboutsixty-five other busi- turpentine and rosins. He notonly made these nesses. Included inthese other businesses were things, he also shipped themfrom ports on the three newspapers and two mattressfactories. coast. When he died in 1891,he owned more African-Americans published a varietyof land than anyone else in ColletonCounty. His newspapers across the state.Most did not last total worth was well over $100,000, agreat deal long because of problems inattracting white of money in that day. advertising. For every one thatfailed, another Many others followed George'spath in seemed to take its place. Persistencecould have smaller ways. At the turn of the century,about been the motto for these efforts.For example, in 125 African-Americans in SouthCarolina had 1879 P.B. Morris founded the SeaIsland News. He businesses worth more than $500.The largest kept the paper going till he diedin 1891. It was group of successfulbusinesses were in Char- replaced by the New South, a jointeffort by two leston. Included were fish dealers,stables, wagon other African-Americans inBeaufort County. makers, printers,retailstores,tailors,stone Almost all of these papers weremodest and dealt cutters, barbers, druggists,photographers, and with noncontroversial topics.However, they led

and Mrs. Annie Rivers Manigault (1892-1954).The Manigaults were a (Left) Mr. William Manigault (1883-1940) 1703 Wayne St. in Columbia was hard working family that beat the oddsand did well in business. Their home at African-American family to have its ownswimming pool in its backyard. They said to be the first belonging to an Roberts family. (Right) Richard lived near Richard Roberts, who tookthis photo of them in the 1920s. Courtesy the Jackson family, who moved toColumbia to make a living from a storebehind Roberts 1920s photo of the home of back, and was among the first the home. The family raised prize winningflowers in the front yard, turkeys in the local African-American families to own a car.The house still stands near Five Points.Courtesy Roberts fintill)

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LIFE AFTER RECONSTRUCTION 95 the way for papers in the 1920s, 1930s, and Americans often had to travel milesout of their 1940s that helped begin andstrengthen the civil way to find such amenities. rights movement. The Palmetto Leader,published Leevy was active in community life. in Columbia, took a moderate stand He on civil helpedorganizethePalmettoStateFair rights. The Lighthouse and Informer,published by Association so that African-Americans would John H. Mc Cray, was be a little more outspoken. able to enjoy a state fairevery year. Leevy felt Banking and finance wasone of the mostthat having educationalopportunities was difficult areas for African-Americansto enter. important for African-Americans. He Qne of the earliest efforts took place was one of in Florence. the founders of Booker 1'.WasHngton High In 1891 the S.C. Banking Associationwas created School and several other public with the sale of 500 shares of schools. He stock. Later, in urged South Carolina State Collegeto make grad- 1899 African-Americans formeda building and uate education available for African-Americans. loan association in Anderson. Only twelve other Leevy served as a trustee at ClaflinCollege. He such associations existed in theentire nation. In helpedtoorganizetheRichland County 1921 the state chartered theMutual Savings Tuberculosis Hospital for Negroes Bank of Charleston. It lasted at Ridgewood. twenty years. In He was a co-organizer, vice-president,and presi- 1921 Dr. H.D. Monteith created inColumbia the dent of Victory Savings Bank. Heserved on the most enduring bank, the Victory SavingsBank. Interracial Board of AssociatedCharities of Monteith was the brother of ModjeskaMonteith Richland County, the InterracialBoard for Simpkins, the state's legendary civil rightsleader. Delinquent Negro Girls,as Chairman of the Victory Savings Bank survived themassive bank Board for the Colored Soldiers Service mergers of the 1990s that swallowed Club in many other World War I, and in many other voluntaryposi- much larger South Carolina Banks. tions. In1936he headed a committee of college Having a business of ones own has long presidents and school leaders whointroduced been a dream ofmany Americans, black and the Social Securityprogram in South Carolina. white. Over his lifetime Isaac SamuelLeevy 1.S. Leevy believed that in orderto bring developed not just one, butmany businesses. about change, African-Americans Born In Antioch in Kershaw County must become in 1877, he politically active. A Sunday schoolsuperinten- attended public schools there. Hecompleted his dent at his own church, irewent from church to education by studying at MatherAcademy in church urging people to register andvote. He Camden and Hampton Institute inVirginia. Like helped organize the Columbia branchof the many others he began his career asa teacher. He NAACP. Leevy went beyond thesecourageous was a friend of Richard Carroll, who helped him steps to serve as the Richland County Chairman come to Columbia after college. In 1906 Leevy of the S.C. Republican Party andstate Vice rejected a well-paying job toreturn to South Chairman. The national party, which Carolina and teach for $35 did not a month. However, want to antagonize whites, provided littlesup- the young man soon went into businessfor him- port. Leevy ran three times for the Columbia self as a tailor. Within threeyears he had thirty City Council and twice for the state people working for him in legislature, a$30,000a year busi- although he never won. Years later, hisgrandson, ness. He remained a merchant tailor until 1917. I.S. Leevy Johnson, served in the S.C.House of A gifted businessman, he owned andmanaged Representatives. many businesses over the years. These includeda Later in his life, Leevy was recognized for his department store, a service station, a retail furni- accomplishments. S.C. State College,Morris ture store, a barber shop, a beauty shop,a real College, and Allen Universitygave him honorary estate company, a funeral home, anda commer- degrees. Benedict College gave hima plaque in cial hog-raising business. Through hisbusinesses 1962for distinguished service, recognizinghis he created many jobs forAfrican-Americans in more than sixty years as a business and civic South Carolina. His service station,built during leader. He died in1968. the Depression, had modern rest room facilities Many of the African-American businessesin that were available to African-Americantravelers. South Carolina were basedon skills African- This was no small thing ina time when African- Americans had been practicing for generations.

96 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE (Top) Tobacco workers in a room where the quality of the leaves were graded. The photo was taken in Darlington in 1890. Reproduced from

44 Constance B. Schulz, Ed.,The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide D-68 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy South Caroliniana Library. (Bottom) Divers preparing to raise sunken tug boat after a storm in 1911. Courtesy William Davie Beard, the S.C. Postcard Archive, South Caroliniana Library, USC.

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their own Charleston included about 1,000marchers. While some used their skills to create marched. businesses, others sold their time asskilled labor. Members of all unions and both races Carpenters Most were African-Americans. They also found strength in numbers. and longest last- and brick masons createdlabor unions. The One of the most successful unions were quite effective inraising wages. ing unions was theLongshoremen's Protective integrated. For Union Association. Workersorganized the union Some of these unions were even both races until example, in 1886 the BricklayersUnion staged a in 1869. The union included parade of its white andblack members in 1890 when whites broke awayand formed their Charleston in support of raisingdaily wages own group. Afterthe split the union gradually from $3 to $5. The 1900 LaborDay Parade in lost power.

LIFE AFTER RECONSTRUCTION 97 Professionals Who Beat the Odds practiced in South Carolina. Many chosenot to return to the state after they completedtheir During the brief period of Reconstruction training. The first African-American physician when the state extended civil rights to to African- practice in South Carolina was Dr. LucyHughes Americans, many were able toenter new profes- Brown. Born in 1863 in NorthCarolina, she sions. For example, Macon B. Allen,the first trained at the Women's MedicalCollege in African-American lawyer in the U.S., joineda law Philadelphia. She moved to Charleston firm in Charleston in 1868. Initially where trained as a she opened the Cannon Hospital andTraining teacher, he passed the barexams in Maine and School. She died in 1911. Massachusetts. In 1873 he becamea judge in According to the 1890 census, thirty African- Charleston, responsible for hearingcriminal cases. American physicians practiced in SouthCarolina. Only three worked in Charleston andthree in Claflin College, Allen University,and the Columbia. One of these was Matilda Evans. University of South Carolina trainedother Matilda A. Evans was a physicianat a time African-Americansaslawyers.T.Mc Cants when medicine was virtually closedto both Stewart was a successful lawyer andmathemati- women and African-Americans. She conquered cian. He graduated from the Universityof South both barriers. South Carolina's firstnative-born Carolina in 1875 during the briefperiod in femaleAfrican-Americandoctor which the university admitted nonwhites. originally dreamed of becoming a medical missionary.Like After 1876 the whites who againwere run- so many, her family had little. She was born in ning the state raised social, physical,and legal Aiken around 1872. She worked her barriers. Only a handful of African-Americans way through Schofield Industrial School in Aiken andOberlin were practicing law in South Carolina by the College in Ohio. During her high schoolyears, turn of the century. Stewart left the stateto take she labored in the fields topay for her education. a position teaching law in Liberia in 1882. Later She covered her collegeexpenses by waitressing. he became a lawyer in New York City. Evans returned to South Carolinato teach at In the post-Civil War years, onlya very few Schofield. During this period shewrote a biogra- professionally trained African-Americandoctors phy of educator Martha Schofield. However,this

11114,110tilithallalkaiik t,,Arliftugaraarmatis..,a Dr. Matilda Evans shown in her operating room around 1900. Courtesy South Carolinian(' Library

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98 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 113 was not what she wanted todo with her life. She decided to attend medical school. Afterstudying at the Women's MedicalCollege in Philadelphia, she received her M.D. in 1897. Noother African- American was in the class. She returned toSouth Carolina and opened a practice inColumbia. No hospital existed for African-Americansthere. So she took sick people into her home.Eventually she was able to rent a building whereshe could house 30 patients. In 1932 shefounded the Evans Clinic. She was also one ofthe founders of the Zion Church Clinic, whichserved poor children. Dr. Evans rarely allowed anything tostop her from doing something shereally wanted to do. She taught herself to swim byreading a book. Then she taught underprivilegedboys to swim. She founded a weekly newspaper, wasactive in her church, and even turned herhand to farming. The Palmetto Leader reportedin 1932 that she had worked for twenty-five yearswithout even taking a vacation.After a long and produc- 4 tive life, she died in 1935 and wasburied in Columbia. Dr. Evans was a pioneerfor both women andAfrican-Americans. For most people education is thekey to success in life. As youhave seen, African-Americans Thomas S. Martin, another African-Americaneducator faced many closed doors in the yearsafter the who made a difference. Martin taught atBooker T Civil War. Dr. Stephen J. Wright was oneof the Washington High School from 1938 until 1968.In addi- people who found a way to open them.Born in tion to teaching, he coached tennis, football,and basket- Dillon in 1911, he grew up in NorthCarolina. ball, and helped build support for the firstpublic swim- five years old. ming pool for African-Americans in Columbia.He was His father died when he was also uncle to S.C. Astronaut Charles Bolden.Martin died Following family tradition, he went toVirginia's in 1993. This Richard Roberts photo wastaken about Hampton Institute at the age offifteen. He grad- 1925. Courtesy Roberts family. uated with a bachelor's degree in1934. Wright went on to study for a master'sdegree at Howard University. A appointed him to their boards of trustees.The University and a Ph.D. at New York him to man who believed inhard work all his life, he President of the United States appointed education. two separate special commissions.Because of his r.'de a career in the field of higher testify in several He committed himself to excellence attradition- expertise, lawyers asked him to major court cases about the effectof segregation ally African-American universities.His first posi- He served as on education. Dr.Wright was one of those who tion was at Hampton University. the odds. president of Bluefield State Collegefrom 1953- made it possible for others to beat 1957 and of Fisk Universityfrom 1957-1966. Fisk's reputation soared after he came. Emigration Dr. Wright became one of thenation's fore- articles While many stayed, many alsoleft the state. most educators. He published numerous much talent, on education andforeign affairs. He became Their leaving deprived the state of president of the United Negro CollegeFund but it also had several positive aspects.When College Entrance those who left found successelsewhere, they and Vice President of the in the state. They Examination Board. Several universities sent money back to relatives

LIFE AFTER RECONSTRUCTION 99 113 paved the way for others who couldnot find suc- Africa." Some ministers opposed themovement cess in South Carolina. Finally, theywere the fearing they would losesome good members. nation's gain. Many made positivecontributions Later most leaders decided that those withthe to America and even to the world. Wecannot greatest discontent should leave and take their talk about what African-Americansgave to South discontent with them. Carolina without talking about whatthey gave Whites became alarmed. They feared in many other places as well. they would lose cheap hard working labor. Theytried to discourage would-be emigrants by spreading Exodus to Liberia rumors that the whole Idea was a fraud. While it was not a fraud, it was not as easyas many Right after the 1876 elections, largenumbers of thought. Few had the money topay their way. African-Americans became interested in moving About 200 did make It to Liberia in 1878.It was to Africa. Most were poor farmers who hadno not as wonderful as they had thought. Wordgot land of their own. With whitesback in control, back that life could be as hard in Liberiaas in they knew they would have little chanceof ever South Carolina. Few others went. Despitethis, owning land. A number of leaders encouraged many of those who did go worked hard and the exodus. While Richard Carroll urgedthem to found success. the farms of South Carolina, anotherpolitically active minister urged them to leave thestate. The Reverend Richard H. Cainwas a member of Westward Ho! Pioneers and Cowboys Congress who also published hisown newspaper. Moving to the American Westwas much easier Over and over again he ranan editorial entitled than moving to Africa. It did notrequire the "Ho for Africa! One millionmen wanted for great expense of a ship passage. Nor did it require

Settlers in Oklahoma, part of the exodus of African-Americans from South Carolina and othersouthern states. Courtesy Western History Collections, University of OklahomaLibrary.

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100 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 113 Best estimates are that While some of this movement tookplace before as much organization. of the about 20,000 South CarolinaAfrican-Americans 1900, most of it took place after the turn left the state for the West between1880 and century. Migration out of theSouth was greatest 1900. The movement began about the sametime in the years around World War 1.It continued early until the 1930s, when the GreatDepression interest arose in African emigration. In cities. 1878 around forty African-Americansleft the reduced job opportunities in Northern Chester area and mc.ved to Kansas. Inthe early Migration increased again duringWorld War 11. County Historians estimate that in the firsthalf of the 1880s about 5,000 residents of Edgefield half left for Arkansas. They left complainingthat no 1900s the state had a net loss of well over a they could not million African-Americans. The exodusfrom matter how hard they worked, the period make a decent living. South Carolina was so great during Emigration societies began forming. In 1881 around World War I that it is remembered asthe the impact of a former school commissionerin Aiken County "Great Migration." We can also see organized such a society near Trenton.William migration on Northern cities. More than onein H. Lawson, with the help of theReverend John every ten African-Americansliving in New York Hammond, headed the group. They heldrevival- City, Washington, and Philadelphia in1930 had like meetings to stir up interest. Theday after been born in South Carolina. Christmas in 1882, several hundred left on a People left for a number of reasons.Of train bound for the West. Wagonsfilled with course, discrimination was oneimportant reason. other people followed. Some headedfor Texas That became worse after South Carolina rewrote and some for other states in the West. its constitution in 185 andpassed laws that White landowners soon began to feelthe required racial separation. The main reasons were pinch. They could not get thelabor they economic. The soil was worn outfrom growing needed. Again they resorted to rumorsand crop after crop of cotton.The price of cotton was warnings to try and stem the tide. SomeAfrican- often quite low. This ruined many ofthose who American political leaders like RobertSmalls, depended on it as their main cash crop.Then who had not lost all his power, tried toconvince there was the boll weevil, a newarrival in the nearly people to stay. But continued hard times onthe South. This one-fourth inch long insect destroyed cotton farms all over the South.It lays farmandcontinueddiscriminationonly increased the urge to leave. Most wholeft would its eggs in the bud of the cottonplant. When the have agreed with AME Bishop BenjaminArnett. eggs hatch, the larvae eatthe inside so that it In 1889 he spoke to thegraduating class at never grows into a boll filledwith cotton. Claflin College. He outlined two reasons to go. Finally, for those families who were smart the fami- First, like other pioneers, theycould find pros- enough not to depend on cotton, like those who lies in Promised Land, there was theproblem of perity. Second, leaving would help child, stayed. Withlesscompetition,they could subdivision. If a family had more than one demand better wages. the farm had to be divided for the next genera- Those who left the state for the West did not tion in order for each to have land.Because the books farms were small to start with, this wasimpracti- always take their families. Although few would have tell about this, some became cowboys.Historians cal. Many children knew that they estimate that about 5,000African-Americans to go elsewhere to make aliving. Their move- worked as cowboys on cattle drives onthe ment created a pattern that wasrepeated thou- Chisholm Trail. The trail ran from thecattle sands of times. One family or familymember oth- ranges of Texas to Kansas,where the cattle were would make the move and find work. Then loaded on trains. No doubt there were many ers would follow. among these cow puncherswho could trace their roots through South Carolina. The Story of the ReynoldsFamily Martha Letman and Charlie Reynoldslived near The Great Migration to Cities each other in Promised Land. Theyfell in love harsh condi- and married. Neither set of parents wasable to Many more of those who fled the to tions of South Carolina went toNorthern cities. give them enough land or financial support

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Caddies. Young men hustled to makeany money they could. This photograph was taken ofa group of enterprising youth in Camden in the early 1900s. Courtesy WilliamDavie Beard, the S.C. Postcard Archive, South Caroliniana USG. Library, have their own farm. They triedto survive as Those were the values these people learnedfrom sharecroppers. Finally, seeing that thingswould their roots on the farms of South Carolina.They get no better, they left. At first they triedto farm carried those values with them. with relatives in Mississippi. That didnot work out any better. Next they moved to Chicago with half-grown children and their hopes anddreams Lost Brain Power of a better life. The family all pitchedin. They all Achieving full potential was difficult for African- worked atjobs and shared their earnings. Americans through most of the century after the Eventually they were able tomove to a middle- Civil War. Many left South Carolina. class neighborhood. Then theysent for Martha's An early emigre who playedan important brother Tim, who was blind and could findlittle role in the formation and early history of the to do in Promised Land. Next came another of NAACP was Archibald Grimke. Borninto Martha's brothers, Allen. He lived withthe enslavement in South Carolina in 1849, Grimke Reynolds until he could afford hisown place. On was a nephew of Sarah and Angelina Grimke. visits home he spoke of hissuccess. Soon other The Grimke sisters were sociallyprominent families followed. Sometimes the husbandcame white Charlestonians who spokeout against first. He would live with friendsor relatives and enslavement and eventually left the South. This save until the rest of the family could afford to family connection provided ArchibaldGrimke come. the chance to escape enslavement andSouth The pattern continued in other cities. Carolina. One of the first African-Americansto Friends and family helped friends andfamily. attend Harvard Law School, he wenton to serve

102 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND HE PALMETTO STATE

117 as American Consul to theDominican Republic Americans cot .1 not attend USC Law School.So in the 1890s. Later he helped W.E.B.DuBois Stevens left the state. He attendedBoston found the NAACP and served in important posi- College, receiving a law degree in 1936. He was tions in the organization. Historiansregard the first African-American to receive adegree in Grimke as almost as important an intellectual Labor Law from that college. law, leaderasW.E.B.DuBois andBookerT. Stevens settled in New York to practice Washington. where he had a long and productive career as a Others left not only South Carolina, but the labor lawyer. He received many awards andhon- United States. Dr. Ernest Everett Just was born in ors. He served in themilitary in World War II, 1883 in Charleston to a poor family withlittle was the Special Counsel toPresident Roosevelt's money for such "luxuries" asmedical care. He Commission on Fair Employment Practises, was miraculously survived an epidemic of cholera chief counsel to the Brotherhood of SleepingCar and diphtheria that killed the two olderchildren Porters, and served in the statelegislature. in his family one winter. At the age ofthirteen, Following this, he won an election as ajudge. he left for Orangeburg to study at theColored Eventually he became the presiding judgein the Normal Industrial Agricultural and Mechanics Appellate Division of New York's SupremeCourt. College. Later he went to Dartmouth Collegein This was the highest position held by any New Hampshire, where he was an excellent stu- African-American in a state court system. He also dent.After completing college, Just taught contributed his time to many organizations as a English at Howard University. However, he was board member or trustee. more interested in science.He began to teach The world of fashion has been slow to zoology and became a leader in the field ofbiol- acknowledge that African-Americans havethe ogy. In 1913 he was thefirst person to receive same needs as otherAmericans for developing a award is given positive self-image. A South Carolina bornbusi- the NAACP's Spingarn Award. The has annually to an African-American for outstanding nesswoman,OpheliaDeVore-Mitchell, achievement. Just had continued his education worked hard to overcome thoseobstacles. as well. In 1916 he received aPh.D. in marine DeVore-Mitchell was born in Edgefield in 1922, biology from the University of Chicago. Healso but her family moved north to New Yorkduring did research in marine biology every summer the 1930s. A good student, shecompleted high New until 1930 at the Marine Biological Laboratory at school there and then attended college at degree Wood's Hole, Massachusetts. York University. She received a bachelor's However, Dr. Just found that he could not in math. live with the racial discrimination he faced inhis Working as a model, DeVore-Mitchell had to work. In 1931 he moved to Europe. Hespent combat many false images of African-Americans. most of the next ten years there,where he died So, in 1946 she decided toopen theGrace Del in 1941. During his long career, hepublished Marco Model Agency with severalfriends. Two two books and over sixty articles.His work in cell years later she openedthe Ophelia DeVore biology greatly contributed to scientificunder- School of Self-Development and Modeling. were standing of how a cell works. Among heragency's famousclients Once Reconstruction was over, talented actresses Cicely Tyson and DiahannCarroll. African-Americans had few chances to obtain DeVor.-Mitchellhasalsoexcelledin higher education in South Carolina.One ofanother area where few women are atthe top. those who left the state and made his careerelse- She owns a newspaper in Columbus,Georgia, the Columbus Times, which specializes inAfrican- where was the Honorable Harold A. Stevens. since Born on Johns Island in 1907, he movedwith his American concerns. She has operated it mother to Columbia at the age of three afterhis 1970, when her husband passed away. father died. There they lived with hismother's Various companies and agencies have recog- parents until she remarried. Heattended high nized DeVore- Mitchell's achievementsby giving school at Claflin College. After receiving abach- her over 200 awards. Otherbusinesspeople elor's degree from Benedict College in1930, acknowledged her capability by hiring her as a Stevens wanted to attend law school,African- consultant, She was also a representative onthe

LIFE AFTER RECONSTRUCTION 103 President's Advisory Commissionon the Arts. Slowly Building For a Better Day Her accomplishments demonstrate thatan individual can Shatter stereotypes. These are just a sample of the people who left the Troy Brailey of Lynchburg becamea union state to make a positive mark on the world. You leader after he left South Carolina. Born in 1916, will meet others, like Benjamin Mays, later in the he rose to one of the top posts inone of the most book. They were certainly a loss to South powerful African-American unions in the nation, Carolina. But those who stayed,survived, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. He later endured, and found a little prosperity made became an active leader in the civil rightsmove- change possible for the next generation. We ment. He helped organize the 1963 marchon should not forget all their years of quiet sacrifice. Washington at which Martin Luther King.gave his most famous speech.

104 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 11 YVY CHAPTER 9 Religion

African-Americans have a rich religious tradition. Arabia by the prophet Mohammed. Manyhad Religion has played two central roles in thehis- other religious beliefs, such as reverencefor tory of African-Americans in SouthCarolina. ancestors and adoration of the earthand nature. First, the church was an oasis for African- At first the planters did not try to convertthem. Americans. It helped them endure the many They did not want to give the enslavedAfricans hardships of enslavement and prejudice.It an opportunity to meet in groupsand develop helped by providing emotional support and leaders. In the early 1700s, Anglican missionaries social services. Second, the church was a center began their first efforts to convert theenslaved of revolt. Church was the one place whereblacks people. However, not until they beganlarge-scale could meet as a group without arousing great conversion efforts on the plantations inthe fears among whites. Ministers were the one 1800s did they meet with much success. group whose educationwhites were least likely Conversion to Christianity raised questions to oppose. Thus the church was thebest group about the institution of slavery itself.Enslaving around which to challenge enslavement or cre- nonChristians was one thing. However, enslav- ate a civil rights movement. Ministers werethe ing fellow Christians was quite another.Some natural leaders of revolt. Yet these two roles religiousleaderswondered whetherthese played by the church created some conflict as enslaved persons would automatically be enti- well. Teaching people to endure hardshipsand tled to freedom once they had converted.if this look forward to an afterlife is quitedifferent was to be the case,planters would certainly from leading them to revolt or to demand civil oppose any conversions. Sothe white religious rights. That part of the story comes muchlater. leaders sought justifications for enslavementin In this chapter we will see how African- the Bible. Some argued that because theBible American religious groups grew in the state. You mentioned enslavement, it must be okay in the will see religion changed from an institutionof eyes of God. Others tookthe position that con- control to one of freedom. You will learn that version would free only the soul, not thebody. althoUgh the beliefs sound much like European Once they found ways to justifycontinued Christian beliefs, the religious forms andstyle enslavement among fellowChristians,the have a definite African flavor. Some ofthose planters withdrew most of their opposition. practices are dying out. However, someof the Large-scale religious conversions then took place. African flavor has added spice to the religious life In truth, this reasoning was weak. However, of many people of all races. it allowed both groups of whites to getwhat they wanted. White ministers could save souls.The planters could keep the people to whomthose souls belonged in enslavement. This all goes to Conversions to Christianity show that if people try hard enough, they can The enslaved Africans who were brought tothe justify almost anything. Many whites even New World were not Christians. Some wereargued that enslavement was good forthe Moslems. Moslems followed the religious prac- Africans because it allowed them to be brought tices of Islam, a religion founded inthe 600s in to Christ.

RELIGION 105 This old church was probably used by enslaved Africans. It was photoraphed on a plantation on Port Royal about 1865. A- Reproduced from Constance B. ,v Schulz, Ed., The History of *T-111-7sa. S.C. Slide Collection, slide 68 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy South Caroliniana Library.

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Religion as a Means of Control [excerpted from Frederick Douglass' Paper, June 2, 1854, from the Southern Episcopalian, Charleston, Soon the masters realized other benefits in reli- S.C., April 1854. Reprinted in The Black American: A gious conversions. They could use Christian doc- Documentary History by Leslie Fischal and Benjamin trine to encourage the enslaved Africans to Quarles, Scott-Foresman Publishers, 19761 accept their fate. Converts had to learn religious catechisms that reinforced the concept of obedi- The Double Meaning of ence. Catechisms aresets of questions and Religious Words answers that teach what are supposed to be important religious truths. Saying them over and Christian religion was a two-edged sword. On over again leads to stronger belief. For example, the one hand, it taught obedience. However, It the catechism that follows was written for thealso taught a sense of humanity, brotherhood, enslaved Africans to learn. You decide what it is and concern. It showed that God's love extended supposed to teach. to the oppressed and against the oppressors. African-Americans had a saying that therewas a Q. Who keeps the snakes and all bad things from "Bible within the Bible." While the catechisms hurting you? that the enslaved people learned taught obedi- A. God does. ence, enslaved preachers helped their flocks see Q. Mu) gave you a master and a mistress? that Christian religion could offer what scholars A. God gave them to me. have called a "message of hope." Q. Who says that you must obey them? Some deeply religious mistresses taught A. God says that I must enslaved African-Americans to read so that they Q. What book tells you these things? could read the Bible, despite the risk that they A. The Bible. might get dangerous ideas. Teaching enslaved Q. How does God do all his work? African-Americans to read was against the law. A. He does it right. Slaveholders not only fearedthatAfrican- Q. Does God love to work? Americans would read those portions of the Bible A. Ves, God is always at work. that discussed revolts but also that those who Q. vVhat does God say about your work? learned to write would write out passes for them- A. He that will not work shall not eat. selves. This would allow them to escape to free-

106 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

121. dom. However, many denominations required As you learned earlier in thechapter on that their members be literate. Being able to resistance to enslavement, the songsoften had a study the Bible was important. As African- double meaning. The words spoke ofdeliverance Americans learned and read about the eneaved and a beautiful life of freedom and joy.To the Hebrews, they tended to identify with them. If masters they referred to life in heaven.However, the Jews could survive the cruel bondage of the the singer might be thinking of freedom inthis Pharaoh in Egypt, they could survive enslave- world.Inreligious songs these words and ment in South Carolina. thoughts could be safely expressed. However, Enslaved African-Americans used religion to speaking those words might suggest ideastlit meet their own needs. It helped them tosurvive frightened whites. They might refer to revolt in each difficult day. They added their own flavor this world instead of life in the next. Whatthe and style. They composed sacred songs using the listener thought determined the meaning. rhythm and chant methods that had been com- An enslaved preacher known as "David" ran mon in Africa. They created manyspirituals such into this problem. His preaching gainedhim a as "Go Down Moses," "DeepRiver", and "Swing bit of fame in Savannah. Around the 1760shis Low-SWeet Chariot." All of these have moved master brought him to Charleston topreach. beyond the African-American religious commu- Unfortunately, his Charleston audience found nity. They have left an emotional stamp on David's words about wanting freedom threaten- Christian people all around the world ing. His master removed him fromCharleston

Enslaved Africans at worship in a plantation church inabout 1863. The owner keeps a watchful eye on the proceedings. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History ofS.C. Slide Collection, slide 1-8 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy South Caroliniana Library.

RELIGION 107 '1 1 before he was attacked. Enslaved preachers singing together. Itis singing, swaying, and quickly learned how to phrase their words so dancing at the same time, usually in response to they did not alarm whites. At the same time, the the minister who is leading with chantsor words encouraged the enslaved to endure and words. This had long been a part of African life. wait for freedom, for the "coming of the king- Now it became a part of American Christian reli- dom in the year of Jubilee." giouslife. When revival movements swept through South Carolina and the nation in the Religion and Revolution 1700s, African-American audiences were ready. They were already in the spirit of theseemo- Religion provided a sense of worth for African- tional movements. They were probablymore Americans. Even if whites did not respect them, ready than were most whites who held their blacks were worthy in the eyes of God. Itgave emotions in check. However, over the years that assurance that justice would finally win, even if spirituality and emotion slowly found itsway not in this world. Religion gave hope. Because into white churches. This contribution has the words had a double meaning, salvation enriched the religious experiences of manypeo- appeared to be more than just a promised life in ple across the state and nation. another world. These could be words of revolution. Perhaps the whites should have been afraid. Religiondidhelpinspireuprisings. Grave Decorations Although no uprising followed David's preach- From the early days onward, African-Americans ing, several uprisings did involve religious lead- decorated graves with a variety of everyday ers. These leaders often combined two things. items. African-Americans brought the tradition First, they drew upon African religious mysti- of decorating graves to the New World from their cism. This means experiencing religious truth homelands. In the late 1800s, Europeans travel- through feelings and emotion rather than learning in Africa saw graves decorated with items ing by listening to teachings. Second, they added that the dead person had used in everyday life. the belief that God would hear the cry of the Scholars think the custom was basedon the oppressed. One of these revolutionary preachersbelief that a dead person might return for her was "Gullah Jack." He helped bring about the possessions unless she took them along. African Vesey uprising which you read about earlier. All societies used a variety of different types of of these leaders provided an inspiration to stand items. In Ghana and the Ivory Coast, the Akan against injustice. Without them, the revolts people placed pottery on the graves. People in might not have taken place. As a result, by the Angola and the Congo also placed pottery and 1840s South Carolina passed laws that made ille- other items, such as old cooking-pots and bot- gal the gathering of African-Americans in groups tles, on graves. The Yoruba sometimes burieda even to worship. dead person in the floor of the house and placed As you know, these revolts did not succeed. a china plate on a nearby wall to indicate the However, they were not the last revolts. Later spot. In many other parts of West Africa, people ones took new forms as widespread revolutions placed the possessions of the deadon their using tactics of civil disobedience, not violent graves. The Kongo placed the last item used by attack. Once again, religious leaders inspired and the dead person on the grave, believing it held led. We shall turn to that story later. some of that person's spirit. They hoped that through dreams some of the abilities of the dead Christian Religion with an would find their way to the living. African Style African-Americans followed the Kongo tradition. They placed the last items that the While singing and preaching, African-Americans deceased person had used, whether dishes,a added what iscalled "group jubilation" to medicine bottle, or a toy, on top of thegrave. Christian religious rituals. This means audience Breaking the item was customary both in Africa participation, clapping, and speaking out when and in the United States. However, they put it the Spirit moves you to do so. This is not just back together in such a way that it would not

108 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 12 were generally hard to find evenwhen grave decorating was more common. Yet another custom with African roots was ritual animal killing. A small animal, perhaps a white chicken, would be killed when afamily member died. For the Kongo people, the white chicken stood for one's ancestors and for the healing power that comes from the dead. African-Americans sometimes used chicken symbols on the grave. In one graveyard in South Carolina, a researcher found glass chickens placed among oyster shells. Another found a giant white rooster on the grave of a South Carolina child buried in the 1960s. Using some arrangement of shells was also common. Several explanations existfor this. One is that shells were associated with water.One must pass through water to reach the spiritrealm underground. A researcher suggested that the shells represented a division between the lands of the living and the dead. Among the Kongo people, shells symbolize immortality. Another Memory lug, about 1920 to 1940, maker unknown. 7M scholar suggested that people living on the canister with pieces of crockery and glassware. These cre- coasts of both continents used theseashells sim- ations, often used as part of a grave decoration, used bro- ply because they were readily available. He noted ken pieces of items from the personal possessions of the that while the Gullah used seashells, African- deceased as decorations. Reproduced with permissionof Americans inland were more likely to decorate Louanne La Rouche. From "Conflict and Transcendence: of rice, or African American Art in South Carolina," organized by graves with such items as toys, jars the Columbia Museum of Art. medicine bottles. African practices influenced the use of grave markers. The Bakongo people in Africa usedthe color white to symbolize death. Today many of look broken when it was sitting on the grave. the concrete markers have a piece of broken glass Some believed that if the object was notbroken, set in them with a piece of white paperbehind otherfamily members woulddie.Others the glass. African-Americans often place a variety believed that this custom symbolized the end, or of white colored items on a grave. breaking, of life. The custom probably hadnoth- A twentieth century variation on the cus- ing to do with the fear of theft. Stealingfrom a tom of marking a grave was to useclocks. grave was considered bad luck. Sometimes the time on them was set to twelve. Memory jugs may be an exception to this This applied a bit of Christian theology, indicat- rule. A memory jug was made when a person ing the time when the dead would beawakened died. The jug usually had some objectsembed- on Judgment Day. Sometimesthe clocks would ded in it that were important in the person'slife, be set to indicate the time when the personhad such as broken crockery or broken glass.Several died. One scholar believes that this was to indi- explanations exist as to why memory jugs were cate when the person became partof the spirit made and how they were used. One is thatthey world. were used as grave decorations.Another explana- Some African peoples believed that thedead tion is that they were just pretty objectsmade in could return to mix among the living. They memoriam to the person but not placed onthe carved stone figures out of a soft white rock. The grave. Because they wereconsidered "pretties," figures were to act as guardians on the graves. people sometimes stole them. That is whythey Perhaps this is the basis for the tradition of carv-

1 2 1 RELIGION 109 Establisment of Churches by Free African-Americans South Carolina's free African-Americans helped create many institutions. Among them were churches. Enslaved African-Americans usually had to worship with or under the watchfuleyes of their masters. FreeAfrican-Americans had their own churches, even though whites checked upon them. Usually church members were free to talk about their hopes and desires in theirown churches. Several churches existed in South Carolina before the Civil War. Among themwere the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, several Baptist churches, and some Catholic churches. Richard Allen and Absalom Jones founded the AME Church in Philadelphia in the 1780s. Forced to give up his place to a white worshiper, Richard Allenleftthe Methodist Episcopal seigI e Church. Morris Brown, a wealthy Charlestonian, 4 ' started an AME church in South Carolina in 1817. Members bought land for their church and for a cemetery. Brown tried to bridge thegap between free and enslaved African-Americans. His dream was a church where both groups could An African-American gave in 1947 that illustrates the work together to form a true community. Three tradition °rpm' decorations, this one with a clock. congregations were formed in the Charleston Library of Congress, 1.(:-USF34 43572. area with over 1,000 members. By 1822 they had 3,000 members. Most of the memberswere enslaved, but some were free. The church served as a place of refuge for a people under great ing wooden figures shaped roughly likea human stress. to place on the grave. Certainly Africans believed Brown's church did not last long. Denmark in honoring their dead. They respected their Vesey was an AME church leader. Even before ancestors. Vesey's revolt, local authorities harassed church African tradition even determined the direc- members and sometimes arrested themon tion in which the coffin was laid in the grave. "trumped-up" charges. Whites who resented and Scholars have reported that in Central Africa thefeared their presence often accused members of coffin was laid with the head pointing to the disorderly conduct. After Vesey's revolt the east.People carriedthis custom to South church was suspect. Whites feared it could be Carolina and the rest of the South. Migrants who us..:4 as a place to plan future revolts. They closed left the South carried it North. the chtzrch. Its members had to worship in secret The custom of grave decorations seems to be until after the Civil War. Morris Brown had to dying out today. The ending of this tradition isa leave Charleston in 1822. Along with several loss. The tradition was a reminder to all that the others, he went to Philadelphia by way of the deceased was an individual and a uniqueperson Underground Railroad. There he becamea with hopes, dreams, loves, and fears. Today bishop of the AME Church. With their leaders death has become a big industry. It Is notas per- gone, many of his fellow church members back sonalized. We have standard grave markers, stan- inSouthCarolinajoinedtheScottish dard wreaths, and standard flower arrangements. Presbyterian Church.

110 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 14J Silver Bluff Primitive Baptist Church nize white Catholics in his diocese. Healso helped African-Americans organizeboth Morris Brown's church was not the first African- Catholic churches and schools. The effort was American congregation in South Carolina. A not without some difficulty and opposition.St. Baptist church was organized in 1773 at Beech James the Greater Catholic Church wasfounded Island, in what later became Aiken County. This around 1824 in Ritter, near Charleston. At first it church actually grew out of a camp meeting. served both races. In time, however, allthe Camp meetings were very popular In the whites left. Vincent Davis, once enslaved, kept it 1700s and 1800s. They were like modernday going. The church is still going strong.Davis's revival meetings except that those attending descendants are still active members. would actually camp at the location in tents and makeshift buildings instead of going home between services. The meetings would last for Ladson Presbyterian Church days. Whites welcomed African Americans and Before the Civil War, only a few African- often mixed with them at these meetings rather Americans were Presbyterians. LadsonUnited than banishing them to the rear. Camp meetings African- in Presbyterian Churchisthe oldest were popular among African-Americans even American church in Columbia. It was founded in the 1900s as both social and religious events. The 1828. The property was given to thechurch meeting provided a chance to see old friends and because African Americans could not own land to celebrate. People would save formonths so there. In 1838 members built a chapel. The Rev. they could go. We can easily see how some of George Ladson conducted services there untilhis these informal meetings could grow into orga- death in 1876. The church still stands, but the nized churches. original chapel burned down in 1896. At first, the group in the Silver Bluff Church was racially mixed. GeorgeGalphin, a large slaveholder in that region, was a supporter. He African-American Religion After joined the Silver Bluff Church himself. He the Civil War allowed two African-American ministers, David George and George Lie le, to preach there. Soon We see that African-Americans In pre-CivilWar blacks outnumbered whites. Lie le was a powertul South Carolina were deeply religious. They took speaker. Both whites and blacks enjoyed his ser- active roles in building churches wheneverand mons. He had been enslaved, buthis owner was wherever they could. Frequently whites helped so impressed by Lie le's preachingthat he freed and supervised. In time the churches often him. became all African-American. Given the chance, During the American Revolution the church these churches played important roles. They pro- was abandoned. British forcesoccupied the area. vided resources of comfort and faith. Churches Lie le, David George, and about 50 enslaved mem- were a center of social lifefor people who were bers of Silver Bluff Church sided with the British. not welcomed elsewhere in society. Theyhelped Many of them left the country after theBritish develop organizing skills in members. Untilthe surrender. The church was reestablished in 1783 Civil War was over, those skills were keptinside under an enslaved African-American minister, the church. Rev. Jesse Peter. Much smaller now, thechurch After the Civil War, the churches gained struggled for several years after the war. However, independence from white supervision. The it could not survive and closed in 1793. energy and organizationalskills that had been bottled up in a few churches mushroomed.We can see this energyand skill at work in the Catholic Churches growth of existing African-American congrega- WhileMethodistsandBaptistsorganized tions. We can also see it in the creation of many churches in the late 1700s and early 1800s, new African-American churches.Church growth Catholics became active in the Charleston area. created more social and cultural outlets as well. The Catholic Church sent Bishop John England When theCivilWar ended,African- from Ireland to America. He did more than orga- Americans were eager to test their freedom. One

RELICI01`, 111 12 way to test freedom was to move away from the The African Methodist Episcopal churches identified with whites. Many whiteZion Church churches wantedtokeepblackmembers. However, they did not want to allow black partici- A group of African-Americans who lefta white pation in decision-making. in addition, theychurch founded the AME Zion Church in New insisted on keeping segregated seating for services. York in 1796. By the early 1820s, the church had As a result, African-Americans left these churches. begun to grow. It first sent missionaries into Two church groups with very similarnames, the South Carolina after the Civil War. In 1866 freed- African Methodist Episcopal Church and the men started the Metropolitan AME Zion Church African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, sent in Chester. The AME Zion Church grew and by missionaries to the South. Both attracted large 1890 had almost 45,000 members in South numbers of people in many new churches. Carolina. Many of the early leaders of the AME Zion Church were also leaders in Reconstruction-era The Growth of the African Methodist South Carolina. Frederick Albert Clinton, who Episcopal (AME) Church had learned to read and write whilestill After the Civil War, the AME Church was reestab- enslaved, helped organize the Mount Carmel lished in South Carolina. Bishop Daniel A. AME Zion Church in Lancaster County. Clinton Payne, whom you will meet later in the chapter was a representative from Lancaster at the on literature, reorganized it in South Carolina in Constitutional Convention in 1868. He wasa 1865. His efforts in Charleston led to thereopen- state senator until 1877. His brother, Isom Caleb ing of the Emmanuel AME Church. This had Clinton, served as a minister at the same church. been the congregation of Denmark Vesey. You Isom opened a school there for African-American will recall that it had been closed in the 1820schildren. He helped establish thirty churches and eventually became a bishop. Clinton Junior following the revolt he led. Now it could serveas a focal point for worship by African-Americans College in Rock Hill was named for him. in Charleston. The AME Church in South The first minister at Metropolitan AME Zion Carolina grew quickly. By the early 1900s,more Church, D.I. Walker, was Chester's Commis- than 79,000 became members. sioner of Education from 1870 to 1874. He African-Americans founded a number of served in the state Senate from 1874 to 1877. In his role as church leader, he helped establish the other AME churches after the Civil War. Agroup of freedmen founded Bethel AME church in AME Zion Conference in the state. Columbia in 1866. White Hall AME churchwas founded in Jenkinsville in 1866. It was the first The Christian Methodist African-American church in that area. Liberty Hill AME was founded in Summerton the next Episcopal Church year. The Liberty Hill Church is another example Both the AME and the AME Zion churchesgrew of the influence of the church in the lives ofmuch larger than the Christian Methodist African-Americans. Not only did it serveas a Episcopal Church. It was originally the southern place of worship, but it was a place for skills and division of the Methodist Episcopal Church. But leadership ability to develop at a time when in 1870 it broke away as the Colored Methodist most other avenues to power were closed. Episcopal Church in America was formed. It In the mid 1900s, Liberty Hill's pastor, became theChristianMethodist Episcopal Joseph A.Delaine,headed the Clarendon Church in 1954. After the Civil War, African- County NAACP unit. He helped begin the fight Americans in this church wished to be indepen- to get school bus transportation for Africandent of the white church organization. The American children. As you will see when we dis- Methodistsinitially wanted tokeeptheir cuss civil rights, this case became part of theAfrican-American members, but they wanted largereffortthat ended segregatedpublic individual churches segregated by race. The schools. As you will learn, Rev. DeLaine paida Colored Methodist Episcopal Churchgrew high price for his leadership. slowly in South Carolina. African-Americans did

112 AFRICAN- AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE not trust it. They remembered its tieswith the replaced it in 1972. Other churches wereWesley old Southern Methodist churches and calledit United Methodist Church, founded inColumbia "the Rebel Church." By 1890 church members in in 1869, Trinity Methodist EpiscopalChurch, the state numbered only about 3,500. The founded in Orangeburg in 1866, andFriendship church did begin to grow as a new generation United Methodist Church, founded inNesmith came of age. However, itremained smaller than in the 1860s. the other African-American Methodist churches. In the 1880s the Methodist Episcopal, An early leader of this denomination was MethodistEpiscopal-South,andMethodist Richard H. Vanderhorst, who had once been Protestant churches all united. In 1968 afterfur- enslaved. He became known for his preaching. ther additions, the church became theUnited has African-AmericansorganizedSidneyPark Methodist Church. This racially mixed group Church in Columbia in 1885. A fire destroyed included many active African-American mem- the original building in 1893. The replacement, bers and leaders. built with volunteer labor and the $1,000 they One of the ironic aspects of the postCivil raised, still stands. War era is the reversal of the segregated areasof life. Before the war many churches were integrated while most other parts of life were segre- The United Methodist Church gated. After the war blacks and whites began to associate in politics and other aspects oflife. Early in American history, the Methodist Church However, churches became more and more sepa- stated its opposition to enslavement. They sug- rated from each other. So they remained. Even gested that no members should be slaveholders. today blacks and whites rarely worship together To no one's surprise, tile Southern churchesdid on Sunday morning. MartinLuther King, Jr., not accept the suggestion at thattime. The himself a minister, once called Sunday morning church gained few members in the South until it the most segregated time in America. was willing to suggest thatperhaps the benefits Both groups appear to have preferred this of Christianity were greater than thedisadvan- religious separation. Each could have its own tages of enslavement. leadership, social, and political activities. This The Methodist Church was actually orga- separation was probably more important forthe nized in South Carolina before the CivilWar. It blacks after whites shut them out of otherleader- was mainly African American.In the Methodist ship areas. However, whites clic' little to encour- Church of the early 1800s, African-Americans age church integration. Onceenslavement had were lay leaders treated with adegree of equality ended, whites felt little or no need to control or rarely found. watch black worshipgatherings.Recently, In 1865 Northern missionaries foundedthe Methodists in South Carolina have made an conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in effort to overcome this separateness withthe South Carolina. After the Civil War,Northern election of Bishop Joseph B. Bethea, an African- Methodists organized a Freedman's Aid Society American, to head the South Carolina Methodist to help African-Americans in theSouth. It was Conference of the United Methodist Church. responsible for developing many schools and Such moves could lead black Methodists inthe colleges. Baker Institute in Orangeburg,for state back into a unified church. However, asof example, trained many of those who became the early 1990s, the AME and the AME Zion ministers of the church. Baker Institute eventu- churches tend to attract more African-Americans ally became Claflin College. than the United Methodists. Centenary ChurchinCharleston was among the churches founded.Members bought it from the white congregationof a Baptist The Presbyterian Church church for $20,000 in gold. They sold theirvalu- ables in order to make the purchase. Afreedman ThePresbyterianChurch, muchlikethe named Lupis founded the Mount ZionUnited Methodists, had also opposed enslavement until MethodistChurchinKingstreein1869. about 1820. Despite this, it had few African- Members built a church building in 1904and American members until around 1870. After the

RELIGION 113 Civil War, the group organizeda number ofa school at the church later that year. As the churches in South Carolina that were affiliated result of a merger in 1967, it became St. Patrick's withtheNorthernchurch.TheSecond Church. Presbyterian Church was organized at Sumter in 1880. As with many of the other African- American churches, it worked on self-helppro- Pentecostal and Holiness Churches jects. Its second minister, J.C. Watkins, starteda school. This was the Kendall Institute, which In the 1900s African-Americans createda num- held classes from first grade through high school. ber of new churches in South Carolina. Many of The Trinity United Presbyterian Church these were responding to thenew Pentecostal was movement. Pentecostals believe in freely express- organized in Mayesville in 1887. Manycommu- ing religious feelings that are inspired by the nity leaders came from this church. McKinley Holy Spirit, such as "speaking in tongues," Washington, for example, was botha minister or and an important state legislator of the 1980s speaking in strange languages. These included and 1990s. Although the Presbyterian Church the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church of God of the was not able to claim a large number of mem-Americas, founded in1922. The St. Mark Holiness Church was organized in Salters in bers, it produced a number of religious leaders.It also produced a college president. Daniel Jackson 1880. The Greater St. James Holiness Churchwas Sanders became president of Johnson C. Smith established in Williamsburg County in 1931. The University in Charlotte in 1891. Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ World Wide was started near Columbia in 1963. The church began broadcasting servicesover the The Episcopal Church radio in 1972. It also built anursery school for the community of Arthurtown. The Episcopal Church had allowed free African- Americans to belong to the church before the Civil War. However, they were segregated from The Baptist Church white members. During Reconstruction, African- Americans started St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Baptists formed South Carolina's largest African Church in Charleston.It did not have an American church after the Civil War. The Baptist African-American minister until 1887. Although movement had attracted many poor people, both the congregation made large contributions, theywhite and black, even before the Civil War.In general, individual Baptist churches have always were not admitted to the Diocese because of race. tended to be quite independent. This made it St. Barnabas Protestant Episcopal Churchwas much easier for the African-American churches founded in 1889 in Jenkinsville. :tran a school to thatprovidedan split away from the Southern Baptist Convention. educationforAfrican- In many cases, African American congregations Americans for many years before it closed. In 1875 the Reformed Episcopal Church were expelled from the white churches. African- was Americans created so many new Baptist churches founded in South Carolina. Most of the rural in the state after the war that forming African-American churches joined it, although a separate St. Mark's did not. By the early 1900s, it had convention was quite easy for them. By the end of over the 1870s, African Americans had theirown state 2,250 members. That was more than twiceas many members as the Protestant Episcopal Baptist conventions all over the South. In the Church. 1890s the state conventions formed the National Baptist Convention of the United States. Thecon- vention assisted with church literature, music, Catholic Churches After the Civil War and the organizational efforts of sending mission= aries abroad. By the beginning of the 1900s, the After the Civil War, a new Catholic churchwas South Carolina convention, along with other foundedinCharleston.In1866African- National Baptists, were sending missionariesto American Catholics bought an oldsynagogue. In Africa. By the middle of the 1970s, African- 1867 when remodeling was completed, it opened American Baptists in South Carolina numbered as St. Peter's Catholic Church. Members opened about 365,000.

114 _FIIICANAMERICANSA AND THE PALMETTO STATE

12 ;) African-American Baptists practice the ritual of immer- sion in Darlington County in Cedar Creek in 1904. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide 1- 86 (Sandiapper Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy Darlington County Historical Commission.

Many famous Baptist churches date back to of their pastors was the famous RichardCarroll, the period after the Civil War. These includethe a graduate of BenedictCollege. As you know, First African Baptist Church in Beaufcc. It stands Carroll was a major figure around the turnof the next to the Robert Smalls house.The Central century. He was one of a number ofchurch lead- Baptist Church is located nearby on St.Helena ers who advised moderationand yielding to Island. The Central Church also provided agath- whites on matters of segregation. ering place and school for early Civil Warmis- While there are other African-American reli- sionaries to the South Carolina Sea Islands.These gious groups in South Carolina, such asthe Black people, who were mainly Quakers, foundedthe Muslims, most of them are quite small in num- famous Penn School on St. Helena Island. ber. Because of their small size, they havemuch Another major church founded duringthis less influence on community life. As you can see period was the Morris Street Baptist Church in from this survey of major groups, African- Charleston. In 1865 Fleming W. Prince, a gradu- Americans have a rich and varied religious his- ate of Benedict College, and seventy-threeother tory in South Carolina people began the church, meeting at firstin a two-room building. In Camden, 104people People Helping People: the formed the Mount Moriah Church. Monroe Reverend Charles Jaggers Boykin, who had once been enslaved, ledthem for the next thirty-four years. InGreenville, Thousands of wonderful and remarkable stories sixty-nine people began holding servicesin a exist of people helping other people duringthe wooden church in1867. This became the hard times of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Springfield Baptist Church. Charles Gandy was Most of them are now lost. One that has not their minister for the next fifty years. Healso been lost is the story of the Reverend Charles played a major role in the state convention.John Jaggers. Born into enslavement in 1831in Phillips, who had studiedreligionatthe Fairfield County, Jaggers underwent a religious Universityof SouthCarolina,startedthe conversion when he was fourteen. He began Friendship Baptist Church in Aiken in 1866. One preaching. That part is not so unusual, butthe

RELtJION 1 15 The Political and Social Role of Churches

Had it not been for churches providing opportunities for schooling, many African-Americans would have had little chance foran education. Church schools offered an elementary education to many African-Americans. Some went beyond that. Churches also played a support role in other ways. When Martha Schofield first came to South Carolina to teach in theyears after the Civil War, the thanks she received from African- American church members helped keepup her 4 spirits. After she founded her school in Aiken in 1869, the local AME church held a special meeting to thank her. Later on, the schoolwas short of money. The school might have to close. The church came to the rescue. They heldan exhibi- tion which raised $42. That does not sound like much, but it saved the school! Back then, there were no governmentser- vices to help the poor. Churches also assumed this role. For example, in 1865 members ofa Presbyterian church in Columbia were caring for two elderly people who were unable to care for themselves. In 1876 a drought leftmany members of a Barnwell Methodist churchnear starvation. Abram Middleton, the minister, took the lead in appealing for help from well-to-domem- A Richard Roberts photo of the Rev. Charles Jaggers in the bers of the community. early 1920s before his death in 1924. Although hewas Churches also played at least a limited role born into enslavement, he became a preacher who spent his life ministering to prisoners and built the only home in politics. From the time of Reconstruction to for elderly African-Americans that existed in the period. the present day, African-American ministers have Courtesy Roberts family. focused sermons on the evils of society and how to correct them. Most of the African American churchessupportedthepoliciesofthe Republicangovernment.Membersofthe Methodist church were among the most politi- rest of the story is. He managed to raise enough cally active. Two Methodist ministers, Benjamin money through his preaching to start an oldFranklin Randolph and Benjamin Franklin folks home in Columbia. It was the onlyone in Whittemore, were leaders in the Republican Columbia for African Americans. He also raised Party. You may remember that Randolphwas money fora home forAfrican American assassinated In 1868. Whittemore held political orphans. Jaggers did not just preach to those office at both the national and the state levels. who could afford to give him money. He became However, whites forced him to leave the state in a minister to convicts. When he died in 1921, his 1877. A number of other Methodist ministers funeral. attracted thousands of people ranging were delegates to the 1868 Convention. Many from ex-convicts to bankers and politicians. other churches actively encouraged theirmem- Today you can see a bronze statue of him in the bers to vote during Reconstruction. However, Columbia Museum of Art. some churches preferred to keep their religion

116 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

131 separate from their politics. Theybelieved their down a position as professor at Meharry Medical job was to focus on the saving of souls, College after finishing a degree there. Instead,he Ministers became central figures in ikfrican- returned to South Carolina. He wanted to help American communities. These active, energetic his people. His efforts helped create Morris people served as role models and leadersduring College in Sumter. the era of segregation. They providedguidance As you will learn in the chapter on civil in harsh times. Abraham Robinsonbuilt up rights, African-American ministers played a cen- church membership all across the state beforehe tral role in the struggle. As you have learned in was called to serve inPhiladelphia. When not this chapter, that was not at all a newrole for preaching, he used his energies as a boxerand them to play. The post Civil War African- wrestler.A.J.Stokes, who servedateight American churches were the place for building churches in South Carolina before he was called social, political, and cultural as well as religious to Alabama, was active in theNational Baptist leadership in the state. African-American minis- Convention as well. Jacob Javan Durhamturned ters have always played a leadershiprole. In the

(Top) An African-American church in Monks Corner in afield 1941. Photo by Jack Delano. SLAL, I Library of Congress LC-USF34 .14fir 43460. (Bottom) Monument for Rev. Alexander Bettis, one 1. of many ministers who helped further education after the state failed to provide decent public education for African- Americans. The monument stands at the site of the Bettis t Academy in Edgefield County. It was erected in 1942. Photo by Aimee Smith.

tO.

RELIGION 1 1 7 early years of the civil rights struggle ministers in 1978 to help elementary school children were often leaders in the NAACP. They provided develop pride in their cultural identity while a meeting place for the NAACP in their churches, learning to live in a racially mixed world. Parents often at great risk. Some churcheswere bombed are drawn in and expected to participate. By as a result. The election of I. DeQuincey Newman doing all this, African American churchesare to the state Senate in 1984 was not mere chance. simply continuing a long tradition of combating He was not only the first African American state racism and providing help for those in thecom- senator in over 100 years. He was alsoa munity who are in need. Methodist minister and a state leader of the As you have seen, churches have generally NAACP.Hiseducationinchurch-founded remained separated by race. Churches like the schools and his leadership role in the church had United Methodist, which have experimented prepared him. He and many otherwere ready with sending white ministers to black churches when the time was right. and black ministers to white churches,are still unusual. Cases like Bishop Betheaare an excep- A Religion of Endurance and Hope tion. This may be because of the need to build racial pride and strength in the face ofso many As the 1900s draws to a clo.;e, African-American hardships. From this pride and strengthcomes churches are grappling with new problems. As courage to work for a gospel of social justice and the rest of society, they face the problems of drug equality. Certainly many African-American reli- use and family break-up. Keeping young people gious leaders during the periods of in the church can be difficult. Churches have Reconstruction and segregation understood this developed programs to tackle these problems. Byneed and developed this courage. Froma deeply acting as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, church heldreligiousconvictionthey worked to members reach out to young people in thecom- advance African-Americans toward full equality. munity. They offer help with schoolwork anda South Carolinians of all races can look with pride sympathetic adult figure who is there when at the help and leadership they provided in the young people need someone with whom to talk. face of adversity. Project Spirit, for example, is a program started

118 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 13J YVY CHAPTER 10 Literature

the Civil WarWinthrop College professor Dr. DorothyPerry Few African-Americans prior to Hill," she were able to record theirexperiences for us. After Thompson. In her poem "Wheeler least in describes the "boundaries" between theAfrican- all, the vast majority were enslaved, at where she the South. All but a few were unable toread and American neighborhood in Columbia write. They had little time toreflect on their grew up and thesurrounding white neighbor- enslaved hoods. She expresses a different setof feelings lives. The first autobiography by an ethnic group. African was written in 1831. Thefirst book of than would a writer from another essays by an African-American waspublished in "Everything's serious now 1841. The first novel waspublished in 1859. Wish I could go back to the time Such works were few and farbetween. After the When we laughed all over BarnwellStreet Civil War, life began to change.Change was not 'Cause Tank tore his pant easy because living onfarms tied most freedmen When he tried to climb the fence to long days of hard labor.However, when they To see what the white folks weredoing had the chance to get an education,they took In those big, brick houses on theother side. advantage of it. Many began to expressthem- They had a sign on our side. selves on paper. As a result we canfind a large KEEP OUT, it read And we did..." body of fiction, non-fiction, and poetryfrom the Freedom enabled [From Wheeler Hill and Other Poems,copyright 1987 late 1800s and the 1900s. with permission many South Caroliniansto express themselves by Dorothy Perry Thompson. Used through the written word. of Dorothy Perry Thompson.] How can we categorize SouthCarolina's African-American writers? In many wayseach Brer Rabbit Stories:Simon Brown individual is different. Nevertheless,they share a and Dr. William Faulkner oppressed minority. common experience as an the spoken rather Most rose out of poverty to succeedin life. All of Let us go back and begin with them are or were spokespersonsfor other than written word. Ever since humanslearned to African-Americans. In their work theydescribe talk, they have loved to tell stories.Inevitably, Americans in their many tales are lost orchanged as they are told what life was like for African earlier chapter, own time. Some werescholars without whom we and retold. As we noted in an would know little about African-Americancul- many versions of the"trickster" stories exist. We ture before the modern era.Some were civil are fortunate that someonecared enough to tell rights leaders who spoke out againstracial injus- the stories and that someoneelse cared enough tice. Some wrote stories thatprovide African- to write them down andhave them published. American children with a literatureof their own. The published stories have allowed usto preserve Many wrote both fiction andnon-fiction. some of the bestof the tales that enslaved Perhaps their special perspectivemakes African-Americans told in the timebefore the these South Carolina writers uniqueand gives Civil War. Look at these Generations of children have enjoyedthe them all something in common. Rabbit, who usu- lines from a modern-day SouthCarolina poet, stories about the trickster Brer

LITERATURE 1 19 1;.z. ally seems to come out a winner in the battle of "Thank you, Brer Rabbit. I'd like tomeet wits with his animal friends. SimonBrown, a for- him," replied Brer Fox mer enslaved African-A nerican from Virginia, "Let's go, then, because I think he's still recounted many of these stories. Hetold these at home," said Brer Rabbit stories to his young friend, WilliamFaulkner. As So off they went a boy, Faulkner lived on his family's farmin When they got close to a barnyard, Brer Society Hill. In 1900 when Faulknerwas ten Rabbit said, "Right over there in thatbarn is years old, Simon Brown came to work there. where Mister Trouble stays. Allyou have to Over the next seven years, SimonBrown told the do is go over there in front of that door, child many stories about theseanimals who could talk, as well stand up on your hind legs, and holler, as tales about life during 'Wahoo! Mister Trouble!' and he willcome enslavement. Brown died whileFaulkner was out. away at college and was buried ina cemetery in Brer Fox crawled under the fence and Society Hill. Faulkner graduated fromcollege and went over to the barn. He stoodup on his received a doctoral degree in philosophy.He hind legs in front of the door and yelledas served as a minister anda secretary for the loud as he could, "Wahoo! Mister Trouble! YMCA. Always interested in folklore,Faulkner And then Mister Troublecame bursting became known as a teller of talesfrom African- out of that barn door in the form of American folklore. These a passel were eventually pub- of hound dogs such as Brer Fox hadnever lished in a book entitled The DaysWhen Animals seen in all his born days! When the hounds Talked. saw Brer Fox a-standing there, they lit out The stories have a universal appeal,but they after him with such a barkingas you've are more than simple children's tales. Enslaved never heard in your life. The whole kit and African-Americans who were ableto identify caboodle came tumblingover themselves as themselves with Brer Rabbit handed themdown. they tried to grab Brer Fox. They give us some insight into thefeelings and Poor old Brer Fox hardly got two iumps sense of humor of these enslaved people. Like ahead of those hounds before theywere on the enslaved African Americans, BrerRabbit had top of him as he scrambled througha hole to rely on his own intelligence andabilities to in the fence. Two hounds grabbed his survive. Many of the stories will tickle tail so your fun- hard that it broke off in their mouths,and nybone as well. "Brer Fox Meets Mr.Trouble" is he was a bobtailed fox from that day typical. to this Brer Rabbit just stood there a-lookingat poor old Brer Fox. And then he said Brer Rabbit met Brer Foxone morning on solemnly, "Never go looking for Trouble, the big road. Brer Fox. He'll find yousoon enough." "How are you, Brer Rabbit?" askedBrer Fox [From The Days When the Animals Talked:Black Ame- "I'm not feeling too good, Brer Fox," rican Folktales and How They Came to Be, byWilliam J. answered Brer Rabbit. "Trouble's beenvisit- Faulkner. Chicago: Follett PublishingCompany, 1977. ing me. Reprinted with permission of Marie FaulknerBrown.] "What do you mean, Trouble? Who'she, and what's he like?" asked Brer Fox No doubt you figured out the ending longbefore "Brer Fox, you mean to tellme you've Brer Fox did. Regardless, Brer Rabbitgave him never met Mister Trouble, and you wouldn't sound advice! know him if you saw him?" respondedBrer Rabbit in surprise "No, sir, I wouldn't know Trouble if Imet Fiction and Poetry him in the middle of the big road,"said In addition to other obstacles, African-American Brer Fox writers had difficulty in finding publishersin the "Well, I'll take you to where Mister 1800s. As a result, a "flowering" ofAfrican- Trouble lives, and you can meet him,"pro- American fiction did not take placeuntil the posed Brer Rabbit 1900s.

120 AFRICAN-AMOICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

135 Much of the early writing prior to 1900had important people, and one ofher brothers of those who published became a physician in Charleston.Thompson a religious theme. Many Columbia and in the 1800s did so privately orwith the help of studied at the Howard School in the AME and the Baptist church presses.In the then at S.C. State Normal School.After complet- had ing her education, she became ateacher at early 1900s, many African-American writers School to depend on newspapersand magazines with Howard School and then at Poplar Grove earned their in Abbeville. People knew her as agood and African American ownership. Some offered living doing other kinds of work.Among them capable teacher. Soon Allen University Many of these people are her a teaching position. Shetaught history, were several ministers. 1886 she left to not well-known today. You maynot be able to Latin, algebra, and geography. In take a teaching position at aschool in Texas. find their work in your local library. she Nevertheless, we can pick and choosefrom Like many other authors and scholars, when we describe the lit- had always liked to read. Althoughshe is not as many talented people well-known today as some of the otherpeople erary contributionsof South Carolina's African- Barber of you will meet in thisbook, her writing was well- Americans. They include J. Max number of Blackstock, a poet and editor of Voiceof the Negro; received at the time. She wrote a Joshua Henry Jones, Jr. of Orangeburg, apoet, essays and some poetry.A Texas newspaper pub- include The lished a short novel, Only a Flirtation.Her novel, journalist, and novelist whose works Columbia, S.C. Heart of the World and Other Poems(1919); and Treading the Winepress, describes William Pickens of Anderson County, acivil in thinly-veiled terms as abeautiful "City of rights leader, editor, and educator,who was field Flowers." Annie Greene Nelson's literary bentproba- secretary for the NAACP for twenty years. liked to tell stories Some of the authors from the middle1900s bly came from her father, who to the modern day includeVivian Ayers of about life in the African-Americancommunity. teacher who Some of the stories were thoseof her great- Chester, a poet, playwright, and U.S. as an wrote Spice Dawns (1953);Julian Mayfield ofgrandmother who had come to the novelist whose enslaved African. Ms. Nelson wasborn in 1902 Greer, a playwright, actor, and of South works include Fire (1949) andThe Other Foot in Darlington County. She was one Lemon Swamp Carolina's first African-American womennovel- (1952); Mamie Fields, author of well-known in the and Other Places: A Carolina Memoir(1983); jour- ists and the first to become of Sumter, a 1900s. One of thirteen children ofsharecroppers nalist John McCray; Nikki Finney read, she grew contemporary poet and novelist;Dori Sanders of who encouraged her to learn to award-winning up doing typicalfarm chores and picking cotton. York County, who wrote the only during the book Clover (1990) as well as anotherbook about She was able to attend school (1993); and months when she was not needed onthe farm. South Carolina, Her Own Place mile Listervelt Middleton of Pineville, abroadcaster Although going to school required a seven in a number walk, she made the journeywhenever possible. and poet, whose work has appeared then Vorhees of anthologies and magazines. She attended Benedict College and In addition to these, many moreAfrican- College. After graduating she worked as a nurse the follow- and as a schoolteacher. Aftermarriage in 1935, Americans have been busy writing. In she founded a ing pages, you will meet a fewof them. she moved to Columbia, where Clarissa M. Thompson of Columbia may kindergarten for African-Americanchildren and taught there. It was the first onein Columbia. have been the first African-American woman led her to from South Carolina to have herwork published. Her love of reading eventually the Winepress: or, begin to write stories based onher own experi- She was the author of Treading African-American. A poem, "What A Mountain of Misfortune(1885-6). It was pub- ences as an Advocate, as a Do You Think of Mother?" waspublished in lished in a newspaper, The Boston the Storm, was pub- forty chapter serial. Thompson wasthe eldest of 1925. Her first novel, After been a delegate to lished in 1942. Over the years she wrote a num- nine children. Her father had about African- the state's 1868 constitutionalconvention and ber of other books and plays during American life. Most of theseshow blacks and served in the legislature for six years Her other work Reconstruction. A number of herrelatives were whites living together peacefully.

LITERATURE 121 13u State University. In 1973 she accepteda position asprofessorofinglishatlTqrfolkState University. Dr. Millican is a write'as well as an educator. Seeds Beneath the Snow (1969) isa collection of short stories about life in themodern South. Her novel, The Deity Nodded(1970), has an urban setting and is based on the experiences of her sister who becamea Muslim. Her writings in the 1970s and 80s includea number of short stories and other novels. Alice Childress said that her love of thethe- ater came from her grandmother. Several of her plays have been produced off-Broadway.Born in Charleston in 1920, she has written novels,short stories, and non-fiction as wellas plays. She grew up in Harlem and lived in New York asan adult. Her novel, A Short Walk (1979),describes the Harlem Renaissance. The HarlemRenaissance was an important movement among African- American artists and writers thatwe shall 44 describe later in the book. Childress'splays include Let's Hear It For the Queen(1976) and When the Rattlesnake Sounds (1975). Shewrote a number of children's books. A Hero Ain'tNothin' But a Sandwich (1973) isa story about the grim side of drug use. Rainbow Jordan (1981)is about growing up written from the viewpoint ofa 14 year old girl. Her work is quite popular. Youcan probably find a number of her children'sbooks A Richard Roberts photo of Annie Greene Nelsonholding at local libraries. her three month old child in 1928. A scholarcame across this picture while examining African-Americanphotogra- Tommy Scott Young of Blair isa poet, a phy. It led to her rediscoveryas a novelist and getting director, and a producer. His publicationsinclude national recognition. Courtesy Roberts family. Crazy Wolf Sings a Crazy Wolf Song (1973),Black Blues and Swing Songs (1977), andTommy Scott Young Spins Magical Tales (1985). WhenYoung includes The Dawn Appears (1944) andDon't was a child, his family moved to Philadelphia. Walk on My Dreams (1961). She remainedactive However, they returned to SouthCarolina even at an age when many people retire. At the because the cold weather made hisasthma age of eighty, she went back to school to study harder to manage. In the South of the1950s, he drama because she wanted to performin a play attended a one room segregated schoolhouse she had written. Her literarycareer continued. and a military school. He entered the AirForce in Annie Greene Nelson died in 1993,a writer to 1960. After completing his service in1963, he the end. returned to attend Benedict College whenhe had The first African-American listed inWho's trouble finding a good Job in Baltimore.Because Who in American Womenwas Arthenia J. Bates of his interest in art, his teacherspersuaded him Millican. She was born in Sumter in1920. Her to go to California. There he studiedat the Watts degrees include a bachelor's degreefrom Morris Writers Workshop in Los Angeles. He graduated College,amaster'sdegreefromAtlanta from California State University witha B.A. in University, and a Ph.D. from LouisianaState painting and sculpture and a minor intheatrical University. She has had a longcareer in higher arts. After these educational Journeys allover the education, teaching for 18years at Louisiana nation, he decided to come home.

122 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 137 111 17k,

(Above Left) Arthenia Bates Millican.Courtesy of South Caroliniana Library. (Above Right) TommyScott Young. Courtesy Tommy Scott Young. (Right)Alice Childress. Courtesy South Caroliniana Library.

His activity in the arts goeswell beyond just writing. He has directed andacted in plays he wrote. Because he thoughtthat school children seeing well-know artistsperform was important, he established the KitaniFoundation in 1974. He has also been an artist-in-residencefor the Arts Commissions in South and NorthCarolina and A for Georgia's Council forthe Arts. He likes to have his poems read aloudwhile other people dance and play music. This kindof work takes us back to the oral traditionfollowed by African- Americans since their first arrival inAmerica. Percival Everett has taughtschool, played the guitar, and even herdedsheep for a living. He is a scholar who tied hishand at a number of things before he becameinterested in writing. The son of a dentist, he wasborn in Georgia and

LITERATWIE 123 10111MVENIMOIMI.I 138 raised in Columbia. Graduating fromhigh school Carolina. Stroyer's father in 1974, he left for college was born in Sierra at the University of Leone, Africa, and brought to Americaas a boy. Miami. He always liked to travel andto fish. He His mother was born in enslavement. became interested in philosophy Jacob him- and was study- self was one of fifteen children.He was born and ' ing for a PhD. at theUniversity of Oregon when reared on a South Carolina plantation he decided to enter with 465 some of his short stories in a other enslaved people. In hisautobiography, writing contest. His teachers had alwaysencour- Stroyer, who later becamea minister in the AME aged his interest in literature.He won a writing Church, describes the evils of fellowship to Brown University and enslavement. For obtained a example, he tells how his father couldnot use master's degree there. His first novel,Suder, a his surname, Stroyer, in public. story about a baseball player, Instead, he had was published in to use the master's name. He tells funnystories 1984 when he was twenty-six.By 1989 he had and stories about day-to-day lifeon a plantation. achieved success in the academicworld as as- He relates his experiencesas an enslaved African- sociate professor of English and Director of the American during the Civil War. Hismaster sent Graduate Creative Writing Programatthe him to wait on the officers and workon the for- University of Kentucky. He publishedanother tifications at Sullivan's Island. Readinghis book novel, For Her Dark Sin, in 1990. Hehas also pub- is a sobering experience for lished a book about Vietnam, Walk anyone who thinks Me to the there was anything nice aboutenslavement. His Distance, and a book of short stories. life story is also uplifting. It is the taleof an indi- Although Eleanora Tate is nota native of vidual rising out of enslavementto become a South Carolina, she lived in thestate for several leader in his community. years. By birth a midwesterner, Tate graduated In his autobiography, Recollections ofSeventy from Drake University in Iowa andworked for an Years (1888), Daniel A. Payne recallshow as a African-American newspaper in Iowabefore teacher he had so few turning to children's resources that he was literature. Her books forced to make his own books.Anxious to teach include The Secret of Gumbo Grove, which is set in science to his students, he killed and stuffedvar- South Carolina. It won the Parents' ChoiceGold Seal in 1987. Both Nickelodeon ious animals, including snakes, alligators,sharks, and Public and insects. These were displayedon the wall of Television have dramatized another book,Just An his school in Charleston. Once heeven pur- Overnight Guest. She is alsoa poet and a writer of chased a live alligator, and had nonfiction one of his students incite the animal to bite. When thealliga- tor's mouth was open, Payne shot himand then Autobiographies and Non-Fiction cut his throat. He dissected the alligatorand hung it up for the students to examine. A number of South Carolina writers This is a have left us far cry from the modern day frogwhich has a unique kind of literary treasure, the autobiog- given grief to so many biology students! raphy. Autobiographies tell thestory of a per- Payne, born in Charleston in 1811, son's life in their own words. Most brought of Souththis same enthusiasm to everythinghe did. Carolina's African-American non-fictionwriters During his long life he was are people who are well-known for accomplish- an educator, an editor, and a poet, as well as the firstAfrican- ments outside the field of literature. These American college president in the United include the civil rights leaders Jesse States. Jackson and Because his parents were free, he hadopportuni- Septima Poinsett Clark. Cleveland Sellers,author ties not available to most African-Americans of River of No Return, of was a leader in the student his day. The grandson ofa Revolutionary War protest movement. While you willmeet many soldier, he was educated privatelyas well as at writers in this chapter,you will meet many of school. He trained as these more famous civil rights leaders a carpenter, tailor, and and writ- shoemaker. He went to a Lutheran Seminaryin ers in other chapters. Pennsylvania and received a Doctor of Divinity Jacob Stroyer's autobiography, My Lifein the degree from Wilberforce Universityin Ohio. South, was published in 1879. Itwas the first by a PaynetaughtschoolinCharlestonand former enslaved African-American fromSouth Philadelphia. In 1852 he becamea bishop in the

124 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STALE

1,3U AME Church. As you have seenin the chapter on religion, he was an importantreligious leader in South Carolina. From 1836 to1876, he served as president of Wilberforce University.In addition to an autobiography,he wrote The Pleasures and Other Miscellaneous Poems, acollection of poetry published in 1850. He was editorof the Repos- itory of Religions and of Literatureand Science from 1858 to 1863. After a long andvigorous life, he died in 1893. The writing of diaries was quitepopular in the 1800s. Not manyAfrican-American women had the education or the time tokeep a record of their daily lives. However, somediaries written by African-American womenin the years after the Civil War have survived.Frances Anne Rollins won an early and forgottencivil rights case. Born free inCharleston, she was the child of refugees from theDominican Republic. During the Civil War sheattended school in Philadelphia. She returned toCharleston in 1865 to teach. One summershe attempted to travel by steamer to Beaufort. She wasrefused a first-class ticket.She complained tothe Freedman's Bureau, and authorities, finedthe captain of the ship was fined $250. Frances Rollins wanted to be awriter. When Martin Delany of the Freedman'sBureau asked her to write his biography,she was thrilled. She left for Boston, where she wasto do the work. Kelly Miller. Courtesy SouthCaroliniana Library. Unfortunately, Delaney was unableto provide thefinancialsupporthehadpromised. sup- Undeterred, she wrote the book anyway, father, who was free, was porting herself by sewingand doing clerical had been enslaved. His diary when she was one of the relativelyfew African-Americans who work. She began writing her Army. After attending twenty years old. Shedescribed her exciting life served in the Confederate she had to meet one of the schools set upduring Reconstruction, in Boston and the opportunity Miller was sent to FairfieldAcademy because of famous people like WilliamLloyd Garrison. Her published in 1868. his talent in math. HowardUniversity gave him book about Delaney was and he graduated in 1866. His Because the publisher thought abook written by a scholarship, Woman would not be hard work earning moneywhile he was in col- an African-American farm for his parents. accepted by the public, it waspublished under lege enabled him to buy a The Pension Office, a U.S.Government agency the name of Frank A.Rollin. She later married employed of whom graduated that helped Union Army veterans, and had three children, all him after college. He didpost-graduate work at from college and becameprofessionals. from 18'7 -1890 and Kelly Miller was inducted intothe S.C. Johns Hopkins University fifty-four years received a master's degree in1901 and a doctor- Academy of Authors in 1993, became a math professor after his death in 1939. Thisremarkable man was ate in 1903. In 1890 he mathematician who spoke out for at Howard, from whichhe retired in 1934 as a scholar and dean. At Howard he helped civil rights. Born in 1863 inWinnsboro, he was a professor and strengthen the science program. one of ten childrenof sharecroppers. Hismother

LITERATURE 125 Although Miller wrotesome poetry and Convention during Reconstruction. Hewas anx- short stories, most of his workwas non-fiction. ious for his son to havean education. Educated After becoming concerned about theplight ofat a two-room schoolhouse, George Singleton his fellow African-Americans, hespoke out on had to work hard as a civil rights. He lectured extensively young man to help sup- on the topic port his family. After spending themorning at and wrote a number of pamphlets.These pam- school he delivered lunchesto workmen for phlets and his lectureswere put together in book twenty-five cents apiece and held form and read widely at universities a number of around the other odd jobs. He saw bananas andgrapefruits country. His works include Race Adjustment for the first time when he workedat a grocery (1908), Out of the House of Bondage(1914), and store. In The Autobiography of George A. Singleton The Everlasting Stain (1924). He wrote The Dis- (1964), he describes his life andexperiences. grace of Democracy as an open letter to President He decided to join the Wilson. It concerned the army after he finished race riots in Memphis school and his parents died. In 1912the army and East St. Louis and the refusal ofthe U.S. gov- sent him to the Philippines. After his discharge ernment to help out. He was also a syndicated he returned to Columbia to AllenUniversity. columnist and had articles thatappeared in Recalled to the Army during World many major magazines. War I, he served as a chaplain andwas sent to France. Later Jane Edna Hunter, born a generation later he attended Boston University. Thenhe received in 1882, was part of the greatmigration North a scholarship to go to the University of Chicago by African-Americans looking fora better life. where he roomed with BenjaminMays. In She grew up on a plantationnear Pendleton. addition to his work asa minister, he taught at In her autobiography, A Nickel andA Prayer, she West Kentucky Industrial College andat Allen describes her youth as the child ofsharecroppers University and was president of PaulQuinn with little to call theirown. Her father insisted College. He became editor of the AME that she learn to read and write. Church Determined to Review, wrote articles for manynewspapers, and get ahead, she left home and workedas a house- edited a number of books. A hold servant for a Charleston noted religious family. They historian, he wrote The Romance ofAfrican encouraged her to train as anurse. In 1905 she Methodism. Writing as he neared theend of a left South Carolina. Friends talkedher into going long and productive life, he described to Ohio. She arrived with little his distress money. She had at the assassination of President Kennedyin difficulty finding anyone who wouldhire an 1963 and dedicated his bookto the civil rights African-American nurse. This experienceper- movement. suaded her to do what she couldto help other Benjamin Brawley, born in Columbia newly arrived African-American in women to avoid 1882, believed that the American dreamshould similar problems. She began her work"with a be within the grasp of all children,regardless of nickel and a prayer." The end resultwas the race or sex. Best known as a scholar, he also establishment of the Working GirlsHome wrote short stories and poems. Unlikemany of Association, later the Phyllis Wheatleybranch of his contemporaries in the late 1800s,he came the YWCA. This helped provide jobsand hous- from a comfortable home. Hisparents wanted ing to thousands of pennilessyoung women their four children to be educated. coming North to seek their fortunes. His school- She also teacher father, Edward McKnight Brawley,was a helped establish several otherbranches of this role model because of hisown achievements. organization elsewhere in thecountry. This Edward Brawley's family had been free.Born in amazing woman later studied lawat Baldwin Charleston in 1851, Edward attendedprivate Wallace College in Ohio andwas admitted to the schools as a young child andwas sent out of the bar. She died in 1971. state to study. He graduated from Bucknell George A. Singleton was sent to schoolat University in Pennsylvania in 1875,its first the age of four because hewas always getting African-American student. Ordained into trouble. Born in Conway in 1894, a minister, he grew he later helped found Morris Collegein Sumter up to become a journalist and an AME minister. and became its president. He His father, who was wrote a religious a community leader, had textbook and edited several religiousnewspa- served as a delegate to the RepublicanNational pers. Edward Brawley died in 1923.

126 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE round trip walk to Young Benjamin had highstandards to work began. The seven mile did. Although he school made education even moredifficult. He meet, and meet them he to S.C. State attended several different schools ashis family wanted an education and was sent greatly influ- for further schooling.Although the school moved around the South, he was brought him home enced by his parents. Heattended the highremained open, his father Atlanta andafter four months to dofarmwork. This hap- school at Morehouse College in Finally he rebelled. graduated from Morehouse with aB.A. degree in pened more than once. he received aDespite his father's anger, youngBenjamin 1901. After six years of teaching, in May. second B.A. from the Universityof Chicago. In stayed at the school until it closed of Arts degree from Mays did eventually get theeducation he 1908 he received a Master colleges on account Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts.He taught wanted. Rejected by several of race, he attended BatesCollege in Maine. He English at the college levelfor several years. In the highest 1920 he spent a year inAfrica doing research. graduated with a Phi Beta Kappa Key, ordained a Baptist minis- academic award one can winin college. He After his return, he was he was on the ter. Although he was aminister, he spent most of always wanted to be a preacher. So Over the years he debate team as well as the footballteam at Bates. his career as a college professor. he worked odd jobs published many books, articlesand poems. To pay his school expenses, Many of these focused onAfrican-American life and also as a Pullman porter. long list of non-fic- After earning his PhD. fromthe University and the need for justice. His and distinguished tion works includes AShort History of the of Chicago, Mays began a long career. He taught atboth Morehouse College in American Negro (1913), The Negroin Literature and During a long of American Drama Atlanta and South Carolina State. Art (1918), A Short History and productive career, he did astudy of African (1921), and A History of theEnglish Hymn (1932). He was dean of Magazines that published hisarticles ranged American churches in the U.S. the School of Religion atHoward University in from the Harvard Monthly tothe Southern he Workman. His fiction and poetryincludes A Washington, D.C., and for twenty-seven years Other Poems (1911), served as president of MorehouseCollege. While Prayer (1899), The Dawn and financial endow- and The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus(1917). He died there he built up the school's before the civil rights ment. If all this was notenough, he was also in 1939, just a few years of Education for movement began to realizethe justice about president of the Atlanta Board which he wrote. His achievements canbest be twelve years. Benjamin Mays. In Perhaps his early experienceswith prejudice summed up in the words of In the 1920s and his own autobiography,Mays wrote that made him a civil rights activist. African-Americans 1930s, he became involvedwith the Urban Benjamin Brawley helped League. In 1942 he coauthoredthe Durham believe they could achieve. statement. This was a documentproduced by a In his autobiographyBorn to Rebel (1971), forever etched group of African-AmericanSoutherners that Benjamin Mays described a scene However, the in his memory. In 1898when he was only a called for an end to discrimination. whites humiliated his group did not speak outagainst segregation child of four, a group of segregation would father. They rode into his yardand repeatedly itself. They thought attacking merely make white Southerners angry.Dr. Mays made his father bow down tothem. He remem- He wanted to bered the fear he felt thatnight. He knew that disagreed with this approach. demand an end to segregation. lynchings occurred in his community. of directors of Many obstacles stood inthe way of this Mays also served on the board in the tiny town the NAACP, and in this rolehe spoke out against remarkable man. Born in 1894 wrote several of Epworth, South Carolina,Mays was one of lynchings and segregation. He sharecropper family. His books on race relations. Hisaccomplishments eight children from a President Kennedy appointed parents had been bornenslaved. His father could were not ignored. illiterate. As a him to the Civil RightsCommission. Forty-seven barely read, and his mother was degrees. Atlanta child he was able to attendschool only four colleges gave him honorary school was open named a street and a highschool after him. months a year, because the him his "spiritual from just November toFebruary. In March farm Martin Luther King called

LITERATURE 127 142 mentor." Four years before Mays'death in 1984, won a scholarship to the Katherine Dunham the Governor of South Carolina,Richard Riley, dance school and then touredwith them. In gave him the Order of the Palmetto. Thisis the Paris she was seen by Orson Wells, the highest award the state famous can give anyone. Larry producer. He selected her to play Helenof Troy Lebby painted his portrait, andit was hung in in his 1951 production of Dr. Faustus. the statehouse. You can She later see it there today. appeared in Broadway shows andreceived sev- Nick Aaron Ford loved to teachbut is best known as a scholar and eral Tony nominations. In herautobiographies an author. He wrote she described her difficult childhoodand the dif- poetry and short stories as wellas non-fiction. ficult path to fame. Born in1904, he grew up near Ridgeway. When she was a child, VertamaeGrosvenor Benedict College, which then hada high school, wanted to be an actress. Asan adult she realized provided his education. He receiveda bachelor's her ambitions. She performed degree at Benedict and in Personal a M.A. and PhD. at the Problems, an opera that she alsoauthored, and State University of Iowa. Observersconsidered hosted Horizons, a highly regarded him a gifted teacher. He began his documentary career teach- series. Born in 1938 in Fairfax, SouthCarolina, ing English at Schofield High Schoolin Aiken. she moved with her family He also served as principal there to Pennsylvania as a before moving child. Regular trips to the libraryfed a passion to Florida to accept another position.Schools in for reading about a life where Texas and Oklahoma benefited from people of African his teaching background could be anything theywanted. and administrative skills. In1945 he accepted a Leaving high school fora job, she saved her position at Morgan State Collegein Baltimore, money. She went to Paris, the place of Maryland, where he stayed until her he retired dreams, and lived there for fiveyears. Marrying twenty-eight years later. His autobiography,writ- and returning to New York, shebegan to write ten in retirement, is entitled Seekinga Newer while her childrenwere small. It is said that World: Memoirs of a Black AmericanTeacher. Dr. some people will do almost anything to make Ford also wrote many scholarly a articles and nine living. Grosvenor didmany different things, one other books, several of themwith coauthors, of which was to sewan apron for an elephant! In including The Contemporary NegroNovel (1936) 1970 her young son appeared and Black Studies: Threat on television and or Challenge? (1973). For received a contract to havesome poems pub- Best Short Stories of Afro-AmericanWriters (1950), lished. The publisher tooka look at a cookbook he read over 1,000 stories whichhad been pub- she was writing and decided lished between 1925 and 1950 to publish this too. in Afro-American She continued to write. An articlein the Village newspapers. After he retired he served as Director Voice led to a job on National PublicRadio. Her of the Union for ExperimentingColleges and published works include Universities. This group VibrationCooking: ran programs that Travels of a Geechee Girl (1970) andThursday and allowed minority studentsto work and earn a Every Other Sunday Off: A Domestic Ph.D. at the same time. Before his Rap (1972). death in 1982, Through her work, Grosvenor helpedpopularize this scholar and activist receivedmany awards. African-American cooking for all Americans. Few people of any backgroundcan sing in eight different languages like EarthaKitt. Most people think of her asan actress and singer, but Continuing the Oral Tradition she is also the writer of threeautobiographies, Our discussion of literature began including Thursday's Child (1956). with the oral Born in the tradition and ends with itas well. Perhaps we are South Carolina town of Northin 1928 as the completing a circle by coming back child of sharecroppers, she lost her to our roots. parents at an Despite all the changes of modern life,this tradi- early age. She had to support hersister by pick- tion has survived. ing cotton. When shewas eight years old, her aunt took her to New York City. For modern-day children, storytellingis There she more than just a way to preserve thepast. attended school and learnedto play the piano. Storytelling is a way to However, she still had to help open doors to all the support herself. wonders found in books andto the variety of She did this by sewing. Asa young woman, she career choices open to the educated. Catherine

128 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

143 Waverly branch dling around the radio andlistening to Wheeler's Wheeler, a librarian at the magic as those library in Columbia, opened thosedoors. In the stories, tales which held the same library was the told at the library. She enthralledher listeners for pre-Civil Rights era, the Waverly Catherine Wheeler died only library for African-Americansin Columbia, more than twenty years. a large brick buildingthat had once been a white in 1989 at the age of eighty. place for young Augusta Baker, who always loved toread, is church. It became a gathering in Maryland in people. Children came there afterschool to do another storyteller. She was born along younger 1911, the only child of parentswho- were teach- their homework, often bringing folklore at the University of brothers and sisters. As head librarian,Wheeler ers. Baker studied Pittsburgh. When she moved to NewYork State welcomed and encouraged allthe children, attempted to attend teaching them how to use thelibrary's resources. after her marriage, she Children were not Albany State Teachers' College. Atfirst the school However, she ran a tight ship. from a local chap- permitted to hang out on the steps.They were refused to admit her. Pressure around inside the library ter of the Urban Leagueand from Eleanor not permitted to fool Franklin either. Children had to have abook in front ofRoosevelt, the wife of then Governor Roosevelt, led to her admittance. them while they were there. librarian in New Catherine Wheeler was another ofthe many In 1939 Baker became a something York City and began to workwith children. She people who showed that if you want them was through badly enough and are willing towork hard, you found that the way to reach Edgefield in 1909, she storytelling. Much of her work waswith African- can succeed. Born in Harlem. African- moved to New York with herfamily as a small American children living in she returned SouthAmerican literature becameher expertise. She girl. Married at eighteen, self-image. At when her father died andleft her a house in looked for ways to improve their in the library as that time most good qualitychildren's literature Columbia. She began her career and about whites. In 1953she a cleaning lady,cleaning up the books. Shewas written by wanted to be a became the New York PublicLibrary's story- wanted an education and she edited a number of librarian. Wheeler began to attendschool while telling specialist. She also She received achildren's books, published twocollections of working and raising a family. bibliogra- bachelor's degree from BenedictCollege, a mas- children's stories, and put together a University, and a PhD phy of African-Americanchildren's literature. ter's degree from New York for Sesame Street from Atlanta University, allin library science. She has served as a consultant giving her leave with and hosted a weekly radio show.After retiring in Her employers helped by in the storytelling pay during the summer soshe could go to 1974, she continued to work field as a consultant. She hasreceived many school. the 1940s, awards during her career. Those who grew up during 1979 to be 1950s, and 1960s have manyhappy memories Moving to South Carolina in of the story hours heldfor all the children. near her son, shebecame the storyteller-in-resi- story, an almost dence at the University of SouthCarolina. In her When Catherine Wheeler read a adults how to tell magical transformation tookplace. Her voice "second career," she has taught change with each stories. and facial expression would Ron Daise, a native of St.Helena Island, character. She read manydifferent kinds of when he was a books, "magnificent" stories, inthe words of one heard stories told by his elders Hundreds of children child on the island. Since then,he has written who remembered her. He and his wife, passed through her library andlearned to like about the island in two books. Natalie, give dramatic performancesof some of books as a result. and slides to Catherine Wheeler also found awider audi- these stories combined with music Known as the "Story Lady," teach about the Sea Islandsand their culture. ence over the radio. The storytelling tradition lives on. she told stories over theradio for a number of years. Another adultremembers her family hud-

LITERATURE 129

144 YVY CHAPTER 11 Music, Danceand the PerformingArts

as you come they were not equal in Americansociety. Blues Do you turn on the radio as soon work songs. Many home from school? Do youfind it hard to sit still emerged from spirituals and playing? Music and of the songs included bitsand pieces of the white when a really good tune is African-Americans heard in theirdaily dance are among the greatjoys of life. Several songs that lives. As African Americansbegan to work off the types of music that wethink of simply as their new jobs. "American" actually owetheir existence to farm, the songs began to focus on thank African- One very popular song was"John Henry." It was African-Americans. We can also railroad worker who Americans for some favoritedances. In this chap- about an African-American was very strongand very proud. He waskilled ter you will learnhow this music and dance could not replace developed. You will also meet anumber of South proving the steam hammer famous musicians, him. Blues generally focused onthe sad things in Carolinians who became people's lives like racial woes,lost love, sickness, singers, dancers, and performers. and poverty. People enjoyedthis because sharing sorrow often madethem feel better. Massie The blues became popular at anyevent background and where people gathered. One personsang and Because of a different cultural accompanied the music with aguitar or banjo. segregation, African-Americansdeveloped their blues, Singers and workers travelingaround to make a own distinctivemusic. This included the the South. In the ragtime, and gospel music.The blues and rag- living spread the blues all over African- cities, the blues became moresophisticated. time,inturn,helped createjazz. small jazz bands American music alsoinfluenced white com-Groups that were similar to began to accompany the singers.More women posers. Whitessometimes used black materialin began to perform. Love songsbecame popular as their compositions. recorded the blues until Ragtime is associated withentertainment, well. However, no one 1920. especially piano music. This wasthe first African- bands formed in American music to becomepopular all across the Many African-American the years after the Civil War.Some developed out U.S. It is a style of musicthat is called "synco- bands. With the pated," where the beat thatis usually weak is of the Confederate marching soldiers gone home, manycheap instruments accented. On the piano theright hand plays the could melody while the left handplays rhythms in a were readilyavailable. African-Americans from town to town in afford to buy them. Two typesof bands were pattern. Drifters traveling string bands and brassbands. String bands the late 1800s were thefirst to play ragtime. bands played at Although ragtime's roots areprobably European, played at dances and brass Scott Joplin of Texas, pop- parades, celebrations, andfunerals. Many of the an African-American, early musicians could notread, so they "impro- ularized it. making up the music The music called the bluesbecame popular vised." Improvise means reflected the uncertain life yourself. They experimented asthey played to in the early 1900s. It good. By the 1890s jazz was of African-Americans inthe years after the Civil see what sounded War. They were no longerenslaved. However, beginning to develop.

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The world famous Jenkins OrphanageBand in a photo taken around 1900. The History of S.C. Slide Collection, Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., slide G-33 (Sandlapper Publishing Company,1989). Courtesy S.C. State Museum.

The Jenkins Orphanage Band How did it all begin? In the late1800s, no The story of the Jenkins Orphanage government services existed to help thepoor. On Band, the a cold winter morning in Charleston,the first black instrumentalgroup organized in Reverend Daniel Jenkins found South Carolina, almost sounds like four young a fairy tale. African-American children alone andshivering. Theirs is a story of triumphover adversity. Out of He decided to adopt them when the need to find a way to feed and he learned that clothe hungry they were orphans. He realizedthat many other children came a one ofa kind musical miracle. children needed help. To Many fine musicians who later raise money, Rev. made musical Jenkins formed the Orphan AidSociety in 1892. careers began their training with the Jenkins Soon he found a buildingto house the many Orphanage Band. Among themwere William boys and girls. Located "Cat" Anderson, "Peanuts" near the city jail, it was Holland, and Jabbo less than perfect. However, itprovided security Smith. Bands from the JenkinsOrphanage for the children. The Jenkins played all over the U.S. and Orphanage was the Europe for half a only oneforAfrican-AmericansinSouth century until the 1950s. The originalcast of the Carolina. musical Porgy, by Dubose Heyward, included a Within four years, therewere over 500 chil- cast from the Jenkins Orphanagewhen it was dren living there. The orphanage staged in New York in 1927. The depended on bands made public donations to survive, butthis was not three trips to Europe. Theyeven played before enough. The Rev. Jenkins royalty. came up with zn idea to pay for expenses. He asked forcontributions

132 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 146 he hired musicians tually this dream came true. A100 acre farm in of musical instruments. Then Industrial teachers to teach some of the boyshow to play. The band Ladson, S.C. was donated. Rev. Jenkins taught carpentry, shoe-making,dress making, played in the streets of Charleston. could used the attention they got to appealfor money. and other trades. Although not everyone expect to become a professionalmusician, they The Orphanage never had a lotof money. addition to the They scraped by for the first few yearsuntil a could be self sufficient. In Orphanage building inorphans, many youths convictedof minor storm destroyed the they could 1895. Rev. Jenkins decided to take someof the crimes lived there learning skills so boys on tour in the North as a wayto earn make a living. they were unable to Over the years the band had toface and money to rebuild. However, Traveling at home make enough money to pay therebuilding costs. overcome many problems. Friends suggested a tour of England.Once was often quite riskyfor the Jenkins Orphanage the decision to go had been made,everything Band. Once a group of whitesthreatened them. the AtlanticThe band had no weapons, butthey were able to seemed to so wrong. The trip across They had was a disaster. The passengers onthe ship were fool the hoodlums by pretending. caused wooden model guns that they used inpractice. seasick. In England the band's appearance and fright- such a stir that they were notallowed to per-They stuck them out the windows form. The Rev. Jenkins was arrested. In courtthe ened off the hoodlums. the age of 11 Sometimes problems arose that no one judge told him that children under 1914 barely were not allowed toperform in the streets forcould have foreseen. A trip in little money left that escaped disaster. The band had justbegun a ten money. The band had so War I broke they could not even pay for the triphome. week tour of England when World appeal for out. Everything came to ahalt. The band was The Rev. Jenkins decided to before they money at a church.People responded whole- stranded in England for a month heartedly. Soon the group was able to returnto were able to get passage on aship. Rev. Jenkins the band helped several stranded fellowtravelers return Charleston. With all the publicity, for the became well-known to local people.Groups of home as well. He lent them money children began to follow the bandwhen it trip. orphans In the 1930s the Depressionbrought other played. Many of them who were not itself short of even wanted to enterthe Orphanage just so they problems. The Orphanage found money as audiencesand contributions dropped. could play in the band! building. In spite of Two years after the trip to England,the city In 1933 a fire damaged the of Charleston decided to grantthe Orphanage all these problems, somehowthey survived. citizens also Rev. Jenkins died in 1937 after alifetime of $200 a year. Some wealthy white 1950s, soci- made donations. Unfortunately,this was not helping children. By the 1940s and ety was changing. Thesechanges also affected enough to support the Orphanage. better off. So once again, Rev. Jenkins tookhis band on the Jenkins Orphanage. People were The Jenkins Orphanage did notadmit as many the road. This time they went toFlorida. They the band hoped that the tourists visiting the statewould children. With fewer musicians, make donations. Because the trip was very suc- allowed girls to join. By the 1970schildren of all They races were entering theOrphanage. Even so, cessful they began to travel to other states. began, the played at several major expositionsand fairs. In numbers still declined. As the 1980s the early 1900s, they returned toEngland again. Jenkins Orphanage Band was only a memory. Over the years they toured widely.By the early 1920s, they had five bands, avocal group, andJames Reese Europe's 15th two girls' choirs. Regimental Band in World War I The Rev. Jenkins had a dream. Hewanted to for the children Not all the South Carolinianswho served in have a farm with plenty of space musicians. and where the Orphanage couldraise its own World War I were soldiers. Some were food. The youngsters could learntrades that Many of these were part of James ReeseEurope's would let them earn a living asadults. Even- band.

MUSIC, DANCE AND THE PERFORMING ARTS 133 141 6

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."..ftmorobi- A traveling band of jazz musicians before World War I. Courtesy William Loren Katz, Library ofCongress.

James Reese Europe was a talentedmusician In 1918 the army sent the band toFrance, and bandleader. He had toured widelyin the where they entertained the soldiers. Theyper- years before World War I. In 1916 he joined the formed in over twenty-five cities in Francealone. 15th Infantry of the National Guard,an African- They played for civiliansas well as Allied troops. American regiment. They made himan officer. Assigned to combat as part of the 369thU.S. As part of the effort toencourage people to Infantry, they fought for four months enlist, at the the commanding officerpersuaded front.Theirunit was nicknamedthe Europe to form a brass band. He managedto per- "Hellfighters." Near the end of thewar, they suade over forty musicians to join by 1917.Like went to Paris to perform. They returned homein many other Americans, many of the members of 1919 as heroes. The band begana world-wide the Jenkins Orphanage Band wantedto serve tour. Europe obtained a record contract.His their country in World War I. Thebandmaster future seemed assured. and three musicians were "graduates"of the Sadly, James Reese Europe'scareer was Jenkins Orphanage Band. At their firstshow, brought to an untimely end after hisreturn to they played the carefully rehearsedorchestral the states. He had been havingan ongoing quar- music. Then, as the floor was clearedto get ready rel with a drummer in the band,one of the for dancing, they began to play dancemusic. Jenkins Orphanage Band alumni. Europehad These were jazz pieces that had barelybeen objected to the young man's behaviorduring rehearsed. The atmospherewas electric. Both the performances. After a performance theyoung audience and the musicians loved it. Europe's man stabbed Europe in the throat. Europe died blues arrangements were particularly popular. and the drummer was sent to prison.

134 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

1el d so many became successfulbecause this was one Jazz of the few fields open to creative peopleregard- No one is quite sure just where andhow jazz less of race. Space allows us to meet just afew. All music began, but it became well-knownaround we can do in a book istell you about them. If 1900 in New Orleans and elsewhere. Both you really want to meetthem, you need to listen European and African music probably influenced to their music. If you haven'talready, perhaps it. Not much is known about the youngAfrican one day you will. Americans of the early 1900s who developed jazz. John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie is certainly The jazz musicians generally were not allowed in South Carolina's best-known jazz musician.He the concert halls. The audience was mainlywas not only a composerand a trumpeter, but African-American in the early years. Many jazzwas an innovator whohelped establish jazz in musicians performed in churches, dance halls, the 1930s and 1940s. Along with CharlieParker, and in minstrel shows. Often their music was not he developed a kind of jazz called "bebop."This written down. Certainly it was not recorded. was the beginning of"modern" jazz. He also Regardless of its origin, this was something incorporated Latin music into this jazz form. different. In the 1920s many people looked on Dizzy Gillespie was born in Cheraw in 1917. this "new" form of music with suspicion because His father liked to play music. He saw thatDizzy it was so different. It seemed to havemuch less learned to play the piano. However, Dizzy dis- formal structure than other music of the day. covered the trumpet after a friend received one. Jazz has always relied greatly on "improvisa- He formed his first band when he wasjust ten tion." This means that musicians make up parts years old. North Carolina'sLaurinburg lastitute of the music as they play. A great deal oftalent is gave him a music scholarshipin 1932. He required to do this. The music is excitingand headed north to Philadelphia and then to New unpredictable, though today we know that jazz York, In 1937 he began to play with swing bands, has its own structure. Regardless, jazz adds up to including those of Cab Calloway, Earl Hines,and wonderful entertainment. Duke Ellington. Later he formed his ownband. Many native and adopted South Carolinians His better known works include "ANight in became well known in the world of jazz. Perhaps Tunisia," "My Melancholy Baby," and"Leap

Born in Cheraw, "Dizzy" Gillespie became one of the world's most famous jazz musicians, even inventing a new styleof playing called "bebop." Here he is entertain- ing the General Assembly just before they honored him in a resolution in 1976. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed.,The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide C- 63 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). Photo by Vic Tutte. Courtesy The State Newspaper.

MUSIC, DANCE AND THE PERFORMING ARTS 135 14 Frog." President Jimmy Carter sang along with with it on and off from the 1940s to the 1960s. Gillespie's song "Salt Peanuts" at Carter's inau- From 1947-50 he had his own band. In 1971 he gural celebration in 1976. settled in California. For the next ten years he Bebop and Dizzy Gillespie go together like was involved with the television and movie peanut butter and jelly. Bebop was a form of industry as well as touring. He also toured with music that broke up the harmony and rhythm the Ice Capades In 1974-5. Of the many songs he structure of the music. Its emphasis was on recorded, his best known songs are "Swinging the improvisation and a fast tempo. Often bebop,or Cat," "El Gato," and "Bluejean Beguine." Above bop, singers used nonsensical language, suchas all he is remembered for his ability to hit thevery "Hey Bobba, Rebob." Bop musicians hada dis- high notes. He died in 1981. tinctive appearance. They wore dark glasses and Freddie Green, born in 1911, started his berets. They grew short beards. musical career at age twelve by learning to play In 1942 Dizzy was playing some variations the banjo. Today he is known for giving the on chords during a break in a performance. rhythm guitar a major role in the jazz orchestra. Those chords became the basis for bebop. At first He liked to hold his guitar at an odd angle. "Tilted the critics disliked this new music. Itwas not at flat" is how it was described. He struck the strings all like the kind of music the big bands had in such a way as to produce a deeper, fuller sound. played in the swing era. By 1947, when Dizzy and Listeners found it very distinctive. He also com- fellow musician Charlie Parker playeda bebop posed music, including the jazz classic "Corner concert in Carnegie Hall, critics and the public Pockets (Until I Met You)." Mostly self-taught, he loved it. Bebop has even influenced the kind of began to play with a group called the Night music heard in television commercials today. Hawks. His first experience in traveling outside of Dizzy Gillespie was known for his style asa the South was with the Jenkins Orphanage Band, performer as well. He liked to experiment with although he did not live at the Orphanage. At the chords and change the harmony. He seemed to age of nineteen, he came to New York. He worked enjoy performing for an audience, and audiences as an upholsterer in the day and played music in liked him. the evenings. He started to play the guitar and to Most trumpet teachers would probably not find gigs at clubs. In 1937 at the age of twenty-six, use Dizzy Gillespie as a model for their students. he began a career as a guitarist with the Count Once someone stepped on his trumpet, bending Basle Orchestra. There he remained until 1987, the bell. He played it and thought that the bend when he died after a show. made it easier to hear himself. So along with his Cladys "Jabbo" Smith was another "gradu- puffed-out cheeks, this odd-shaped instrument ate" of the Jenkins Orphanage Band. He was became his trademark. Gillespie died in his sleep born in Georgia in 1900. His mother placed him in 1993 as one of his recordings played in the in the orphanage at the age of six. He started background. touring with the band when he was ten. Leaving James Alonzo "Cat" Anderson was knownas the orphanage, he began to play professionally an extremely versatile musician. He was a good in Pennsylvania when he was 16. From the 1920s trumpet player who could play all kinds of music. to the 1940s he played with a number of groups, Louis Armstrong was his inspiration. A native of including his own. He settled in Milwaukee in Greenville, Cat was born in 1916 andwas the 1940s. A talented trumpet player who also orphaned at the age of four. He went to live at the played the trombone, critics compared him to Jenkins Orphanage. There he learned to playa Louis Armstrong. However, his style was differ- musical instrument and began playing with their ent. He was a talented and creative player who band at the age of seven. With several other boys did things no one else did at the time. He paved he formed an orchestra that played at local the way for later trumpeters. As an old man in dances. Leaving the orphanage, he toured witha his seventies, he came out of retirement to have group named the Carolina Cotton Pickers from a comeback. He played the trumpet and sang in 1932.1937. In the 1930s and 1940s, he played the Broadway play "One Mo' Time." with several of the big bands. He madea name Woodrow Wilson "Buddy" Johnson wasa for himself with Duke Ellington's band, playing band leader as well as a pianist and arranger in

136 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

lUu the years before World War H.Born inhe found a job with an aircraft company. Darlington, he played in many New York clubs. However, he was fired when hisemployers His sister, Ella, sang with the band. Anumber of learned he was underage. His father hadliked to well-known singers got their first "break"with cook and had taught him some cookingskills. So him- his band. he decided to get a job as a cook to support Etta Jones was an Aiken native who grew up self. He sang at night. In the beginning,he made in New York. She began singing withthe Buddy $3 a night, but the audiences likedhim. In time Johnson band when she was 'Sixteen. She was he was earning $75 a week. discovered singing at an amateur hour one sum- His big break came in 1945 when asinger became ill. mer night in 1944. Ironically,she lost the contest with Buddy Johnson's blues orchestra when she sang in the wrong key. She touredwithJohnson gave him a chance to fill in.He paid the band through the South and Midwest.After him $25. Prysock had never made somuch leaving Buddy Johnson's band, shebegan money for one night'swork. He remained with singing in clubs. Then she landed arecording the orchestra until 1952, singing anumber of contract. Over the years she sangwith various hits, such as "They All Say I'm the BiggestFool," bands and performed around the country.Her "Jet, My Love," and "I Wonder WhereOur Love successful 1959 record "Don't Go to Strangers" Has Gone." After that he toured widely.He per- gave her a Grammynomination. Around 1973 formed with a number of big bandsand orches- she met South Carolinian Houston Personwhen tras. He recorded his hit song"I Worry About both were playing at a club in Washington.The You" three times. Eventually, he formed a group together for the nextof his own that included his brother"Red," a two played and sang forty years, twenty years. saxophonist. In a career of more than Houston Person grew up in Florence listen- he sang all over the country and recordednearly ing to all kinds of music on the radio.Although sixty albums. Ironically, a commercialmade his mother played piano, his main interest was Prysock known to people all over the country.In sports through most of highschool. During his 1976 the Miller Beer Companyasked him to junior year, his father gave him a saxophone as a make a commercial. He became associatedwith Christmas present. He began to play andjoined Lowenbrau beer. This led to additionalwork on the band. After hearing S.C. State'sband play radio and television. He settled on LongIsland, during his senior prom, he decided hisgoal was New York, with his family where hecooked and to join their band. He playedwith the band all played golf when he was not singing. four yearsincollege. While stationedin Germany with the Air Force, he played onthe Gospel Musk and Its Influence weekends at a jazz club with other servicemen. on Jazz andBlues Later he studied at the Hart Schoolof Music in Hartford, Connecticut, under the G.I.Bill. The Gospel music developed out of spirituals some- G.I Bill was a federal government programthat where in the late 1800s or early 1900s.The songs helped veterans pay for their educationafter were based on thoseoriginally sung in churches they left the military. He met a numberof the by enslaved African-Americans.Church mem- people who later became prominentin the jazz bers and ministers often improvised.In effect, world, including a fellow SouthCarolinian, they created new songs. Traditionally,African- Arthur Prysock. He played with aband in Americans had engaged in foot-stompingand Connecticut for awhile. Next he moved to hand clapping. Now they addedmusical instru- Boston, and later to Newark. Overthe years, he ments. The sound was muchlike that found in recorded and performed. the blues and jazz. Arthur Prysock, who is best known as a In the early 1900s, gospel quartetsbecame singer of romantic songs, was bornin Union, quite popular. The Golden GateQuartet was the South Carolina. He grew up on aNorth Carolina first group of its kind from SouthCarolina to farm. His goal was always to he a singer.He liked sing and perform on radio and inthe movies. listening to music. At the age of sixteen,he left The Spiritualaires received widerecognition. home. He went to Hartford, Connecticutwhere Many other groups performedlocally and all

MUSIC, DANCE AND THE PERFORMING ARTS 137 over the state. Gospel groups were quite popular began to play the blues full-time. On Sundays he around the time of World War II. performed gospel music. Even before that, many jazz musicians and Drink Small has continued his career as a blues singers began their careers in gospel music. musician into the 1990s. With his band he plays Among these are Don Covary, Josh White, and at clubs, at schools, and at prisons. In 1993 Small Drink Small. The rhythm and blues singers James performed at a tribute to Dizzy Gillespie at the Brown and Nappy Brown, whom you will meet S.C. State Museum. He has produced several later in this chapter, also began in gospel. albums. The music goes on. Singer and songwriter Don Covary was born inOrangeburgin1938. He grew up in Washington, D.C., singing first in a family gospel Rhythm and Blues group. In the 1960s he became a popular soulThrough much of the 1900s, even the music and blues singer. charts were segregated. Whites played pop, and Born in 1915 in Greenville, Josh Whiteblacks played rhythm and blues. Rhythm and began his musical career at the age of seven byblues is a form of music that became popular in leading around a blind street singer. His father the 1950s and influenced today's rock and roll. It was a minister, which exposed him to a lot ofgrew out of many other forms of music: work religious music early in life. He became interna- songs, gospel, ragtime, and jazz. It is music that tionally known as a singer of blues, folksongs, developed out of the experience of post-World and religious music. He began recording musicWar II African-Americans who had moved to the in 1931 in New York. Often referred to as "thecities. Small bands played this loud, raucous singing Christian," he could count Eleanormusic to which people loved to dance. In the Roosevelt among his fans. early 1950s, white radio stations gradually began Drink Small is a modern musician who has to play this new music. Its popularity led record lived and worked in Columbia, South Carolina. company executives to come to the South look- So Drink Small's name is more likely to be famil- ing for new talent. Ruth Brown, Fats Domino, iar to young people today than many of thethe Drifters, and the Clovers were among the other musicians in this book. This guitarist from early successes. The Platters were the first rhythm Bishopville is known as the "Blues Doctor" to his and blues group to be signed by a major record- fans. Even so, he plays all kinds of music and ing company. composes as well. He even recorded an album by By the mid-1950s, some elements of gospel that name. music had been added to rhythm and blues. This Drink Small came from a musical family. His led to what later became known as "soul." Soul mother sang and his father played several instru- music became popular in the 1960s. It was popu- ments. As a child, he liked to listen to the blues larized by Ray Charles, James Brown, and a num- on the radio. He wanted to learn to play the gui- ber of other singers. Soul has been describedas tar, but had no money to buy one. So he made music shaped by the need of African-Americans his own. He took a cigar box and stretched rub- to find their own identity. A number of South ber bands around it. Later he said that it sounded Carolinians became known as rhythm and blues more like a buzzing bee than a guitar. Apparently artists. his family agreed. His uncle gave hima real gui- Blues singer Napoleon "Nappy" Brown was tar. That is how he began to play the guitar and born in Charlotte, N.C. in 1929. He grew up in to sing. Educated in Lee County, he sang in the Pomaria, a small town near Columbia. Through glee club in high school. As a teenager, he played his church he became involved in music. A bari- his guitar at parties on Friday and Saturday tone singer, he performed with several gospel nights. He was part of a group called the Golden groups. He toured with a gospel group called the Five Quintet. On Sundays he played the guitar Heavenly Lights. Moving to Newark, New Jersey, and sang in church. In the 1950s he joineda a recording company "discovered" him in 1955 gospel group called the Spiritualaires, which when he won first place singing the blues at a toured in forty-one states. In 1957 he was voted talent contest. He recorded over twenty-five sin- the number one gospel guitarist by Metro gles in the 1950s and continued to record in the Magazine. After the Spiritualaires broke up, he 1960s. Although considered a rhythm and blues

138 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 152 singer, some of his songs were "crossovers" to African music. A number ofAfrican-American pop, such as "Little by Little."A composer as well musicians even went to Africa to study theworks as a singer, his best known songs were"Night of African composers. The rap musicwhich Time is the Right Time" (later popularizedby Ray developed in the 1970s emphasizesrhythm Charles), "Pitter Patter," and "Don't be Angry." more than melody. This is a returnto African This last song was a hit on the rhythm andblues tradition. rating charts. His song "Night Time is theRight Time" is considered an important forerunnerof The Charleston the soul music of the 1960s. The 1959 album, "Thanks for Nothing," was an important soul People from all backgrounds have alwaysloved key role in music album. to dance. African-Americans played a Nappy Brown toured all over the U.S. and in creating two dances that are well-lovedby Europe. Making a good living was difficult for Americans of all ethnic groups, the Charleston African-American musicians of his day. They usu- and the Shag. First we'll look at the Charleston. ally received little in royalties. After his marriage The dance which took America by storm Brown decided to leave the musical tour. He took during the 1920s seems to have originatedin a job as a maintenance man atJohnson C. Smith Charleston. The Charleston required contortions UniversityinCharlotte,NorthCarolina. of the body that doubtless seemed strange to However, he did not give up his music. He con- older people. Several versions explain how the tinued singing gospel music and also sang in the Charleston began, but all of them associate it AME Church. Eventually he settled in Columbia. with African American music and dancing. In the 1980s after a lengthy retirement,he According to some, its roots are found in the decided to revive his career in Europe, where "juba," African-American dancing performed there was an interest in blues music. Once again, during the time of enslavement. he began to record. In 1993 he played at a tribute One version of the origin of the Charleston to Dizzy Gillespie at the S.C. StateMuseum. associates it with the Jenkins OrphanageBand. Certainly one of the best known "soul" and According to the story, both blacks and whites rhythm and blues singers of all times is James danced to the music played by the band on Brown. Raised in Georgia, he was born in 1928 in Charleston's streets. Some say that eventhe Tennessee to a poor family. He became serious musicians would put down their instruments about his music in his twenties. Like manyother and dance. The steps they invented later became singers, he began in gospel. He formed a group the basis for the Charleston. A jazz pianist,Willie called the Famous Flames in 1954. Moving over Smith, more or less confirmed this when helater to secular music, his 1956 recordingof "Please, wrote that the youngsters fromthe band had Please, Please" led to a record contract.He done a dance using "Geechie" steps on their trips became a leading rhythm and blues singer and to New York. Geechie probablytakes its name toured all over the world. Although he has seen from the speech of African-Americans living near his share of personal and legal troubles, without the Ogeechee River, which is south ofSavannah. a doubt he has been a veryinfluential person in Perhaps this led to its popularity on the New theworldofmusic.An adoptedSouth York stage. Carolinian, he makes his home today in Beech Doubtless, the roots of the Charleston were Island, near Aiken. found in African-American dances. Some point Benjamin Franklin "Brook" Benton found to the dance steps in a 1921musical entitled himself pushing a cart around New York City to "Shuffle Along." The rhythm of the Charleston is support himself at the age of seventeen.Born in also said to be the same as that of another Camden in 1931, he left the South like so many African-American dance, the "Black Bottom." others to seek a better life. He firstjoined a Regardless of its precise roots, the Charleston gospel group, then formed a rhythm andblues became the rage. It was first seen in a 1922 group. Success began in1959. He had twenty- African-Americanmusicalcomedyentitled one gold records in the nextfive years. "Liza." The dance turned up in anotherAfrican- From the 1950s on, many African-American American musical named "Run nin Wild," aswell musicians became interested in modern-day as two other shows in 1923.

MUSIC, DANCE AND THE PERFORMING ARTS 139 James Johnson, along with Cecil Mack, native of Lancaster, grew up singing in the church wrote the song called "The Charleston" in 1923 choir and performing in his high school band. He when he was playing piano at the Jungles, a New started composing music when he was twelve. York night club. He said that most of the patrons After he finished high school, he formed his own were Southerners, many from Charleston. The group. Williams and his group, the Zodiacs, won couples liked to dance to his music. He com- a Gold Record in 1960 for the song "Stay." He has posed eight different Charlestons, one of which appeared on many television shows. was a later hit. Today both the shag and beach music live By the 1930s the dance world had moved on on. Shag clubs are popular in South Carolina, to newer crazes. In the 1950s and 60s, however, and colleges and recreational programs offer the Charleston experienced a revival. People shag classes. today still like to dance the Charleston. Dance The Shag: South Carolina's Official State Dance A number of African-Americans have made their mark in the world of dance. African-Americans If you like to shag, you might be surprised toin South Carolina organized several dance learn that people have been doing various ver-groups. One of these was the Yoruba Village sions of this dance since the 1930s. No one is Dancers in the Beaufort area, which had many quite sure of the origins of South Carolina's state Africanfeatures. Another was the Tillman dance, but it probably developed out of the Leagrae Theater Workshop. Joyce Idowa, a pro- Charleston and the jitterbug. It seems to have fessionaldancer,organizeditin1974in evolved from a popular dance called the BigCharleston. A number of individuals have also Apple, which took the country by storm. The Big made significant contributions to dance all Apple took its name from a Columbia nightclub across the country. We will introduce you to two that was originally a synagogue. The clubwas of these unique individuals. popular with African-American dancers in the One of the most unusual stories of someone 1930s.Dancers improvised on these other overcoming adversity is that of Clayton "Peg dances, adding new steps. The dance became Leg" Bates of Fountain Inn. As a boy in the early popular at the beach on the Grand Strand. Word 1900s, he worked in a cotton mill to help sup- spread. In the late 1930s, two groups of dancers port his family. He hurt his leg as a result of a ter- from North and South Carolina were selected to rible accident. A conveyer belt at the mill caught go to New York and do this dance at a theater. It his leg. Little medical care was available for was a great success. Many people believe that this African-Americans. The leg had to be amputated. is how New York City got its nickname. In any Clayton had always enjoyed dancing. He case the same basic steps used in the jitterbug and was determined not to give it up. Even before he the Big Apple are also found in the shag. received a wooden peg leg made by his uncle, he The shag is usually danced to a style ofwas dancing by using two broomsticks to sup- music known as "beach music." Beach music port himself. He continued to hone his skills. He itself seems to have developed out of rhythm began to dance at carnivals and fairs after mov- and blues. While in the 1930s people were dancing to Greenville. He was a talented tap dancer. ing to the sounds of the Big Bands, by the late Eventually he was "discovered." Before long he 1940s people were dancing to beach music. The was dancing all over the country. He also danced shag became a beach dance. It lost some if its on television and toured all over the world. popularity in the 1960s, but experienced a In later years, Peg Leg Bates decided to help revival in the 1970s. Singers such as General other African-Americans. By this time, the early Johnson, the lead singer of Chairman of the 1950s, he and his wife had settled in New York's Board, helped popularize the shag and beach Catskill Mountains. As a touring artist, he had music with the song "Carolina Girl." often performed in places where he was not Maurice Williams is another very popularallowed to stay. So he turned his farm into a musician in the area of beach music. Williams, a resort for African-Americans to enjoy.

140 AFRICAN- AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 15i Julius Fields became well-known for his work in the field of modern dance. Born in Hampton, he graduated from Allen University in 1953 and studied dance in New York. He appeared in the Broadway production of West Side Story. Fields has a long list of credits in the theater and on television. He also appeared as a soloist with the Alvin Ail ley Dance Theater and performed in the New York Shakespeare Festival. Dancing apparently runs in the family. His older brother, James, was also a dancer and a danceteacher.

Drama Success in the field of drama has been more difficult for African-Americans than in the other areas we have already discussed.Many professional actors and actresses even today complain that few good roles exist for them. Prior to the mid-1900s, an African-American who was stage- struck had almost no chance of success. Traveling minstrels performed from the late ft 1700s until after Reconstruction. This opportunity to perform was not much of a real chance. Minstrel style entertainment started on plantations that had bands. In the early 1800s,white musicians imitated blacks on-stage. The imita- African-Americans performed in a wide variety of ways. tions used unfair and unflattering stereotypes. This Richard Roberts 1920s photo shows African When African-Americans began to perform, they Attie, kan magicians displaying some of the tools of their were forced to carry on this"tradition." Having trade. Courtesy Roberts family. to earn a living by making fun of one's owneth- nic group was a terrible thing. Sadly,that was what white audiences wanted to see. However, in the years before the Civil War, some white writers did develop morerealistic perform in the 1940s. Sandra Bowie, Catherine African-Americancharacters.Playssuch,,s Peppers Hill, and Samuel Wright were part ofthis "Uncle Tom's Cabin" showed enslavement foi troupe. The Henderson-Davis Players arestill per- the great wrong that it was. But not untilwell iorming today. into the 1900s were large-scale efforts made to A few individuals had successatthe show African-Americans as real people with national level. Virginia Capers was an actress hopes and dreams. Few roles existed for them. who gained fame by winning a Tony award for In the 1800s and early 1900s, African- her role in Raisin. Eartha Kitt, the well known American churches and schools offered virtually actress and singer, is probably one ofSouth the only chance for serious acting. In Charleston Carolina's most famous natives. Did you know in the 1920s, opera directors offered African- that she once played the role of Catwoman in Americans some minor roles. In the 1930s a the television show Batman? Horace Ott, com- number of African-American elementary andposer and arranger, did anall-black production high schools were able to use public auditoriums of Guys and Dolls. Myrtle Hall Smith was a for performances. African-American collegesalso famous soprano and religious singer who has offered theater programs. The Henderson-Davis performed all over the world. You will meet some Players at South Carolina State College began to of these people elsewhere in this text.

MUSIC, DANCE AND THE PERFORMING ARTS 141 15u Arthur Jackson was both a performer and a The blues jumped the devil run the devil a musician. Born in 1911 in Jonesville, he was solid mile always glad when it rained. Only on rainy days The blues jumped the devil run the devil a was he able to go to school. The rest of the time solid mile he had to work on the farm, along with his five Well the devil set down and he cried like a brothers and sisters. Because his life was so hard, new-born chile" Jackson started running away from home at the age of ten. He traveled all across the country [From Charles Joyner, Folk Songs in South Carolina. doing whatever work was available. Sometimes Columbia: USC Press, 1971, p.101. Courtesy USC he got into trouble. As a result he spent some Press.] time in reform school. An accident in 1930 changed his life. He fell off a train and lost his A different type of entertainment replaced leg. This tragedy inspired him to concentrate on the medicine show and other live performances. music. As a boy he had played a harmonica. Americans have loved to go to the movies since After the accident, Jackson began to play in the creation of this form of entertainment in the some of the medicine shows that were popular late 1800s and early 1900s. Producers made little across the South. These shows usually appeared effort made to cater to the African-American at places where people gathered, like the county audience. Nina Mae McKinney, a native of fairs. The shows were popular through the 1950s. Lancaster, born in 1913, experienced the frustra- The job of the musicians was to attract a crowd. tions common to other African Americans of her The "doctor" needed a crowd to make his sales generationdespite her beauty and talent. pitch. As a performer Jackson played the har- Generally considered the first African-American monica, told jokes and stories, and was a straight man for the jokes of other performers. He took on the role of "Peg Leg Sam" in the medicine Beryl Dakers, a producer for S.C. Educational Television, shows. For a number of years he traveled with has used her own creative skills to teach about the artistic Leo Kandot, a native American who went by the contributions of other South Carolinians. One of her television documentaries looks at the Jenkins Orphanage name Chief Thundercloud. The performances Band and its influence on jazz. Courtesy SCETV. usually lasted about two hours. They sold different products after each of the three shows. If you had been there, you might have had the oppor- W7711t17:riC7 tunity to buy "corn medicine" or some equally interesting and probably useless item. Jackson always performed some kind of dance. A favorite was his imitation ofa chicken that had just been killed for dinner. Doubtless the audience loved it! Although Jackson continued to perform until 1973, he was virtually the last of the breed. Jackson had seen "Pink" Anderson, a talented guitarist from Spartanburg, perform in the 1920s. By watching him, Jackson learned what to do. Anderson became a close friend. One of Pink Anderson's many songs was entitled "Every Day Ir of the Week."

"I hate to leave you Mama God knows I sure hate to go I hate to leave you Mama God knows I sure hate to go Had the blues so long it made my poor heart so'

142 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 156 female movie star, she moved to New York with called Company I. This Charleston group is por- her family. She was on Broadway when she was traying the soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts seventeen. Following this, she, appeared inthe Volunteer Infantry, which fought in South movie Hallelujah as the seductive "Chick." This Carolina during the Civil War. The 1989 movie led to a five year contract with a major movie entitled Glory recounted their story. While man,' studio, but there was little work available for her. other reenactor groups exist around the nation, She joined the exodus of talented African- Company I is the first African-American group of Americans who went to Europe, where she this kind in South Carolina. became a nightclub singer and worked in motion pictures. Her last important film role was in the African-American Cultural Heritage 1947 movie Pinky. McKinney is said to have been as Part of Americana the model of the innocent, beautiful young woman used by many actresses ofthe next gen- South Carolina's African-Americans have played eration. She died in 1967. a significant role in thedevelopment of our Few televisionroles were availablefor nation's cultural heritage. Through music, dance, African-American actors until the 1960s, and and theater, they have added to the variety from indeed they remain limited even today. James which we can all choose. Popular commercial FranklinFields was one of the few South music was a field that was once closed toAfrican Carolina natives who made a name for himself Americans. While excluded from the main- in television and movies. In time, others willfol- stream, they created their own forms of music. low. What would be considered more American today In 1993 we can see the beginning of change than jazz? Musical experts often say that jazz is in the entertainment industry. Kimberly Aikenof the single most important American contribu- Columbia was the first African-American Miss tion to the world of music. It is anAfrican- South Carolina to win the Miss America title. American contribution. Similarly, people every- Beautiful and talented people of all ethnic back- where adopted African-American dance steps. grounds can now win national fame. African-American music and dance have become While few African-American actors have yet part of a wider American heritage.South found suitable national roles, local groups con- Carolina, the nation, and the world are all richer tinue to flourish. One interesting effort to pre- for these contributions. serve and popularize African Americanhistory is

MUSIC, DANCE AND THE PERFORMING ARTS 143 VVV CHAPTER 12 Visual Arts andCrafts

Only in the last twenty years or so has the work side, his work does show everyday life. African- of African-American artists begun to get theAmericans had no chance to paint pictures recognition it deserves. While preparing this depicting their lives in those days. So Walker's book, the authors looked at many books aboutwork is a valuable record of everyday life for South Carolina and Southern artists. Almost African-Americans. Walker painted people pick- without exception, books written before 1970ing cotton and working in the fields. We can see ignored the work of African-American artists. that life was not easy for African-Americans in However, even if they were ignored, African- the years after the Civil War. On the negative Americans have been painting, photographing, side, Walker used "caricature" in some ofhis and engaging in many other forms of art for a work. A caricature is a picture that exaggerates long time. African-Americans created out oftheir and distorts. His pictures also leave out anything own experience, showing usthe joys and the sor- beyond daily working life. The characters do not rows of their lives. show any of the deep feelings that they certainly In one short chapter we can only show ahad. Therefore we can not conclude thathe few examples of their work. We only have space wanted to show a sympathetic or complete pic- to mention a few of the manytalented artists. If ture of African-American life.Whatever his you take the time to lookbeyond this book, you shortfalls, Walker left us a record of the struggle will find many other paintings and photographs for daily survival faced by African-Americansin of these and other artists on display at museums the late 1800s. around the country. Later, African-Americans were able to tell First, in order to make a comparison, we will their own story. They told a much more com- briefly look at how white artists painted African- plete story. They showed complex people with Americans. Then we will see how African-much deeper feelings. Good art does that. It Americans developed as artists in the 1900s. We allows the viewer to see into the hearts of the shall see how their work built pride andchal- subject being shown. It allows us to feel what the lenged white views. artist saw in her subject. We shall now turn to that deeper and more complete story.

African-American Life Through White Eyes The Flowering of African-American Art in the 1900s In the 1800s most white artists ignoredAfrican Americans. The white artists who did paint pic- During the period of segregation, talented tures with African-American subjectsusually triv- African Americans had to leave the South for ialized African American culture. They tended to their artistic training. While some returned, show it in an oversimplified way. For example, many did not. More people inthe North sup- William Aiken Walker (1838-1921) was the only ported African-American artists. A black middle South Carolina artist of his day who specialized class had come into being. Whites who had been in pictures of African-Americans. On thepositive part of the abolitionist movementlived in the

VISUAL ARTS AND CRAFT; 145 North. Both of these groups helped and sup-The Harlem Renaissance ported African-American artists in the years after and Its Impact the Civil War. Some Southern-born artists, like Henry Tanner, found support overseas. They The African-American community had two con- lived and worked outside the United States. flicting ideas about the best way to improve their At first African-American artists used limited lives. On one side was Booker T. Washington. He subject matter in their work. Many talented believed that African-Americans should workon artists who had grown up in the South, such as getting better jobs and living conditions. If Edward Bannister and Henry Tanner, painted the treated equally by the law and given a chance, same kinds of pictures as did whites. We must African Americans would show white society realize that most African-American artists in the what they could do. He viewed racism assome- 1800s were trying to make a living in a world thing with which African-Americans would just controlled by whites. Therefore, they focused on have to live. Many Southerners accepted this the subjects of most concern to a white audi- approach in the early years of the 1900s. On the ence. Those who were more open to new ideas in other side was W.E.B. DuBois. He believed in their work were mainly the younger artists. confronting racism. DuBois felt that African- By the 1920s African-American artists were Americans should demand both social and eco- painting African-Americans. During this period a nomic equality. He believed continual struggle number of African American communities began for equality was important. His philosophy to sponsor African-American art exhibits in their became more popular among African Americans cities. African-American artists had a chance to as they served in World War I. show their work. Several national programs After World War I, this new awareness and began to give them awards. As early as 1914, Joel pride helped produce a great deal of new litera- Spingarn, the chairman of the NAACP, spon- ture and art by African Americans. DuBois had sored the award of a gold medal to an African- been involved in the founding of the NAACP. He American for achievement in any field. Ten years became editor of its journal, the Crisis, at the later, his wife Amy added another award just for beginning of the 1920s. The magazine and the literature and art. South Carolina artist Edwin A. organization both operated out of New York Harleston was one of the first winners. City. Jobs and a better life had attracted many In 1922 William E. Harmon, a white busi- African-Americans,includingmany South nessman, created, the Harmon Foundation. By Carolinians, to the city. By 1930 about ten per- 1926 the Foundation added separate awards to cent of all the African-Americans in the city were recognizetheachievementsofAfrican- from South Carolina. Harlem alone hadover Americans. Visual arts (painting, photography, 150,000African-Americanresidents.Here, and sculpture) was one of eight fields where they African-American culture could be expressed awarded gold medals and prizes. The foundation freely and openly. Although bigotry still existed, gave awards through 1933. The first year nine- creative activity could flourish. teen artists submitted their work. The second This flourishing of creative activity in the year the number was forty. Within ten years the 1920s by African-Americans has been calleda number of participating artists tripled. "Renaissance," which means rebirth. This is The Harmon Foundation was not the first somewhat misleading because black creativity grouptorecognizethe work ofAfrican- had never really died. Rather, it had beencov- Americans. But it was the most influential. Its ered up. In any case, Harlem became the center support helped a number of African-Americans of a great deal of literary and artistic creativity. become established in their chosen fields. By the James Weldon Johnson published his book God's late1920s,anawardfromthe Harmon Trombones in 1927. Other prominent writers Foundation was the greatest recognition an were Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and African-American artist could achieve. Later in Claude McKay. The support of the Harmon the 1930s, the Harmon Foundation sponsoreda Foundation enabled artists to concentrate on number of exhibits by African-Americans. This their painting and sculpture. was the time of the Great Depression when few Interest in the Harlem Renaissance wasso people had money for such "luxuries" as art. great that a well-known magazine, The Survey

146 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

153 Graphic, decided to devote a whole issue toit. explosions were taking place in other cities.This well as Northern TheyaskedDr.AlainLockeof Howard was true for Southern cities as University, who had been the first African-ones. Entire streets or districtsbecame African- American Rhodes scholar, to do the editing.In American cultural centers. Even white writers 1925 Professor Locke published The NewNegro, a explored African-American culture in booksand collection of stories and poetry focusing on plays. For example, Du Bose Heywardof Char- African-American culture. Locke believed that leston wrote the world famous play Porgy,with African art had been unjustly ignored. Hisefforts Catfish Row in Charleston as its setting.Later, to gain recognition of itsbeauty and artistic this became the basis for the musicalabout worth brought a new pride to AfricanAmericans. African American life, Porgy and Bess. Awhole As a result many African-American artistscreated new generation ofAfrican-Americans were creat- "protest" art. This was often more realisticthan ing art in South Carolina. Theseincluded the mainstream white painting. Harlestons in Charleston and Richard Roberts The Great Depression slowed the growth ofin Columbia. So much was going onin African American art. However, some progress Charleston thatitis sometimes called the continued. African American artists working dur- "Charleston Renaissance." As DuBois put it, ing this period focused on their cultureand pride. African-Americans were seeing "beauty in black" Some of them received funding from theWorks through their own efforts. Progress Administration of the U.S. Government. This help was critical for the folk artistsfrom the South, most of whom had no formal training.African-American Art Through Without this help these people usually could not African-American Eyes show their work in museums and galleries. In the years after World War n,African- In the late 1800s and early 1900sSouth Caro- American artists continued to focus on their own lina's African-American artists began to come shall experiences. They gradually found aplace in into their own. In the next few pages, we mainstream America. Some African American introduce you to some of these people andtheir artists portrayed the experiences ofAfrican work. They present a much more complex pic- Americans who had moved from theSouth, ture of African-Americanlife than we see where there was no chance in life, to theharsh through the eyes of white artists. urban ghettos. In the 1960s as the CivilRights One of the earliest South Carolina photogra- movement gained steam,African-American art phers was Arthur Mac Beth. Mac Beth is not as well-known as the later photographer Richard showedthestrongfeelingsof thetime. Bad Roberts. Nevertheless, his work served as amodel AfriCobra, or the African Community of that Relevant Artists, was a militant group ofblack for the photographers of his day. It shows artists. They wanted to build a positiveself image photography is art. Born in Charleston in 1864 for the black community. and educated at the Avery Institute, he was a Many African-American artists did businessman and an award winning photogra- that pher. His early photographs were taken atthe "abstract" work. Abstract means work he focuses on lines, colors and shapes,instead of Laing School near Charleston. In 1886 just making a photo-like pictureof reality. openedhisfirstphotographystudioin African-American museums were established. Charleston. Portraits were very popular at that time. He concentrated on portrait work to sup- African-American art exhibits became more com- and then in mon. By the 1980sseveral African-American port himself, first in Charleston museums had beenestablished in major cities. Baltimore and Norfolk. Apparently, he operated Mainstream museums were beginning to recog- two studios in different cities atthe same time after leaving South Carolina. nize the work of African-American artists. Macbeth was more fortunate than many in that he saw his work recognized while he was Impact in South Carolina alive. He received awards from the South At the same time that the Harlem Renaissance Carolina Fair, the Cotton States Exposition in was taking place in NewYork, similar cultural Atlanta,and the Jamestown Tricentennial

VISUAL ARTS AND CRAFTS 147 1 EA -

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A 1900 Arthur Macbeth photo of children going to school. Silver gelatin print. Reproducedwith permission of the South Caroliniana Library. From "Conflict and Transcendence: African American Art in SouthCarolina," organized by the Columbia Museum of Art.

Exposition. in 1902 he managed the Negro every day. He spent his afternoons engaging in building at the S.C. Interstate and West Indian his true vocation. Over the years he took thou- Exposition in Charleston, where the work of sandsofpicturesofColumbia'sAfrican- African American artists was displayed. Macbeth American citizens, as well as pictures in other also invented the "Macbeth Daylight Projecting parts of the state. Many were published inthe Machine." It allowed motion pictures to be Palmetto Leader,an African-American newspaper. shown in the daytime. He showed future genera- Amazingly, after he died in 1936, researchers dis- tions of African-Americans that it was possible to covered several thousand undeveloped nega- make a living at ones art. This was no small tives. The negatives had been stored under his accomplishment. house in a crawl space for forty years. The Richard Samuel Roberts is typical of many University of South Carolina was interested in African Americans whose work was notrecog- preserving the work of talented citizens. This nized in his own time. He was a self-taught pho- interest led the school's researchers to the tographer. In 1920 he moved from Florida to Roberts family. The researchers who restored his Columbia, where his wife had relatives, because work could not identify all of the people in the the climate was better for his wife's health. photographs after so many years. Even so, the Within two years he had established a photogra- pictures provide a priceless record of the every- phy business. He supported his family by work- day lives of average people. Many of these have ing as a custodian from four A.M. to twelve noon been published in a book about Roberts, A True

148 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

161 Likeness. A number of examples of his work she often sat in the driveway and talked tothem appear in this and other chapters. as they went by. When she met someonewho Elise and Edwin Harleston were a husband had an interesting face, she asked that person to and wife who often worked as a team. Quitefre- sit for her and her husband. In this mannershe quently, Edwin would paint portraits from Elise's gained many subjects for her pictures. Sheis photographs, as is the case with the picture of known as a portrait photographer, one of thefew the Civil. War veteran you saw in the chapter on African-American women artists of a generation the Civil War. Edwin did two renderingsfrom when few women were allowed to be creative. her photograph besides his initial sketch, achar- She died in 1970. coal drawing and an oil painting. The couple had Edwin Augustus "Teddy"Harlestonof a studio at their home inCharleston. Charleston was both an artist and a civil rights Elise Forrest Harleston, born in 1891, stud- leader. He was born in 1882. After attending ied photography at Tuskegee Institute in1921. Avery Institute in Charleston, he went to Like most artists, she and her husband had to Atlanta. There he received a degree at Atlanta support themselves by other means.They had a University. He thought of becoming a doctorand funeral home located next door to their house. attendedHowardUniversityforawhile. Elise minded the office. Because she liked people, Eventually he decided to become an artist. He

sometime (Left) Richard Samuel Roberts. Self-portrait of SouthCarolina's most famous African-American photographer in the mid 1930s before he died in 1936. CourtesyRoberts family. (Right) "Mary," a 1921 painting byEdwin Augustus Harleston. Oil on linen. Reproduced with permission of JanetHopkins and Ted Phillips. From "Conflict and Transcendence: African American Art in South Carolina,"organized by the Columbia Museum of Art.

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"Sowing," a 1920s painting by William H. Johnson. Screenprint.Courtesy Gibbes Museum of Art. headed for Boston. Before returning home, he James V. Herring started out as a painter. He studied art for six years at the Boston Museum of painted in the style of the Impressionists, who Fine Arts School. While in Boston he supported were interested in light and color. However, he himself by working as a seaman. Returningto chose to focus on art history. Born in Clio in Charleston, he worked in his family's funeral 1887, he is one of those who left the state to business and became involved in civil rights. He make a career elsewhere. He went to study at was one of the founders of the Charleston chap- Syracuse University in New York State. ter of the NAACP in 1916. Educational equality When Herring went to Howard University in was one of his areas of particular concern. 1921 with the intention of starting an art depart- Edwin Harleston pursued his artistic bent at ment, everyone was skeptical. He later told an the same time. He became knownas a portrait interviewer that both faculty and administrators artist. His studio was located on the top floor of laughed at him. Herring did not let that stop him. his house. In the 1920s he hada number of Later he started what may have been the first real exhibits in the New York area. Somewere African-American art department at an African- through the Harmon Foundation,a group you American university. His department was one of learned about earlier that promoted African- the centers that provided the same energy found American art. In 1931, the year that he died, he in New York during the Harlem Renaissance. A joined the Harmon Foundation. He isone of the number of talented people came to work with best known African-American artists of hisgen- him at Howard. In 1930 the University Gallery of eration. Art opened under his direction. In his association

150 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 163 with the Harmon Foundation, Herring served as a Although in many ways his life was a judge for awards given to distinguished African- tragedy, Johnson is recognized today as a tal- Americans. He died in 1969. ented artist. During his career, he experimented William Henry Johnson was an artist who with a number of different styles of painting. His has been rediscovered in recent years. He was subjects range from landscapes to life in the born in Florence in 1901. As did so many others, African American South to religion to political he left the South to further his artistic training. figures. In 1966 his work found a home at the In New York he attended the Academy of Design Smithsonianin Washington. The National while working a variety of unskilled jobs to pay Museum of American Art has a collection of over his expenses. In the 1920s he moved to Europe, 1,000 pieces of his work. first going to Paris on a scholarship. He married South Carolina, like many areas of the a Danish artist sixteen years hissenior. For most South, saw an exodus of talent in the years after of the 1920s and 1930s, he remained in Europe. the Civil War. In the 1900s some of those who In 1930 he visited the U.S. and finished some had left to study came home again. Arthur Rose paintings for the Harmon Foundation. An arrest is typical of those who returned to the South and for vagrancy while visiting his mother inhelped enrich the lives of others. Born in Florence left him disgusted with discrimination Charleston, Rose became interested in art at the in the United States. He returned to Europe. age of six. He received hisundergraduate degree Johnson and his wife moved to New York in from Claflin College. He then left the state to 1938 to escape from the Nazis. She died of cancer study at New York University, where he earned a after World War II. He never recovered from the master's degree. Returning to South Carolina, he shock. He moved back to the country ofbecame chairman of the Art Department at Denmark and became mentally ill. Authorities Claflin College. He was responsible for training found him wandering on the streets, carrying his many other young African-Americanartists. Rose paintings around with him. Sent back to New said that he liked teaching others how to create. York in 1947, he spent the rest of his life in a He was an important role model to aspiring mental institution. Sadly, he never was able to young African-American artists.Although he paint another picture and died in 1970. began as a painter, Arthur Rose also created

, "Scene in Corsica," a 1920s landscape painting by William s*.igkek4 H. Johnson. Courtesy Gibbes AO. Museum of Art.

VISUAL ARTS ANO CRAFT'S 151 G -1 MEI

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111.-._ (Top)"Creatures of the Deep," a 1970s painting by Arthur Rose. Oil on canvas. Reproduced with permission of the artist. From "Conflict and Transcendence: African American Art in South Carolina," organized by the Columbia Museum of Art. (Left) Ezekiel's Wheels, Window Child, a 1990 painting by Dr. Leo Twiggs. Batik. Reproduced with permission of the artist. From "Conflict and Transcendence: African American Art in South Carolina," organized by the Columbia Museum of Art.

Dr. Leo F. Twiggs of St. Stephen was a student of Arthur Rose at Claflin College. Like his mentor, he has been an important role model for African-American artists in South Carolina. He graduated summa cum laude from college. For six years he taught art at the high school level. Continuing his education, he received a master's degree from New York University in 1964 anda Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in 1970. He is the director of the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium at S.C. State University. His work in teaching art to disadvantaged African-American students and his other activities have earned him metal sculpture. His work was highly praised. many awards. He has served on a number of From the 1950s on he had many shows, includ- boards and commissions, including the South ing five shows at Atlanta University. He received Carolina State Museum and the South Carolina many awards, including one from the National Arts Commission. His work in a number of dif- Conference of Artists. He retired in Orangeburg. ferent media, including oil, acrylic, and batik,

152 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

165 has been widely exhibited. Manycollections paintings. The paintings are his interpretationof include his paintings. He continues to be amajor racial unrest in Harlem. influence on many young artists inSouth MacArthur Goodwin, an art educatorwho Carolina. has lived inColumbia and Spartanburg, has Folk artist. Samuel Doyle was born in 1906. worked in a variety of media. Hetrained as a studied at painter but became interested indrawing and He grew up on St. Helena Island and work as the Penn School. He supported himselfby work- printmaking. A critic has described his ing as a porter, a clerk, and a laundryattendant. A seeming to give the appearance of adream self-taught artist, he used anything he couldfind world. A museum curator described it as present- as his materials,including plywood, tin, and ing a romantic image of Africa. As aneducator house paint. Doyle displayed his work in hisfront yard. A wide variety of subjects attractedhis interest, including people, historical events,and scenes "Preaching Bill or Man with Bowtie," by SouthCarolina from The Bible. You can see an example ofhis folk artist Dan Robert Miller, made sometimebetween 1970 and 1987. Made of black gum wood.Miller was a work, "Lincoln in Frogmore," in theCivil War truck driver who became ill and could not work.His cre- chapter earlier in the book. Doyle died in1985. ations were inspired by dreams. After eachdream, he James Hampton was born in Elloree in1909 would go into the woods to find wood from which to and passed away in 1964. Another emigrefrom make his carvings. Museum purchase. ColumbiaMuseum the state, he moved to Washington, D.C.around of Art. From "Conflict and Transcendence:African 1928. He served in the army, thensupported American Art in South Carolina," organized bythe himself by working as a cook and a janitor. Columbia Museum of Art. Hampton was also self-taught, but his work was Or, - quite different from Doyle's. It has areligious C4ir theme. His major work is called The Throneof the Third Heaven of the Nations MilleniumGeneral Assembly. He worked on it every night for a number of years. It was created from a varietyof objects, such as light bulbs, woodenfurniture, and bottles covered with foil. A religiousvision inspired him to create this unique work.It may have been inspired by Kongo gravedecorations, where reflective surfaces sometimes represent water. You will recall that in thebeliefs of some African cultures, water connects the twoworlds of the living and the dead. Merton D. Simpson, born in Charlestonin 1928, left the state to study at CooperUnion and New York University. In the early1950s, he apprenticed as a frame-maker. This gave himthe opportunity to meet many important artists coming by to pick up their frames. Theartists offered constructive criticism of his work,described as "semi-abstract." Simpson settled in NewYork where he paints and also owns an art gallery.He is known for his "confrontation" series ofpaintings. The South Carolina Arts Commissionpurchased "Confrontation #20," an abstract expressionist piece. In 1964 during the Harlem,N.Y. riots, Simpson witnessed a confrontationbetween police and African-Americans. Severalweeks later he began a series of twenty-two mostlyabstract

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166 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Confrontation II, a 1964 painting by Merton D. Simpson. Note the differences between the two halves of the face. Reproduced with permission of the artist.

Goodwin works with young people, who oftenthink about his Lowcountry home, which know little about art. He concentrateson ensur- became the subject of so much of his work. He is ing that they understand the "context" of the one of those who is helping to preserve Gullah art. By context he means the things around the culture through art. artistthat inspire and affect her creation. Orangeburg native Floyd Gordon isa water- Goodwin has earned many awards, includingcolor artist who paints landscapes, people, and U.S. Art Educator of the Year. abstracts. Much of his work focuseson everyday Jonathan Green, a Gardens Corner native life of African-Americans. By the time hewas six, now living in Florida, shows the richness of he knew he wanted to be an artist. He achieved Southern African-American life in his paintings. this goal after traveling widely and holdinga His brightly-colored works show both the cele- number of different jobs. After high school he brations and everyday life among the Gullah. He attended Claflin College but soon droppedout. has also co-authored a book entitled Father and He moved to Washington State, then served with Son. As a small child, Green lived with his grand- the Army in Germany in the 1960s. Later he parents in South Carolina and visitedhis lived in New York City.. Gordon returnedto mother, who had moved to New York, in the Orangeburg and began a career asa freelance summers. In third grade he moved to New York artist after four years in the North. Eventually but returned South several years later. After fin- Gordon decided to complete his bachelor's ishing high school, he joined the military when degree in art and returned to Claflin College. He he was told he would be trainedas an artist. graduated in 1980. With his degree in hand, he Instead, he was sent to North Dakota to trainas began to display his work in shows in South a cook. Naturally he was upset, but all was not Carolina. His work has appeared in shows all lost. The resourceful young man managedto over the U.S. He has a gallery in Orangeburg. find a nearby school where he could attendart Other modern artistsinclude Winston classes each day after chef's school. Encouraged Wingo,LeroyMarshall,LarryLebby,and by his art teachers, he went to the Art Institute of Tarleton Blackwell. Wingo is a sculptor. Marshall Chicago after completing military service. He is a folk artist from Cherokee County,a para- graduated in 1982 with a bachelor's degree. plegic who created by using the things people During his years in the Midwest he beganto throw away. Lebby is a graphic artist living in

154 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

167 Columbia, who has a piece of his work inthe include a younger member of the familyof the Smithsonian Collection. Tarleton Blackwell is a master craftsman who originallytrained Philip realist known for his work on the cultureof hog Simmons. raising. These and many others each intheir own Born in Wando in 1912, Simmons'family As a way portray the African-Americanexperience. moved to Charleston when he was a boy. child he watched his grandfather, a skilled carpenter, as he worked. He learnedmuch of his Philip Simmons: Master Ironworker craft by watching the blacksmiths at work.One Ironwork represents a special kind of art.One of the blacksmiths trained him. Simmonsearned in the 1920s and very special ironworkerlives in South Carolina. a living at auto and truck repair Philip Simmons of Daniel Island is famousfor 1930s. Eventually he began repairingand then his ornamental ironwork. He carries on along making iron gates. His designs became more tradition. It began with the skills broughtfrom complex. In the next forty years, heproduced of over 200 gates. He madewindow grilles and Africa several hundred years ago. Generations and he craftsmen carried it forward. A mastercraftsman, fences as well. His work was in demand, was often asked to restore gatesand iron railings. coincidentally also named Simmons, trained of homes him. Philip Simmons has trained youngerarti- You can see much of his work outside sans who will carrythe art forward. These and buildings in historic Charleston.

Charleston. Note the detail of the bird in the center.This is as much art as (Left) Iron grillwork by Philip Simmons in Photo by craft. Photo by Aimee Smith. (Right) Another exampleof Philip Simmons iron grillwork in a garden gate. Aimee Smith.

3, If

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BEST COPY AVAILABLE The Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. honored Simmons as a National Heritage Fellow. He designed and crafted a "Star and Fish" wrought-iron gate for the Smithsonian to display. His eye was good enough to do the work without measuring. As one journalist reported, 41::: the end result was "perfect." Simmons has also been inducted into the 1"- S.C. Hall of Fame, and the Folk Arts Program of the National Endowment of the Arts hasrecog- nized his work. The State Museum in Columbia displays a fine example of his work. While he says that he thinks of himself as a blacksmith, he will be remembered as an artist

Losses and Gains to South Carolina Through much of the 1900s, the work of African- American artists was almost totally ignored. Exactly how much was lost is hard to tell. That there was a loss is illustrated by thecase of Charles Spears. Born around 1901 in Sumter, he was disabled fighting in World War I. He must have been talented because his paintingswere exhibited all over the nation and abroad. We know that they were part of the 1930 Harmon Foundation exhibit. Supposedly he painted landscapes and used a primitive style, but we have no examples of his work to see. All have disap- peared. Spears must be considereda "lost" artist, "Frank Owens' Blue Shack," 1989, by Beverly Buchanan. another victim of apathy that resulted from liv- Made of pine, tin, acrylic paint. Museum purchase. ing in a segregated society that placed little value Columbia Museum of Art. From "Conflict and Transcendence: African American Art in South Carolina," on the work of its African-American citizens. organized by the Columbia Museum of Art. White society has only recently begunto recognize the importance and quality of African- American art. However, even today art exhibits still show little of the work of female African- Hopefully, younger African-American artists American artists. Beverly Buchanan isan excep- of both sexes will face fewer barriersas time goes tion. She is one of the very few women usually on. We will almost surely see a huge range and included in standard lists of African-American wide variety of work in years tocome. Perhaps artists. Buchanan's work looks at the rural South. more of those making contributions in the African-American women had to face a double future will be able not only to call South dose of discrimination againstany creative Carolina their home, but keep itas their home. efforts. Both their race and their sex posed barriers to recognition and success.

156 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 16i VY CHAPIEn13 MilitaryService

If you think about it, one In this chapter we will look atthe military ser- even more important. of the most important ways a personcan claim vice of African-Americans inall of America's mil- her nation in itary conflicts, except theCivil War. We dis- full citizenship is to serve his or earlier chapter. time of war. cussed the Civil War in an in gen- Although we willconcentrate on African- The experience of African-Americans South Carolina eral and South CarolinaAfrican-Americans in par- American soldiers with direct will see in this connections, we will also reviewthe history of ticular illustrates this idea. As you African-American soldiers in general.This is for char zer, the history ofAfrican-American service in the military has one maintheme. With a few two reasons. all Africans important exceptions, African-Americanswere First, because nearly half of and fought and died entered the nation throughCharleston, odds are saying that if they served African-Americans in mili- and proved themselves, otherAmericans must that almost half the If they were tary service have someSouth Carolina connec- surely accept them as full citizens. live in the state, accepted as full citizens, then theywould have all tion. If they themselves did not people have. then quite possibly theirmothers or fathers or the blessings of liberty that other As you will see, African-Americansdid all some other ancestor atleast passed through the claim that they Palmetto State. they could to make a strong important. loved their nation as much as anyone.In fact, The second reason is even more the chance Few people know this history.It has been all but half the battle was just trying to get ignored. We should understandthat whatto prove this. Timeand time again, African- African-Americans from South Carolina con- Americans were denied theright to serve. However, when they did serve,their willingness tributed was not unusual.African-Americans their nation was not in from all over the nation weremaking the same to give their lives for them all a great debt. doubt. kind of sacrifices. We owe of African- After all, we may come from manyplaces, but we Sadly, as is the case with much American history, the books left outthe exploits are all Americans. important? of many brave men and women.As a result, their Why ismilitaryservice much easier to Americans have almost always seenmilitary ser- claims to full citizenship became ignore and reject. Unfortunately, manywhites did vice as both an obligationand a right of citizen- military service. The ship. How isit an obligation? Manypeople ignore African-American believe that if you benefitfrom living in a time has come to give creditwhere credit is due. nation, you have a duty tohelp with its defense. For a democracy to survive,citizens must be will- Colonial America defending it. ing to pay the price of there was a United How is military service aright of citizen- We begin our story before equal under the law, Statesto defend.African-Americans helped ship? All citizens, if they are ofwhite have an equal right to serve.If someone is not defendtheproperty andlives under the law, he or she may not Americans in South Carolinalong before they seen as equal for themselves. be allowed to serve. So theright to serve becomes had any realistic hope of freedom

MILITARY SERVICE 157 1'' In 1708 enslaved African-Americans worked as in the North, were making similar offers.This mounted soldiers outside Charlestonto protect greatly reduced the number of enslaved the cattle and the settlement from people Indian raids. in the northern parts of the nation. Thebravery In 1747 the South Carolina coloniallegislature and sacrifice of African-Americansduring the recognized this help. They passeda resolution of war encouraged abolitionists. thanks. "(I)n times of war, (they) It helped lead behaved them- Northern states to completely endenslavement selves with great faithfulness andcourage, in after the way. repelling the attacks of his Majesty'senemies." Sadly, the story in South Carolinawas quite Despite this thanks the state's leaders didnot different. The Continental Congress, trust their enslaved soldiers. Whites made George certain Washington, and one of South Carolina'smore that the state militia had two armedwhites for progressivemilitaryofficers,Colonel John each armed black. This meant thatif enslaved Laurens, all urged the state to takeup the offer African-Americans did revolt against whites,the made by the nation's wartimegovernment. The whites would outnumber them two to one. government promised to payowners $1,000 for every enslaved African who becamea soldier. The Revolutionary War When the war wasover, the soldier would be freed and receive $50. Only SouthCarolina and African-Americans served with distinctionin the Georgia completely rejected this plan. American Revolution. However, A number most of their of enslaved African-Americans inthese states ran service as combat soldierson the American side away. They joined American revolutionary forces was in the North. One of the first Americansto as soldiers in other states. die in the cause, if not thevery 'first, was Crispus Attucks, an African-American. In South Carolina the major role African- British troops Americans played in helping the Americanforces killed him when they firedon civilians in what was as labor and support. It was not voluntary. became known as the Boston Massacre.A number of enslaved and free Nevertheless, the labor of African-Americanswas African-Americans critical to the success of the revolutionaries.The served with the Minutemenat the beginning ofstate hired enslaved African-Americans the war in Massachusetts. They fought from at Bunker their owners to help build andman defenses. Hill. African-Americans fought theBritish on They erected forts around Charleston both land and sea. They helped John harbor. Paul Jones These included the two-layer palmettolog walls in the Navy. Many servedas pilots for boats in on the fortifications on Sullivan's Island, later the Chesapeake Bay. Others fought as "priva- named Fort Moultrie. Those logs repelledthe teers" on the high seas attacking theBritish Navy cannon balls of attacking British ships. In honor and merchant ships. Two African-American sol- of that victory, South Carolina addeda palmetto diers were with George Washingtonwhen he tree to the state flag. crossed the Delaware River tosurprise the African-Americans served as firemen for Hessian troops. Many Northern units were inte- Charleston when British ships shelledthe city. grated. Blacks marched and foughtalongside They took the lead ornaments offbuildings in whites. After the battle of Yorktown,one review- Charleston and melted them into lead ing officer had only high praise for the shot for African- muskets. Each cannon protectingCharleston American troops. He noted that threefourths of had two African-Americans helpingto man it. the regiment from Rhode Islandwere African Even Fr.. ncis Marion, knownas the "Swamp Americans. Compared to otherregiments, he Fox," counted among his said, it was the neatest in dress and men a number of the best in African-Americans who servedas scouts and in military drills and maneuvers. support roles. One great incentive for service inNorthern African-Americans who belonged to white states was the promise of freedom. Forexample, loyalists found themselves treated New York promised freedom as the spoils of to all enslaved war. When the owners were unable toescape African-Americans who signedup to fight for withthepeople three years on the American side. they had enslaved,the The state Revolutionary Army often capturedAfrican- would give their owners land inreturn. By the Americans. White officers put captured end of the war, almost all states, enslaved especially those people to work as forced labor. Theyoften kept

158 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

171 after the war. new United StatesConstitution a few years after them as their personal property property Enslaved people captured fromloyalist planta- the war treated African Americans as tions in South Carolina weregiven to white rather than citizens. American soldiers as an enlistmentbonus. Both sides engaged in this practice.Enslaved African- The War of 1812TheBattle Americans captured by the British weresome- The British gave of New Orleans times kept by British officers. the War of 1812 others to loyalist plantation ownerswho had lost The role of African-Americans in the American with Great Britain was similar totheir role in the the people they had enslaved to free revolutionaries. Revolutionary War. Once again, many Just as in the case ofwhite Americans, African-Americans served in units fromnorthern in the war. The regions of the nation. Again,the government blacks fought on both sides their term of British appealed to enslavedpeoples to join them promised freedom at the end of and fight on their side. In returnthey promised service. people. This was very attrac- African-Americans had the most impactin to free the enslaved estimate that as tive to enslavedAfrican-Americans in South naval battles. Some historians Carolina and Georgia. They could notwin their many as one out of every,ten sailors fighting in freedom fighting for the Americanrevolutionar- theGreatLakeswereAfrican-Americans. Admiral Perry ies. White owners threatenedwith harsh punish- Following the battle of Lake Erie, this British offer. But said that his African-Americansailors "seemed ment any who took up One captain many took the riskanyhow. They also believed absolutely insensitive to danger." the slogan, "Give me liberty orgive me death!" spoke of an African-Americansailor who had 1775 and 1883, atbeen hit by a twenty-fourpound cannon shot. One estimate is that between "Fire away least25,000 enslaved African-Americansin His dying words to his comrades were, South Carolina alone fled tofreedom. They my boys." Anotherwho was dying asked his fought on the side of theBritish as "shock shipmates to throw him overboard sohe would troops"leadingthechargeagainstthe not be in the way. Americans. Shock troops werethose who At the Battle of New Orleans,where Andrew charged first, and drew mostof the firepowerJackson won fame as a militarycommander, result, they usually suf- African-Americans played a majorrole. They from the opponents. As a turning back fered many more casualtiesthan the troops that fought beside regular white troops, followed them. They also served asspies, guides, the main British assault ontheir position. They in fights that led up to the and skilled laborers. When theBritish left follow- won particular praise African-Americans in main battle. Andrew Jacksontold them that "the ing their defeat, 20,000 valor, as British service left with them. American nation shall applaud your One groupof African-Americans who your general now praises yourardor." fought on the British sidestayed behind and The War of 1812 has onefinal similarity They called them-with the Revolutionary War.Once again the remained a military force. of freedom to selves the "King of England'sSoldiers." Hiding in British tried to use the promise the Savannah lure enslaved African-Americansto their side. fortifications in the swamps along great as in the River, they carried on their ownprivate guerrilla The numbers were not nearly as risk their lives war at night againstthose who enslaved other Revolutionary War, but some did African-Americans. They disappearedduring the for freedom. According torecords, once-enslaved of South Carolina people found safe haven living onBritish'soil in day. The combined militias in the period and Georgia needed several yearsto finally dril e Canada and the British West Indies them from the swamps. after the war was over. By the end of theRevolutionary War, more than 5,000 African-Americanshad risked their How the West Was Won lives for the revolution. Theyfought for the political freedom of therevolutionary white Most people do not associateAfrican-Americans freedom in many with the conquest of theIndiansinthe Americans and for their own American West. We do not get to seemany cases. Ironically, thewhite Americans writing the

MILITARY SERVICE 159 (Left) African-American re Cavalry under fire in the American West. Courtesy I William Loren Katz, Collection, Ethrac _AP tr Publications, 231 W. 13th St. V' N.Y., N.Y. 10011. (Facing Page) The Black Seminole

T' Scouts, one of the most famous fighting forces during 5 the battles with the plains loN Indians in the late 1800s. Courtesy William Loren Katz, Collection, Ethrac Publications, 231 W. 13th St. N.Y., N.Y. 10011.

African-Americans as soldiers doing battlewith In 1870 a U.S. general, knowing oftheir rep- the Indians on televisionor in the movies. utation as great scouts and fighters,went to However, if these "cowboy and Indian"shows Mexico. He persuaded the BlackSeminoles to were really accurate, we would seemany African- help the U.S. Army in theirwar with the Indians Americans among the U.S. Cavalry. Oneestimate in the American plains. With thepromise of land is that as many as one out ofevery five soldiers and food, they and their familiescame north. fighting in the West was an African-American. They soon became known The name the Indians, as one of the most or Native Americans, successful fighting units in the West. Theyhad a gave African American troops was "buffalo sol- dozen major battles andnever lost a single man. diers." Native Americanssaw African-American's They survived in the deserton nothing but dark and typically curly hairas similar to the hair canned peaches and rattlesnakemeat. In one on buffaloes. The famed all African-American skirmish, three scouts and their Tenth Cavalry adopted the commander name "buffalo sol- attacked a war party of thirty Indians.They won diers." With great pride they placedit on their the battle and lost only the officer'shorse. The military crest. Their servicewas so impressive three scouts won CongressionalMedals of that 11 African-Americans in their rankseven Honor. received the Congressional Medal ofHonor. Sadly,theU.S. One of the most feared government brokeits groups of African- promise to the Black Seminole Scouts,just as it American soldiers was the "BlackSeminole broke so many promises to NativeAmericans. Scouts." These were the descendantsof African- The Scouts did not get the landor food for their Americans who escaped enslavement. Mostof families they were promised. Evenworse, one of them came from Georgia, butsome of them may them, a Medal of Honor winner,was shot in the have escaped from South Carolina. Theywent to back by a Texas sheriff ata New Year's Eve dance. Florida where they joined the SeminoleIndians The 200 men andwomen, who had come back and intermarried among them. Herethey helped to help after being driven out of thecountry, the Seminoles successfully fight off theU.S. mili- once again packed their belongings and left the tary for many years. Eventually they movedWest United States. This time itwas for good. with the Indians. They went to Mexicowhen One of the saddest things aboutAfrican- whites tried to reenslave them. There theyjoined American involvement in the WesternIndian forces with the Mexican Army. Wordspread far wars is that both they and the Indians suffered and wide about their great fighting skills. the prejudice of white Americans.The Indians

160 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 17 seemed aware of this. They felt a strange senseof were greatly againstthem. They had to endure who helped the usual hardships and harshdiscipline. They kinship with these "buffalo soldiers" all their fellow to defeat them. At theBattle of Little Big Horn, also had to survive the hatred of the only one of General Custer's men notscalped officers. African-American scout In the late 1800s, West Point allowedtwenty was Isaiah Dorman, an The first to who was also part Indian. The Indianssaid that African Americans to enter as cadets. happened to be attempt this nearly impossiblefeat was James W. he belonged to the Indians but West among the soldiers. Smith of South Carolina. Unfortunately, Point expelled him for hitting afellow cadet on the head with a large serving spoon.The cadet had insulted him beyond what hecould endure. The First African-American One of the worst cases took placein 1880 after West Point Cadet Johnson Whittaker of Camdensurvived two While the U.S. military was willing toallow years of rough treatmentat West Point. Then in white cadets tied him to his bed.They slashed African-Americans to sacrifice theirlives the school defense of the nation, it was unwilling toallow his ears and shaved his head. But commanded expelled him, not his tormenters. WestPoint them to be officers. White officers himself virtually all African-American troopsuntil the found him guilty of supposedly injuring give African- and then accusing others. Finally, in1877, Henry late 1800s. The U.S. military did not Georgian, sur- Americans the chance to provethey could lead 0. Flipper, the son of an enslaved persistent efforts, the mil- vived the full four years andgraduated. By the as well as follow. After had made it. itary allowed a few to try. Onceagain the odds end of the century only two others

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See page 160 (facing page) forcaption MILITARY SERVICE 161 Winning the Battle of San Juan Hill He went on to note that their "battle hymn"was "There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight." The short war with Spain in 1898involved Not all the bravery and heroics took place African-American soldiers and sailors from the under enemy fire. When an epidemic ofyellow very beginning. The war began with the sinkingfever broke out, nearlya hundred African- of the American battleship Maine bySpanish American soldiers volunteered for nursingduty. forces in the harbor of Havana, Cuba.Among the They knew full well that they could catchthe more than 200 sailors who lost their liveswere fatal disease themselves. twenty-two African-American sailors. "Remem- Jones Morgan, born in Newberry County, ber the Maine!" became the battle cry for the rest South Carolina, was thought to be thelast sur- of the war. Sadly, few rememberedthat about viving member of the Ninth Cavalry that one in ten of those lost on the Mainewere helped take Sari Juan Hill. At theage of 15, he African-Americans. ran away from home and joined the Ninth, still Most of the action took place in Cuba.The known as buffalo soldiers from theirfrontier same African-American cavalry units that had days in the American West. Althougha South gained fame in winning the West playeda deci- Carolina native, he spent his lastyears living in sive role. When Teddy Roosevelt led his"rough Virginia, where he visited schools andtaught riders" in their victorious chargeup San Juan students about the buffalo soldiers. Hill, he found African-American soldiers Chief of from Staff General Colin Powell, the Joint Chiefsof the Tenth Cavalry had already takenthe hill. Staff of the U.S. Military Services, and They had cleared away much of the President opposition. Bush all met and gave honors to this livingleg- Some soldiers even claimed that theNinth and end. In October of 1993 at theage of 110, Jones Tenth Cavalries saved the Rough Ridersfrom Morgan left this world and joined hisfellow defeat. One saidthat because he wasa brave soldiers, Southerner he had always beenprejudiced George Washington, whowas born near against "the colored man." But the braveryand Columbia in 1831, served with the 9th and hard fighting he saw had changed his 10th feelings. Cavalries. At the age of 97, he recountedhis

-!.,LAissaiatik -cosimiarP. Soldiers who helped take San Juan Hill after the battle in the F F4 Spanish American War. Courtesy Willia:n Loren Katz, Collection, Ethrac Publications, 231 W. 13th St. N.Y., N.Y. 10011, Library of Congress.

162 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

175 experiences from the Civil War toWorld War I. He served hls owner, GeneralHampton, during the Civil War and after the war fortwelve years before joining the Army himself.Washington claimed to have fought at Havana,where he was wounded and sent home. If this is correct,he would have been in his sixties by thattime! He retired with the rank of sergeant. Becausehe had learned to speak Spanish in Cuba, themilitary asked him to help communicatewith the Spanish-speaking prisoners during WorldWar I. Doubtless he saw a great deal during hislong life. Nearly all Americans remember thebattle- ship Maine and swell with pride atthe exploits of Teddy Roosevelt. Few have evenheard about what African-Americansoldiersdid.They fought bravely to set Cubans freefrom Spain. \` Yet they were hardly free fromprejudice themselves in the country whose uniformsthey proudly wore.

World War I k African-Americans played a large role inthe First World War. Many of those who servedin the army from the North weretrained on South Carolinabases.NearlyhalfofallSouth Carolinians who served in the war wereAfrican- An unidentified young Columbiaresident posing for Richard Roberts in his uniform just afterWorld War I. Americans. History of much Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The The hopes of African-Americans were S.C. Slide Collection, slide B-148(Sandlapper Publishing the same as in the past. CharlesJohnson taught Company, 1989). Courtesy Roberts family school for thirty years and was anofficer in the YMCA unit that served African-Americantroops being trainedat Camp Wadsworth,South African- Carolina. In 1919 he spoke to an The most famous unit with manyAfrican- American audience in Union,South Carolina. Carolina was the small booklet. American soldiers from South Later he published the speech in a 371st Infantry Regiment. It was partof an all He described how he and so manyother African- three regi- Negro is African-American division. The other American citizens felt. "The American soldiers from Northern proud that he was given the opportunityto pre- ments were composed of states. The 371st trained atFort Jackson in late serve Christiancivilization and to show what is training, young of himself. ...(The) 1917. After only a few weeks of in him and give good account men who had knownonly farm labor were history of the World War cannotbe justly writ- described them ten and leave out his veryconspicuous and changed into soldiers. An officer American Negro as "excellent" indrill, "unbelievably perfect" in heroic part. The world sees the handling their rifles, and extremely"proud" of in an entirely different lightand will give him a the hope their entire unit. chance in life as never before ...(This) is This pride carried over onto thebattle fields and expectation of all." Sadly, despiteall the later. The army hopes for a chance, it was not yet tobe. Nearly of Europe less than a year that hope assigned them to become partof a famous another half century passed before French division. The "Red HandDivision" used a become reality.

MILITARY SERVICE 163 1bb red hand as its shoulder patch. The 371stfought been done to honor African-Americans who had with such courage and ferocitythatthe fought in the War to End All Wars. Germans began calling them the "blackdevils" and "hell fighters." A white Americancolonel said that "These men ofours, whom I saw in World War II death on Hill 188, these blackmen who digni- For much of the Second World War, African- fied death, who brought honor to theirrace and Americans found themselves fighting toget a glory to our colors... were soldiers whohelped chance to fight. The military, dominated by to elevate our pride" (Chester D. Heywood, white prejudice, was still not readyto offer full Negro Combat Troops in the World War: TheStory equality. Units remained segregated byrace. of the 371st Infantry. New York: AMSPress, 1969, African-Americans found that becoming officers original edition,1928, p.177). The French was nearly impossible. awarded the unit a large number of medalsfor Retired chemist Edwin R. Russell remembers their courage and successes. This includedthe that at the beginning of thewar, he taught shooting down of three airplanes with riflefire. classes for the U.S. Army in the chemistry of The French erected a monument ina field to powder and explosives. The classes, taughtat commemorate their exploits. Along withnames HowardUniversityinWashington,D.C., and mottoes, it has the picture ofa cotton field included 100 blacks and whites. The whitestu- and a Palmetto tree, the symbol ofSouth dents then entered the serviceas officers, but the Carolina. black students entered as privates. Unableto per- Sometimes ittakes many years to win suade the Army to treat African-Americans fairly, recognition. Sometimes recognitioncomes long Russell left Washington. after you are gone from this earth. Suchwas the Nevertheless,aboutamillionAfrican- case of Corporal Freddy Stowers. Stowerswas Americans served in all branches of the military born to a family of seven childrenon a small in World War 11. About halfa million served Anderson County vegetable farm aroundthe overseas where the actual fighting took place. turn of the century. As a youth he joined the About the same percentage of the armedforces 371st Infantry and made the rank of corporal. were African-American as African-Americans On September 28, 1918 he led hismen in awere of the general population. At the begin- charge on a hill held by the Germans.The ning of the war, the military allowed African- German gunfire wounded him badly. Thisdid Americans to hold only lowly jobs, like kitchen not stop Corporal Stowers. He kepton firing his assistants. Even there they made the most ofany own weapon and urged his men on until they chances they had. One young African-American captured the hill. There he died. Almostseventy- was stationed on a ship docked at Pearl Harbor three years later the U.S. military awardedhim on December 7, 1941. Doris Miller was assigned the Congressional Medal of Honor he deserved. to the ship's kitchen, or ship's "mess," touse The military had been reluctant to giveAfrican- the naval term. When the Japanese attacked Americans the nation's highest award. Con-the base, he manned a gun and shot downa vincing them to do the right thing tooka long number of planes. The military awarded him the time. In April of 1991, President GeorgeBush Navy Cross. Many observers feel that he really awarded the medal to one of Stowers'sisters deserved the Congressional Medal of Honor. who was still living. Thanks in part to Mary McLeod Bethune, The slogan used by American leadersto rally the South Carolina civil rights leader, African- public support for the warwas that this was "the Americans had a chance to do other things. She war to make the world safe for democracy." was a friend of Eleanor Roosevelt. She persuaded Despite their great contributions in thewar, Mrs. Roosevelt to convince President Roosevelt African-Americans did not find democracy when to expand opportunities for African-Americans they returned home. Theywere still treated like in the military. By the end of thewar, African- second-class citizens. In 1935 the Palmetto Leader, Americans served in all parts of the military. This an African-American newspaper, noted that the included tank battalions, artillery, infantry, and nation had built a memorial for white soldiersat officer candidate schools. In the Air Force,they a cost of $105,000, then a great sum. Nothing had served as pilots. Given these opportunities,

164 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 1 '7'1" African-Americans proved their mettle.Over eighty African-American pilots wonthe Distin- guished Flying Cross. African-Americans had to fight hard to prove that they had the ability to be pilots.One of those who made this possible was ErnestHenderson, who trained the Tuskegee Airmen.Henderson, one of ten children, grew upin a log cabin in Laurens County. His family had little money.As a boy working on the farm, he liked towatch the planes that flew by once in a while. Hesold produce from the farm to pay for hishigh school tuition in Clinton in the 1930s. Abright student and a hard worker, he graduatedwith honors. Henderson worked his way throughcollege by selling vegetables, getting bottlerefunds, and working in the kitchen at HamptonInstitute in Virginia. At this time the military refused totrain African-American pilots, believing theycouldn't fly airplanes. As war approached,the military picked six black colleges, includingHampton Institute, to train civilian pilots on anexperi- mental basis. Henderson, a businessmajor, was one of the studentsthey trained. In 1941 the Defense Departmentset up the all-black 99th Pursuit Squadron atTuskegee Institute in Alabama. Henderson became aflight Soldiers of a chemical unit testing gas masksin July, instructor and then assistant squadron comman- 1943 in Columbia. Library of CongressLC-USW3 der. The men gave him thenickname "Pepsi- 3564S. Cola Henderson" because he didn'tdrink alco- hol. Although he wanted to fly incombat, the military asked him to stay and trainpilots. He stayed there until the war ended. teacher, assistant principal, and counselorin the When the Tuskegee program began,the schools. His children, all professionalsthem- armed forces still considered trainingAfrican- selves, could be proud of their father, a manwho American pilots to be experimental.Henderson shattered stereotypes. and his men always believed that theyhad to be While Ern?st Henderson served his country better than whites in order to provethemselves. at home, many others served overseas.There are At first, African-American pilots weresegregated thousands of stories of bravery andvalor. What overseas. They had toshow the military how follows are just a couple of them. good they were. They showed them.Integration Late in the war after the Allieshad invaded of the pilots finally resulted. Europe, Hitler made a desperate attemptto turn After the war the Tuskegee programbecame them back. The Nazis massed troopsand tanks. a civilian flight trainingcorporation. Henderson They broke through a weak ointin the Allied taught there for four years. In 1949 he cameto lines in a great battle called theBattle of the Columbia where he taught pilots andorganized Bulge. The Nazis surroundedoutnumbered a group called theBlack Eagles. Henderson was American troops. Americans were cutoff from the first African-American manfrom South their support. The Germans trappedthe famed Carolina to get a commercial pilot'slicense and 101st Airborne paratroopers inthe city of to have ground instructor,flight instructor, and Bastogne. This all-white unit wasin danger of instrument ratings. Later he was abusinessman, being wiped out.

MILITARY SERVICE 165 17 z) Two African-American units came to theres- cue, the 183rd combat engineers and the 761st tank battalion. In order to rescue the 101st, they had to build a bridge in anarea that was under heavy German fire and airplane attacks. Itwas the dead of winter. A heavysnow covered the ground. The African-Americans in the 183rd built that bridge, even thoughmany soldiers died in the effort. With the bridge built,the 761st tank battalion crossedover. It rescued the soldiers of the 101st Airborne. Today, ifyou should travel to Bastogne, France,you can see one of the tanks still standing in the townsquare as a monument to this victory. Later, both the tank battalion and the engineers helped free Jewish prisoners who were still alive in concentration camps. One survivorsaid that the troops who broke down thegate to free them had both black and white faces, but "forus they were angels." One of those who entered the concentration camp was Leon Bass, who later earned his doctorate and became a high school principal. Interestingly, his father, who was born in South Carolina in 1891, had also fought in Europe. Bass's father had been a member of the American forces sent to fight Gerrn_ny in the First World 4. War. Leon Bass remembers theanger and bitterness he felt when he saw his buddies killed in the war. He remembers wondering what hewas fighting for when he knew white Americansat Lt. Colonel Charity Edna Adams in uniform in World home did not think he was good enoughto War II. Courtesy of Charity Edna Adams Early share drinking fountains or restaurantsor even seats on the bus. Then he saw the horrors of mil- tary went back to segregated units immediately lions of people being killed in concentration after the war. One of the reasonswas fear that camps because of their race. He understood that Southern whites would not accept integrated we all must fight against racism abroad and at military bases located in the South. Nomatter home. how well African-Americans performed, they By the end of the war, the 761st hadone of were not treated as equals. the most impressive records ofany American Although their role is often ignored,women unit. With less than 600 men, themen and tanks also played an important part in thewar effort. of the 761st had killed and capturedover 20,000 Lieutenant Colonel Charity Edna Adams Early of the enemy. Nearly half of these African- achieved a higher rank jt the U.S. military during American :;oldiers received Purple Hearts because World War II than any other African-American of the wounds they suffered in combat. woman. She was a member of the first Women's Toward the end of the war, the military inte- Army Auxiliary Corp (WAAC) Officer Training grated some regular army unitson an experi- class and served in the Women's Army Corp for mental basis. Evaluating the experiment,one nearly four years. The then Miss Adams servedas white officer said that no soldiers he hadever Company Commander, Station Control and seen had done better under fire than those in the Training Officer, and Battalion Commander in the integrated units. Despite thissuccess, the mili- European Theater of Operations.

166 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE J This Columbia native was an achieverin the lead position. The fog was sothick that no other areas of life as well. Her parents, aminister one could see ahead. Twosoldiers rode on the and a teacher, expected she and herbrothers and front fenders with flashlights. Aftertraveling all sister to succeed. She learned self respectfrom night they finally reached Paris. Theinjured sol- her father. In her book, One Woman's Army,pub- dier, who had a broken back, recovered. lished in 1989, she relates her father's response Adams decided to leave the service atthe to a white insurance salesman whoinsisted on end of the war rather than accept anassignment addressing her by her first name, rather than as at the Pentagon in Washington,D.C. Boarding "Miss." At this time she was already a college the ship home, she was the senior femaleofficer. graduate and a teacher. Her father bluntlytold Under her command were not onlyAfrican- and American women but also several hundredwhite the man to cancel the insurance policy refused to accept her never to return. nurses. Some of the nurses She graduated from Wilberforce University in authority. Adams demonstrated theleadership Ohio with a B.A. in math and science. Afterteach- abilities that had allowed her to rise tothe high- ing math and science for four years, she was anx- est position then available to any womanin the ious for other challenges. When themilitary army. She told the womenthat she was not leav- decided to recruit women so that more men ing the ship and than they would sail in twenty would be available to fight at the front, shevolun- minutes. The women could accept hercommand teered. She served as an officer in chargeof train- or disembark. The white nursesbacked down. ing other women for jobs in the service.Military However, when the ship's captain askedAdams life required some adjustment for women, many to set up a duty roster to take careof seasick pas- of whom had led relatively shelteredlives. The sengers, Adams diplomaticallyasked the white military, in turn, was not sure what to do withthe nurse major to handle this.By the end of the women and had trouble evenfinding uniforms to voyage, the women hadbegun to accept each fit them. Life was not easy forAfrican-American other. women, who were segregated evenwhen serving After leaving the military, Early returned to their country. The black women lived in separate graduate school and received an M.A. inpsychol- quarters from the white women.They experi- ogy from the Ohio StateUniversity. She then enced prejudice both within and outsidethe mili- took a position with the Veterans of tary. On a trip home on the train,Charity Edna Administration. Later she served as Dean Adams was refused service in the dining car.A StudentPersonnelServicesatTennessee white officer, also a Southerner, wasfurious when Agricultural and Industrial College and Georgia this happened. He escorted her intothe dining State College. After her marriage shemoved with study- room, ate dinner withher, and then escorted her her husband to Switzerland, where he was back to her seat. She later recalled him as atrue ing medicine. With her usualdetermination, she (German) Southern gentleman. learned to speak the local language After serving in the United States forseveral and then studied psychology at theUniversity of years, the military sentAdams to Europe, where Zurich and the Jungian Institute ofAnalytic she served in both England and France.Her unit Psychology. was responsible fordistribution of mail and Returning to the states, Early began to raise packages. On more than one occasion,she found a family and becomeactive in community herself the senior officer in a situationwhere affairs. This mother of two has givenof her time military personnel were uliused to takingorders to numerous community activities.A partial list from either women or African-Americans.One includes volunteering with the YMCA,Urban foggy night Adams was leading a convoyof vehi- Leave, and United Negro College Fund.She is cles from Rouen to Paris. The convoyfound itself co-director of the Black Leadership Development behind another convoy that had stoppedwhen a Program of Dayton, Ohio and a memberof Delta piano they were moving fel. on asoldier and Sigma Theta Sorority. Early is on theboard of pinned him down. Major Adams had to assume directors of the United Way, Dayton Powerand command and see that the injuredsoldier Light, and Sinclair CommunityCollege. She reached a hospital. She pulled her vehicleinto chaired the Montgomery County HumanService

MILITARY SERVICE 167 Council. She has received many rewards. In 1991 Carolina and other states served in all parts of Wilberforce University awarded her the Doctor the military and at all ranks. The militarywas of Humanities degree. Early has been recognized probably more integrated than other parts of by the Ohio Woman's Hall of Fame, receiveda society. The Vietnam era was a period of great Brotherhood Award from the Dayton Areaunrest in America. The nation was locked in National Conference of Christians and Jews, and struggle over the civil rights movement. The a Public Administrators "Outstanding Citizen movement challenged racial barriers in all parts Service in Public Affairs" award. She receiveda of life. African-Americans were impatient, and "Black Women Against the Odds" tribute to thewhites were often resentful about that impa- top 100 women in Black History sponsored by tience. The murder of Martin Luther King in the Smithsonian Institution. 1968 increased tensions. The fact that thewar Other African-American women from South did not go well for America added further ten- Carolina have followed in Charity Edna Adams sion. No one wanted to die in a warwe were Early's footsteps. In 1993 Irene Trowell-Harris,a going to lose. native of Aiken, became the third female general The men whom the army drafted took all and first African-American female general in the these tensions with them to Vietnam. In international guard. In Washington, D.C., Trowell- views with South Carolina veterans after thewar, Harris plays an important leadership role in thewe can hear the tension and the common Air National Guard. ground found by both races. A white veteran complainedthatAfrican-Americansoldiers Korea "would band together and do black power" things, "and I got to feeling real uneasy about By the time of the Korean War in the early 1950s, them." An African-American veteran from South the military had been desegregated. President Carolina questioned the very purpose of thewar. Truman had ordered total integration using his "We didn'thavenothingagainstthe powers as commander-in-chief.Blacks and Vietnamese. I never met them... you would go whites served together throughout thewar. to Vietnam and sacrifice your life and fight for Althoughthere was somefriction,many stuff like this and come to the U.S. and get Southern white men began to learn that differ- treated like a second-class citizen. You know, ences were only skin deep. that's the hurting part" (from unpublished inter- One such white South Carolinianwas views transcribed with Vietnam veterans by the Melvin Calvert. He was wounded and neededa students of Dr. Robert E. Botsch, USC Aiken). blood transfusion to live. The medics laid him At the same time, both of these South on a cot next to an African-American soldierCarolinians did share common ground. They who had volunteered to donate hisown blood. A saw that both races could work and fight for each tube ran from the arm of the African-Americanother rather than against each other when they to the arm of Melvin Calvert. Calvert remembers faced a common danger. Most of the problems in thinking that according to what he had been Vietnam between the races took placeaway from taught all his life, this was not supposed to work. the fields of battle As the white soldier said, "In Yet it did work. He began to questionsegrega- combat you don't care if your buddy is redas tion.Calverteventually becameaUnited long as he is ok." The African-American soldier Methodist minister. In that role he began work- said that where there was fighting against the ing to bring the races together on Sunday and in enemy, "whites and blacks got along nice the rest of the week. because of the simple fact that you couldgo out and somebody could zap you and nobody would Vietnam ever know what happened." Ralph H. Johnson cared about his fellow sol- By the time of the Vietnam War in the 1960s and diers so much that he gave his life fo them. early 1970s, the armed forces were nearly fullyJohnsonlivedhisfirsteighteen yearsin integrated, from enlisted men through the offi- Charleston before enlisting in the Marine Corps cercorps.African-AmericansfromSouth in 1967. Not quite a year later, he was in Viet-

168 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 181 of the patrol's perimeter." Greaterlove hath a no man than thisnineteen year old South Carolinian. .South Carolina hasasecond African- American son who earned theCongressional Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War.Unlike Ralph Johnson, Sergeant First ClassWebster

All Anderson of the 101st Airborne Division was a career military man. Anderson waslucky enough to live to tell his own story,although at a terrible cost to himself. Born in 1933in Winnsboro, Anderson joined the Army in Columbia atthe age of twenty. He served at manyposts and won many awards, includingthe Master Parachutist Badge. On October 15, 1967, a large enemyforce attacked Anderson's artillery unit. The enemy charged past the first line of defense.Then Anderson went into action. Again, in thewords of the Congressional Medal of Honor citation: "Sergeant Anderson, with complete disregardfor his personal safety, mounted the exposed parapet of his howitzer position andbecame the mainstay of the defense of the batteryposition. Sergeant Anderson directed devastatingdirect howitzer fire on the assaulting enemy while providing rifle and grenade defensive fire againstthe enemy from his exposed position. ...two enemy grenades exploded at his feet knockinghim down and severely wounding him in thelegs. Sergeant Webster Anderson of Winnsboro, South Despite excruciating pain and though notable to Carolina, wearing the Congressional Medal of Honor. stand, Sergeant Anderson valorouslypropped Courtesy of Webster Anderson. himself on the parapet and continued todirect howitzer fire upon the closing enemyand to encourage his men to fight on.Seeing an enemy nam serving as a scout with a companyof fellow grenade land within the gun pit near awounded Marines. On March 5, 1968, Private FirstClass member of his gun crew, SergeantAnderson, Johnson was with two fellow Marines in an heedless of his own safety, seized thegrenade observation post overlooking a valleycontrolled and attempted to throw it over the parapetto by the enemy. The enemy attacked. Ahand save his men. As thegrenade was thrown from grenade landed in their foxhole. In thewords of the position it exploded and SergeantAnderson the citation that explained the awardingof the was again grievouslywounded. Although only Congressional Medal of Honor: "Realizingthe partiallyconscious andseverely wounded, inherent danger to his two comrades, heshouted Sergeant Anderson refused medicalattention a warning and unhesitatinglyhurled himself and continued to encourage his men ...and was upon the explosive device.When the grenade able to maintain the defense of his ownsection exploded, Private Johnson absorbed the tremen- and to defeat a determined enemyattack." dous impact of the blast and was killedinstantly. Although Ancterson lost both of his legsand His prompt and heroic act saved thelife of one part of an arm, he did recoverfrom his wounds. marine at the cost of his own andundoubtedly He moved back to lead an activelife with his prevented the enemy from penetratinghis sector family in Winnsboro. Anderson is anoutgoing

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182. man who carries no bitterness for the heavy Some people even talked about nominating him price he paid. Like thousands of other South as Vice President after the war was over. Carolina veterans of Vietnam from all ethnic backgrounds, Anderson is proud to have served his nation. Lessons The experience of all these wars teachessome The Persian Gulf War of 1991 important lessons to those who pay careful attention. All citizens want and deservea chance Since Vietnam the military has becomeeven to serve. We are stronger when we use the talents more fully integrated as it opened top ranking of all our people, regardless of raceor other dif- officer positions to African-Americans. Although ferences. Thousands of African-Americans from tensions still exist, soldiers of all races havemore South Carolina along with other Americans have opportunity than ever before. In the Gulf War, given their lives so that the rest of us can live in units from South Carolina included people of all a nation that is free and independent. Let us races. They worked well together. They drove make sure that it really is free. Let us makesure Saddam Hussein's army out of Kuwait. The high- that every human being is free to make themost est ranking officer during the Gulf Warwas of her or his life. If we do not, then all those who General Colin Powell, an African-American. died in our defense will have died for nothing.

170 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE yyyCHAPTER 14 Civil Rights

One of the greatest contributionsof South accomplishments. McKaine was a militaryhero, a Carolina's African-Americans is incivil rights. successful businessperson, agreat orator, a jour- They moved the state and the nation topractice nalist, and a civil rights organizer. Hespoke four about the values of democracy. Theybrought us all a languages fluently and could get by in better chance to be the best we canpossibly be. eleven other languages. Despite thelimited educa- happier and tion South Carolina provided him,he did all this . As a result, all of us today live in a by his wealthier state and nation. "Ossie" McKaine, as he was called South Carolina has produced manycivil friends, is also a good person withwhom to read begin the story of the civil rightsrevolution in rights leaders of national fame. You can lived. He was about them in most modern historybooks. They South Carolina because of when he include Mary McLeodBethune,Modjeska born in Sumter in 1892. This is theperiod when Simpkins, Matthew Perry, and of course,Jesse the last surviving African-Americanleaders from Jackson. We can also be proud of leaderswhose Reconstruction, like Robert Smalls, werebeing passing fame usually does not go beyondSouth Carolina. forced out of power. The legislature was Many of these spent most of their liveswithin segregation laws, called "Jim Crow"laws. After the state. You will meet some of thesepeople, 1896 the state could pass such lawsand not be in Septima violation of the U.S. Constitution.The U.S. perhaps for the first time. They include that the Poinsett Clark, James Hinton, and I.DeQuincey Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson Amend- Newman. "equal protection" clause of the 14th We want to include two other groupsof ment to the U.S. Constitutiondid not forbid sep- people. First, we will look at civil rightsleaders arate facilities for the races. SoMcKaine grew up who history books have almostcompletely with legally enforced segregation.He helped ignored. Two of the men you will meetthat fit change that. Before he died in 1955,he saw the into this group are OssieMcKaine and the beginning of the end of these laws.Just the year Reverend J.A. Delaine. Second, intelling the before, the U.S. Supreme Court hadoverturned story of how we moved from asegregated state the Plessy decision in Brown v. Boardof Education. to a state where all peoplehad at least some The Court decided that separationdid violate the opportunities, we will look at averagepeople. 14th Amendment. Before we get toofar ahead of They took great risks in their daily lives tobring the story, let us go back and look atMcKaine's about change. Without them changecould never early life. the lead- At the age of sixteen, McKaineleft the state have taken place, no matter how great would take him far. ers. We should beproud of them all. to begin an adventure that At first he worked on a merchantship and saw Latin America. He ended up in Bostonwhere he The Story of Ossie McKaine furthered his education. Then, atthe age of Osceola E. McKaine is one of the leastwell-known twenty two, he joined the U.S.Army. He was first civil rights leaders both in and outof South stationed in the Philippines. Later theArmy sent remarkable men him with General John J. Pershing tofight the Carolina. He is one of the most later, ever born in this statewhen we consider his many Mexican bandit Pancho Villa. Three years

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184 (Top) African-Americans had to provide their own facilities during days of segregation, such as this library in Greenville. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide 1 96 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, ,1989). Courtesy Greenville County Library. (Bottom) Even fire companies were segregated. Each race had their own department. This was one of two African American fire units in Georgetown in the early 1900s. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide 1-104 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy Georgetown County Library.

after the outbreak of the First World War, hetrated and angry with the barriers created by joined a new African-Any-rican unit, the 367th racism. So he returned to Europe. Heremem- Regiment.Itinherited the old name from bered Europeans had much less prejudice toward African-American cavalry units. They were called people of color. He opened avery successful the "Buffalo Regiment." McKainewas now an nightclub in Belgium. He hired many African- officer. He fought in the trenches of France and American entertainers who delighted European was promoted to first lieutenant for his bravery audiences with jazz and ether new kinds of in taking a German fortress. After thewar he left African-American music. Living in a luxurious the army and came home a hero. home nearby, he seemed completely happy until For a while McKaine worked in New Yorkas racism once again forced its way into his life. a journalist. He met important figures in the In1940 the German army took over "HarlemRenaissance,"likeJames Weldon Belgium. The invaders forced McKaine's club to Johnson. McKaine became more and more frus- entertain Nazi officers. He closed the club and

172 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE left for the United States. His arrival inSumter found that public schools paid whiteteachers began the third and perhaps mostimportant nearly twice as much as equally qualifiedblack phase of his life. teachers. No wonder many African-American McKaine supported himself once againby teachers left the state in order to earn aliving. writing. Although most of his workappeared in McKainehadhelpedreorganizethe African-American newspapers, The State newspa- National Association for the Advancementof per in Columbiacarried some of his articles. Colored People (the NAACP) in Sumterafter it Because of his experiences, people fromall over had fallen apart. He convinced the NAACP to the state asked McKaine to speak. Hedeveloped make teacher pay their number one issue. great skill as a speaker from these manyspeeches. McKaine went all over the state makingspeeches Later he used that skill to rally supportfor civil to help raise money for the cause.Money was rights action. The white establishment tolerated needed to pay the costs for court cases to get his talking about racism in SouthCarolina equal,pay. In 1944 and 1945 teachers wonequal because he softened the blows by sayingthat pay in Charleston andColumbia. These first big things were worse in Northern cities. victories marked the beginning of manythings One of the things that most angered Ossie to come. McKaine was the poor public schools forAfrican- McKaine also worked to get equal school American children in the state. The privatebus transportation for African-American stu- schools we read about earlier were toofew to dents. School districts provided bus transporta- help all children. McKaine rememberedhaving tion for white students, but black studentshad to to go to Boston to get his owneducation. Part of get to school on their own, no matterhow far the problem was money. Since theend of away they lived. His speecheshelped convince Reconstruction when spending was aboutthe local civil rights leaders to begin court casesin same for both races,the difference had been this area. The case that began inClarendon growing. In 1930 the state spent almost$53 on County eventually turned into one of the cases each white student compared to only$5.20 on that outlawed school segregation. We shalllook each black student in public schools. By 1940the at that case later in this chapter. situation had improved somewhat, but it was In the area of voting rights, McKainehelped still very unequal. The state still spent morethan mount voter registration drives.Voting laws cre- thre. e times as much on white students.Teacher ated difficulties for minorities to register to vote. pay was also unfair. McKainewent around the Because the Democratic Party did notallow state and collected figures to provehis case. He African-Americans to participate in party affairs,

Regardless of education, African-Americans were limited in their career options. This middle class woman, photographed around 1920 by Richard Roberts, is shown in both her jewelry and in her maid's uniform. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide G-83 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). Courtesy Roberts family.

CIVIL RIGHTS 173

186 Options for work fell mainly in two categories, either in domestic service or in agricultural labor. To survive in agriculture, the entire family had to go to work in back-breaking labor, as this family was in 1939 in a field near Manning. 111111bAllr-a.a--.AlLardlmerdIi Library of Congress LC-USF34 MIL 51919.

- . 4._ ty . z.

McKaine helped organize a new branch of the American Carolinians in the early 1900s. Simple DemocraticPartycalledtheProgressive physical protection was a problem. Imagine Democratic Party (the PDP). In 1944 the PDPyourself living in an isolated rural area. Your nominated him to run against Governor Olin family, friends, and the few neighborsyou have Johnston for the U.S. Senate. McKaine hadno are scattered about for miles. You really could chance of winning, but the effort encouraged not count on them to help if someone attacked many average African-American citizensto your home. The local sheriff would do little, if become interestedinvoting andpolitics. anything. Only in a few communities did McKaine was the first African-American torun enough African-Americans live close enough for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina since together to protect each other. Thesewere in the Reconstruction. He went on to help organize few urban areas of the state like Columbia and voter registration drives all over the South. Charleston and a few rural communities like In late 1946 the war in Europe was over. Promised Land and St. Helena Island. Cowardly McKaine's nightclub in Belgium had survived groups of terrorists like the Ku Klux Klan were intact. His business associates there persuaded easily able to frighten and intimidate isolated him to return and reopen it. In 1955 hewas people who lived alone on the small farms all about to return to the America. However, hewas over thestate. Thisis how most African- in poor health. Breathing problems thatwere Americans lived in South Carolina. complicated by exposure to poison gas back in How do you break out of a situation like the First World War led to his death before he this? There are two answers. First,you can leave. could return. In December 1955 Ossie McKaine That is what many people did. They left the state was buried in Sumter. A military honor guard and took with them the talents andenergy that from Shaw Air Force Base stood at attentionas could have made the state richer than it is today. this remarkable man was laid to rest. You read about this in an earlier chapter. Some, like Ossie McKaine, came back. Most did not. The importance of Organization Second, you can organize politically. There is strength in numbers. If you can get enough Why was organizing civil rights groups like the people together, you can protect yourself better, NAACP so important? The answer to thisques- and you can work together. You can raisemoney tion lies in what life was like for most African- to challenge laws that prevent you from getting

174 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

187 begin to a decent education.With education, you can cation even more. Finally, you could make more money so that whites want yourdemand equal job opportunities because you business and need your skill. would have the political and economic power to With education, you might be able to pass make it happen. the literacy test and pay the poll tax thatbarred All of this was possible, but first youhad to so many African Americansfrom voting. Of organize politically. That would not be easyin course, the literacy test and poll tax werenot the South Carolina. Some whites had done allthey only barriers. State laws prevented all butwhites could to stamp out any black organizationthat from participating in primary elections. This was had apolitical 'purpose since the end of called the white primary. Because there were so Reconstruction in 1876. few Republicans in the state, whoever wonthe The many self-help organizations wehave Democratic primary would win the generalelec- already studied started the foundation forpoliti- tion. So the primary election is reallywhat cal organization. The small, but important,mid- counted. Organization and education couldhelp dle class that accumulated a little wealth over you take these unjust laws to court. several generations of hard work added tothe If you could vote, then politicians wouldfoundation. The churches that gave afew have to pay attention to you. They wouldhave African-American., an education and trained to provide you with the same servicesthey pro- leaders strengthened the foundation. Allof this vided white folks. You would havebetter was necessary before actioncould take place. schools, paved roads in your neighborhood, running water, a sewer system for better sanita- Mary McLeod Bethune tion, access to doctors and hospitals andsocial services when you needed them. Youcould One of the people who did the most toprovide begin to elect fellow African-Americans topoliti- education to African-Americans in the South was cal office and win appointments to boardsand Mary McLeod Bethune. Mary McLeod wasborn commissions and judgeships. You could sit on in 1875 near Mayesville. Both her parentshad juries. You could begin to expect equal treat- been enslaved. Her mother was thedescendant ment before the law. You couldend laws that of African royally. Mary remembered helpingher segregated buses and hotels and restaurants.You mother take laundry to white families whohired could end school segregation and improveedu- her to clean their clothes. At one home awhite

Motels were segregated by race, as were these cabins ?rear Surnmerton, shown in a 1939 photo. Courtesy the Library of Congress LC-USF34 51945.

CIVIL RIGHTS 175

136 Even state parks were segregated by race, as shown in these two photos of families enjoying their facilities. The top photo is a family picnick- 111111.-2, ing at Hunting Island in June of 1956. The bottom photo shows a group eating outside a cabin at Pleasant Ridge State Park, also in June 1956. New Courtesy the S.C. Dept. of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism.

child about her own age insulted her. Because build it right back up again. With a lot of work, Mary could not read, the child screamed at her the school eventually became a four year college. to put down a book she had picked up. That In 1923 it merged with a boys'school and today made her determined to read and to teach others is known as Bethune-Cookman College. Bethune to read. That is just what she did. was president of the school until 1942. Mary McLeod met and married Albertus L. Mary McLeod Bethune's accomplishments Bethune when she was a teacher in Sumter. In extend well beyond the field of education. Four 1904 she moved to Daytona, Florida. There, with presidents appointed her to national govern- only a few dollars and a lot of prayer, she started ment positions. With a 1935 appointment as a school for African-American girls. She also had head of the Division of Negro Affairs of the a lot of courage. One winter night in 1920, about National Youth Administration she became the eighty hooded Klan members came to her school first African-American woman to runa federal and threatened to burn it down. She stood in agency. In 1935 she also founded the National front of the school and sang a hymn. She told Council of Negro Women and received the them that if they burned it down, she would Spingarn Medal. She died in 1955.

176 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 180 Septima Poinsette Clark courts of law, arid equal access topublic facilities, like schools and public transportation.Having Septima Poinsette Clark was in some waysSouth civil rights is necessary to have anychance to Carolina's version of Mary McLeod Bethune.Her succeed in life. In New York in 1909,W.E.B. work with the African-American childrenof DuBois and some other far-sightedpeople cre- South Carolina was much like that ofMary ated the NAACP. The first national secretaryof McLeod Bethune elsewhere in the South. In1916 the NAACP was James Weldon Johnson,whom Poinsette began her teaching career onJohns you met earlier as part ofthe Harlem Renaissance Island. She remembered being paid $25 amonth. movement. Johnson visited severalSouthern Out of that she had to buy all hersupplies. The states, including South Carolina, tohelp start the school did not even supply her withchalk. She group. and her 132 pupils also had to gather their own Two small chapters appeared inCharleston firewood for the open fire that heated the drafty and Columbia in 1917. By 1919 the grouphad cabin serving as their one room school. over a thousand members.Most of them were in Poinsette soon realized that education Charleston. It had little impact on the restof the could not solve problems until thestate state. However, over the years otherlocal chap- changed laws to allow African Americans an ters were formed in Aiken, Cheraw,Florence, equal chance for a good education. Thusbegan Georgetown, Greenville, Rock Hill, and Sumter. her long career in civilrights. She became In the 1920s and 1930s the NAACPhad lit- deeply involved in many of the struggles you tle impact on civil rights in the state.Their only will read about in this chapter. She helped orga- major cuccess was in 1920. They persuadedwhite nize the NAACP in Charleston in the 1920s.The political leaders to hire black teachers toteach in public schools fired her because of hercivil black public schools in Charleston. Prior tothis rights activity. That did not stop her. Inthe the schools had hired only whiteteachers. This 1960s she helped organize another civilrights practicedeniedjobstoqualifiedAfrican- group in the state, theSouthern Christian Americans. It also hurt the children. Manywhite Leadership Conference (SCLC). Incidentally,the teachers, unlike today, believed that theeduca- SCLC was the group that the Rev. MartinLuther tion of blacks should be limited, so theydid not King, Jr. headed. try to teach black students verymuch. They also She organized "citizenship schools."There taught the children that the white race was supe- she helped illiterate African-Americans prepare rior. This made the students feelinferior and to read and interpret the stateconstitution so hurt their education even more. The NAACP got they could overcome one of the legalbarriers to nearly three-fourths of all African-Americanfam- voting. ilies in Charleston to sign a petition for a change. As if all this were not enough, she was active It worked, but this was the exception. in the YWCA, the Charleston PublicHealth Except for Charleston, African-Americans Department, and the Tuberculosis Association. were too spread out to feel secure.They were too As a result, she is often called the"grandmother poor and too disorganized.Over the next twenty of the civil rights movement" in SouthCarolina. years this slowly changed.Quiet efforts to help each other in education and business gave African Americans enough strength to try again. The National Association For the The real push for organizing the whole state Advancement of Colored People did not begin until 1939. Local chapters came A number of groups fought for racial justice,like together and formed a state organization.Initial the Southern Christian LeadershipConference leaders included Levi S. Byrd, who hadheaded and the Congress of Racial Equality.All were the local chapter in Cheraw, theReverend A.W. important, but the NAACP was the mostimpor- Wright, who was elected the first statepresident, tant civil rights group. By "civil rights," we mean and Reverend James M. Hinton of theColumbia those rights all citizens should enjoy as a matter chapter. Hinton later became the leaderwho of law in a democracy. Civil rights includethe took the grov through the many importantbat- right to vote, the right to be treatedequally in tles of the next twenty years.

CIVIL RIGHTS 177 An example of a private library provided for African- Americans near Bettis Academy in Edgefleld County. Photo by Aimee Smith.

Modjeska Monteith Simpkins she taught each day. If students did not bringin an assignment, she made them stay at school One of the most important and active offi- untilit was finished. In 1929 she married cers in the state organization was Modjeska Andrew Simpkins, a successful businessman Monteith Simpkins. Born to Henry and Rachel from Edgefield. Montieth in1899 in Columbia, Modjeska Modjeska Simpkins served as the secretary Monteith became one of the most important of the NAACP until the mid 1950s. She did pub- civil rights leaders in the state's history. Hergreat licity for the group and raisedmoney. She helped grandmother had been an enslaved African plan the court cases that really began to change belonging to Wade Hampton. Her father worked things: equal pay for teachers of bothraces, end- as a builder in construction to send her to ing the white-only primary, providing school bus Benedict College for her entire education. Back transportation for both races, and ending school in those days, Benedict provided educationfrom segregation. She was also active in improving the first grade through college. Simpkinsremem- health care. In addition, she was active in busi- bered having very good teachers. Shewas among ness. For many years she ran the accounting the last students who were educated bywhite department for her brother's bank. She worked Northerners, schooled insome of the best for the Tuberculosis Association. In the 1960s she Northern universities, whocame to Benedict to challenged the tate Mental Health Department teach for idealistic reasons. to provide better facilities for both races and Modjeska Monteith was a member ofa equal pay for whites and blacks working in them. remarkable family. From her father she learned When Modjeska Montieth Simpkins died in pride and courage. He was brave enoughto stand 1992, she was remembered assomeone who up to white racists. With a rifle in hand, he spoke her mind. She was a strong advocate for defended the family one night whenracists anybody who was treated unfairly. Race didnot attacked his home. She may have inheritedher matter. organizational skills from her mother, who started a church in the livingroom of their home. One of her brothers, H.D. Monteith, School integration became a medical doctor. He founded Victory One of the most important civil rightscases in Savings Bank, the only bank in the state owned U.S. history started with the NAACP's help in and run by African-Americans. Clarendon County. It began as a simple effortto After college Monteith becamea teacher at obtain school buses for African-American chil- Booker T. Washington High School. Shewas a dren. In recent years people sometimes have very demanding teacher in the six algebra classes objected to school busing. Modjeska Simpkins

1 78 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STAlt. remembered that busing was not an issue until children to school. Too many childrenneeded the state was asked to provide buses forboth rides. So he and some friends bought an old1935 races. For a long time,schools had provided Chevy bus for a little over $100. Theyrepaired it school buses for white children. Black children and paid all the costs themselves. He drove itfor had to find their own rides. Sometimes theyhad several years before the county began to give to walk ten miles or more each way. him any help. Donations paid for gasand When the state Cid not provide buses, some- upkeep. Sometimes parents gave himbeans, help out. His chil- timesparentsdiditthemselves.Clarence eggs, peas, or even chickens to McFadden was one such parent. As a sharecrop- dren all graduated from high school, andseveral per with only a fourth-gradeeducation, he even earned college degrees. wanted his children to have a better chancethan The NAACP persuaded a group of fourteen he did. Just as in Clarendon County, Lee County, brave parents to start a court case inClarendon where McFadden lived, had buses only for County. They asked the state to give theirchil- whites. In the mid-1940s McFadden made sev- dren transportation to their schools justlike eral trips each day in his car taking his andother white children had to their own schools.Among these parents was Harry Briggs. Because his name was last on the list, the courtnamed the case for him along with the school officialwho was Modieska A Richard Roberts photo in the early 1920s of being sued--Briggsv.Elliot.Later the NAACP Monteith before she married and took the last name of decided to expand the case and ask fortotal Simpkins. At the time she was teaching six classesof the algebra each day at Booker T. Washington School in equality in education. Other parents joined Columbia. Courtesy Roberts family case so that the list numbered100. The case was not an easy one.People needed courage to place their names on thelist. Local whites who controlled jobs fired manyof those involved in the case. They could not get loans or buy goods in local storesowned by whites. Those in business found itimpossible to secure the things they needed tokeep their businesses open. Some evenhad their homes fire- bombed. A local gas station fired HarryBriggs from his job. A local motel fired AnnieGibson, anothe of the parents whose name was onthe suit. The Reverend J.A. Delaine hadhelped organize the case. He was an AME minister atseveral churches and was also a teacher andprincipal in the local schools. The local schoolboard fired him and several family memberswho were teachers. The state even made membershipin the NAACP grounds for firing publicemployees like school teachers. This clearlyviolated the constitutional right of free assembly. Briggsbecame one of several cases from different states that the U.S. SupremeCourt heard together in 1954. Together they wereknown as Brown v. Board of Education.The lawyer for the NAACP was Thurgood Marshall,who later became the first African-American onthe U.S. Supreme Court. When the Courtdecided these cases in favor of schooldesegregation in 1954, DeLaine's church was burned to theground. He

Civil RIGHTS 179

19 Summerton school for white children and Liberty Hill school for African-American children. Even as late as around 1950 there was still a striking contrast in public schools for each race. Just before the famous Brown and Briggs decision of 1954, the state tried to avoid ending the dual system by imposing a sales tax to build schools for African-Americans. State Budget and Control Board, Sinking Fund Commission, Insurance File photographs, 1948,51, S.C. Department of 1y .pi History and Archives.

ttellii" was physically chased out of the state with Court had said that any separate schools were threats on his life. Given the long and sad his- unequal. What schools looked like did not mat- tory of lynchings in the state, he had every rea- ter. Having two separate school systems was also son to be afraid. With the help of friends, he wasteful. As a poor state, South Carolina did not safely escaped. Reverend DeLaine spent most of have the money for one good school system. It the rest of his life in New York. There he founded certainly could not afford two. a new church and served as its minister. He never Whites resisted for many years. Many left returned to South Carolina to live, though he public schools and started their own segregated came close. He retired to Charlotte, North private schools. In some parts of the state eve.n Carolina. He lived there until his death in 1974, today, most whites attend private schools, and exactly twenty years after the famous case that most students in the public schools are black. In changed South Carolina and the nation. many places officials tried token integration. Sadly, the Supreme Court decision of 1954 They would let a few blacks into mostly white did not end school segregation. The state tried to schools and hope that the courts would be satis- quickly build and improve African-American fied. African-American parents had to once again schools in order to claim that schools were equal. take the schools to court. The state passed the first three cents sales tax for The real change in education finally came in this purpose. The tax did not work. The Supreme the middle 1960s. The U.S. Congress threatened

180 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

BEST COPY AVAILABLE 1 93 Col- to cut off all federal money if statesdid not com- The University of South Carolina at federal umbia was integrated eight months later.To the pletely integrate schools. In addition, quietly. courts ran out of patience. Theyallowed no fur- credit of all concerned, it happened very The move sparked no protests ordemonstrations. ther delay. Ander- In January of 1963, Governor Ernest"Fritz" Three African-American students, Robert Hollings admitted that white efforts tokeep son, James L. Solomon,and Henri Monteith were In a widely the first to break the color barrier.Monteith was schools segregated had failed. Simpkins. She reported speech,Hollings said that "Souththe grand niece of Modjeska Carolina is running out of courts. Ifand when earned a degree in biochemistry at USC.Later she famous for her every legal remedyhas been exhausted ... we earned her doctorate and became must realize the lessons of100 years ago and research and for work with youngpeople. South Carolina.... This Solomon went on to a career in public service.He move on for the good of and was on must be done with dignity. It mustbe done with sat on school boards in two counties law and order." With this speech,Hollings left the Richland County Council. Laterhe directed office. The new governor, Donald Russell,invited the State Department of Social Services citizens of both races to sharebarbecue with Many average people made sacrifices togain They better educational opportunity for all.They took each other at the Governor's mansion. should came and ate together. personal risks to bring about change. We ordered not forget them and what theydid. Within a few days, the federal courts sad side. that Clemson University admit HarveyGantt of This fairly happy ending has a Charleston. By the end of the month, Gantt was Most citizens across the state shareschools and with each the first African-American to become astudent at learn from each other as well as learn Clemson. He graduated and later in life wonelec- other. That is not the case where itall started in North Carolina. Clarendon County. Whites left thelocal public tion as mayor of Charlotte, result is that Looking back at those difficult times, Ganttis not schools rather than integrate. The at all bitter. He gives somecredit to whites in once again ClarendonCounty has two school South Carolina. Even if whites weremorally systems. opposed to doing the right thing,Gantt feels whites had good manners about integration.He Voting Rights feels that students in South Carolina did nothave as hard a time as thosein other states where they In 1944 the U.S. Supreme Courtruled that pri- almost always faced angry white mobs. mary election lawsblocking African-Americans

Harvey Gantt, right, talking to Matthew Perry, who served as c.4 , his attorney in gaining admis- , r' :tot sion to Clemson University in 1963, Reproduced from on,at, Constance B. Schulz, Ed., ,..4%.,4zAitti:,4."Of, .4Wf:j' .4'41',4"N"..'.4/?' The History of S.C. Slide Collection,slide 13-197 (Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). Photo by Vic Tutte. Courtesy The State Newspaper.

CIVIL RIGHTS 181

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(Left) A Richard Roberts photo of George Elmore in the1920s. In 1946 Mr. Elmore attempted to vote in the state's all- white primary and became the person behind thetest case that led to overturning segregated election laws. Thurgood Marshall argued that case before U.S. District fudge WatiesWaring in the case Elmore vs. Rice. Courtesy Roberts family. (Right) A monument to George Elmore in the B.F. RobertsCemetery in Columbia. Elmore and his family were harassed for his brave actions in the civil rights movement. Photo byAimee Smith. from voting were illegal. Although thetest case united against this obvious attempt to evade the for this ruling came from Texas, civil rights lead- law of the land. The state association for doctors, ers in South Carolina played an indirect role. They dentists, and druggists charged that this action raised money to help pay the legal costs for that violated basic rights. They and othergroups case. asked how America could expect African- After this victory, black leaders in thestate Americans to fight in World War 11 and buywar called upon white leaders to obey the law. White bonds if the state did this to them. White leaders leaders chose instead to change the law. Gover- did not answer. nor Olin Johnston called a special session of the George A. Elmore tried to vote in the General Assembly tor that purpose. In whatwas Democratic primary in August 1946. The Party called the "South Carolina Plan," thestate refused him, and the NAACP filed itscase. In July repealed all laws about primaries and triedto 1947 the courts ruled against the state in thecase make the Democratic Party into a private club. known as Elmore v. Rice. Federal Judge Waties As a private club, they would be free toturn Waring ruled that all citizens must be allowedto away minorities. vote regardless of race. African-American groups all over the state The battle was not yet over. Therewere still

182 AFRICAN- AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE helped win barriers to overcome. A poll taxprevented many Earlier victories in voting rights African-Americans from voting. The greatestbar- passage ofcivil rights laws. Enough African- which was applied in Americans were voting in 1960 tohelp John rier was the literacy test, the White unfair ways. Votingofficialsasked African Kennedy win the state in his race for read and inter- House. Kennedy was the firstpresident to ask for Americans who wanted to vote to legislation. The new pret the most complicated partsof the state con- broad and strong civil rights decided if they laws did not pass until afterKennedy was killed. stitution. The white registrar fromAfrica n- passed. Whites in the state came upwith new bar- However,withoutpressure officials required American voters, the president would nothave riers. In some parts of the state, hi.; vice African-Americans totake an oathifthey proposed the laws. Both Kennedy and "solemnly president who succeeded him inthe White intended to vote. The oath said they election to swear ,.. to support thesocial, religious, and edu- House, Lyndon Johnson, owed their cational separation of the races."Few African- African-American voters. Americans were willing to take thisinsulting oath. Once again, whites had to be taken tocourt. The Moderation and Violence courts ruled this barrier to beillegal. discrimina- As long as integration took placeonly on a token Despite these victories, voting violence that tion continued. EnoughAfrican-Americans were basis, South Carolina avoided the that was taking place in manyother Southern states. able to vote in some areas of the state so should they began to see better treatmentby state and Much of the credit for the relative peace voted in many go to African-Americanleaders in the state. local government. However, few such as James parts of the state, especiallyrural areas where Credit goes to NAACP leaders violence and Hinton, James McCain, ModjeskaSimpkins, and organization was weak. Threats of moderate unfair literacy tests still stood inthe way. Matthew Perry. They were much more the in their demands than thewhites were in their Only after the U.S. Congress passed and 1960s Voting Rights Act of 1965 did allcitizens have an resistance. Throughout the 1950s equal right to vote. The new lawended the liter- African-American leaders urged patience com- federal officials to bined with slow and peaceful progress. acy test and threatened to use and peaceful register African-Americans to voteif local offi- In most parts of the state, slow progress took place. Afew exceptions occurred. , cials failed to do so. Even hereSouth Carolina Rights Act in a By the late 1960s, theviolence and turmoil resisted. It challenged the Voting reached South case that went allthe way to the Supreme Court found in the rest of the nation before the state lost. Carolina.

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CIVIL RIGHTS 183 19G A

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A sit-in demonstration in Columbia in the 1960s. Usually it was college students who led demonstrations.Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide B-196 (Sandlapper PublishingCompany, 1989). Photo by Vic Tutte. Courtesy The StateNewspaper.

In Orangeburg the local white majority and another twenty-eightwere wounded. The refused to go beyond token integration. Students students were protesting the refusal ofa local at S.C. State College were not willing to be quite bowling alley to integrate. They lita bonfire on as patient as their parents. From their point of the edge of the campus. The studentsthrew bot- view, white: had violated the law longenough. tles and other objects, andone object hit a The time hiid arrived to fully integratewhether policeman. After a few minutes,a patrol officer whites liked it or not. When confrontedwith fired a warning shot in the air. Otherofficers more thantokenschoolintegrationand immediately shot into the crowd. Amonument demands for full access to restaurants and other marks the spot today. public facilities, some whites reacted with force. According to Jack Bass, a reporter whowas Throughout the 1960s many protests took covering the event at the time and wholater place in Orangeburg. In 1967 students protested helped write a bookon the tragedy, the shoot- the firing of two popular white professorswhom ings should never have taken place. The patrol the school administrationsaw as too radical. was backed up by National Guard troops andwas That protest led to the resignation of S,C,State's in no real danger. Patrol leaders made the president. fatal error of allowing officers to decide on theirown In February of 1968, white highway patrol when to fire, rather than wait foran order as did officers shot their weapons Intoa crowd of the National Guard. protesting students. Three studentswere killed The real tragedy was the refusal of state offi-

184 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 197 blamed the con- labor leaders from around the nation cameto cials to admit any mistakes. They workers' strike. frontation on Cleveland Sellers. Sellers, anative of Charleston to help in a hospital Denmark, South Carolina, was on campusto About 300 women, mostlyAfrican-Americans, Student Non- were protesting low wagesand poor working organize a protest for SNCC, the Medical Violent Coordinating Committee.This was a civil conditions at the hospital run by the the nation. University of South Carolina.Police arrested rights group that was active all over National Guard Local authorities and Governor McNairlabeled hundreds of them. Thousands of trouble-maker. troops arrived. Tensions ranhigh, but protests Sellers as an outside agitator and a finally won. As Sellersmay have comefromoutside remained peaceful. The strikers from out- Rosetta Simmons saw it, -this was avictory for all Orangeburg, but he was certainly not not just for her and her side of the state. He was of a youngergeneration poor people in the state, impatient with fellow workers. of African-Americans who were Lamar, South the slow legal tactics of theNAACP. In 1960 he In 1970 violence struck in firstsit-in Carolina. Schools there were finallyintegrating. had participated in some of the for demonstrations in the state in his home townof African-Americans had been patient, waiting College sat the courts to order integra-.1on.Whites had Denmark. He and friends at Voorhees integrate. When at a "whites only" counter at alocal drugstore resisted, refusing to voluntarily service. They the courts ordered integrationand school buses lunch counter and asked for formerly all-white refused to leave and police arrestedthem. with black children arrived at Sellers arrived at the protest meeting atthe schools, white mobs met them.Angry whites shooting took overturned a bus, frightening youngchildren in S.C. State campus just before the would never forget. Then the place. One of the shots woundedhim. The state a way the children arrested him and charged him withincitement authorities restored order. to riot. At Sellers' trial,with the jury out of the court room, the judge toldlawyers that no real The Impact of Having theVote Nevertheless, the evidence against Sellers existed. voting to the jury to deliver By 1970 enough African-American were judge went ahead and allowed for governor, the its verdict. They found himguilty and the judge change the state. In the election Republicans ran Congressman AlbertWatson. He sentenced him to a year in prison. wanted to go Cleveland Sellers could easily havebecome openly appealed to whites who Instead, he back to the era of segregation.Democrat John totally embittered by this injustice. by combining worked to do positive things.While waiting for West defeated Watson. West won took nearly three the votes of black voters with thoseof progressive his case to come to trial, which* West created the years, he earned a mastersdegree in education whites. Once in office, Governor several months, state Human Affairs Commission.Its purpose was from Harvard University. After stop discrimina- prison officials freed him forgood behavior. to bring about fair treatment, to Greensboro, N.C. tion, and to encourageunderstanding and Then he worked for the City of James E. and earned a doctorate ineducation. In 1990 he respect. The head of the commission was Denmark and Clyburn. Clyburn served well inthis most diffi- moved back to his hometown of for the U.S. worked in a real estate business.In July of 1993 cult position until 1992. Then he ran pardon. That same Congress and was elected. Hebecame South the state granted him a full win a seat in year he began teaching coursesat the University Carolina's first African-American to of South Carolina in Columbiain the African- Congress since the 1800s. In addition, he In 1970 three African-Americans,I.S. Leevy American Studies Department. Johnson, James Felder and HerbertFielding were continued to serve the state as amember of the in the S.C. State Board of Education.He has been work- elected to the House of Representatives chance denied to so General Assembly. However,winning elections ing to give all children the African-Americans because of the many generations ofAfrican-American children. was hard for narrowly avoided way district lines weredrawn. Voters from each In 1969 South Carolina the legislators in that violence, thanks in large part to therestraint and county as a whole chose all iscalled"at-large"elections. patience of African-Americans.Civil rights andcounty. This

CIVIL RIGHTS 185

1 9 d Therefore, winning was impossible fora black candidate unless blacks werea majority in the county or unless a lot of white voters voted for him. Only a few counties had enough African- Americans in the county as a wholeto elect African-American legislators. -L1 After a series of court rulings decided that districtlines could not be drawn todis- criminateagainstAfrican-Americans,South Carolina changed its election laws. One ofthese rulings took k.!ace as a result ofa 1960 court case, Gomillion v. Lightfoot.Even though this case began in Alabama, a native South Carolinianput '4F14.t' his life on the line. Dr. Charles Gomillion was born in 1901in Johnston, South Carolina. The public schools there provided only three months of schooleach year. Parents found enough money to extend schoolanothertwomonths.Although Gomillion had only about an eighth-gradefor- maleducation,PaineCollegeinAugusta accepted him as a probationary student.By working hard he succeeded. He earned his Ph.D. from Ohio State and went to teachat Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He began fighting for the right to vote in the 1930s. By the 1950s heand others had managed to get a fairly large number of African-Americans registeredto vote. Whites 1.DeQuincey Newman, 1983. Reproduced from Constance in power felt threatened. Whites tried to redraw B. Schulz, Ed.,The History of S.C. Slide Collection, district lines so the lines split blackvoters into slide B-212 (Sandlapper Publishing Company,1989). several districts. Then blacks wouldnot have Photo by Jeff Amberg. Courtesy The State Newspaper. enough votes in any district to electanyone to the city council. That was when Dr. Gomillion as district lines. The Senate had to draw lines went to court. He won. Drawing district lines so to that the same number of people lived ineach discriminatea practice known as "gerryman- district. In 1983 voters elected the Reverend dering"was illegal. Isaiah DeQuincey Newman to the state Senate. In 1974 the S.C. legislature changed "at- He was the first African-Americansenator. since large" county wide districts to smallerdistricts of 1886. equal size. Each district would elect only one rep- Newman had come a long way. Hewas born resentative. This made it more likely that enough on a farm in Darlington County in 1911. When African-American voters would live ina district he was eight, he saw the Klan burnan African- to elect an African-American candidate. That American convict alive. He remembered shining year voters elected ten more African-Americans shoes for state senators in the 1920s. In 1943 he to the General Assembly. With more thana helped organize the NAACP in Orangeburg. In dozen members, African-American legislators the 1950s and 1960s he wasone of the state's formed the Legislative Black Caucusso they most active civil rights leaders. After demonstra- could work together. Caucus is simplya fancy tions and protest marches, authorities arrested word for meeting. Ernest Finney, Jr, thefirst him five times. He remembered being-chased chairperson of the group, became in an associate his car at 120 miles an hour all theway through justice on the S.C. Supreme Court in 1985 Marion and Florence Counties byan angry mob Progress continued. Federal Court rulings of whites. They were upset that he had leda stopped the S.C. Senate from usingcounty lines peaceful "wade-in" protest at Myrtle Beach State

186 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE he was a force ment of the S.C. HumanAffairs Commission, Park. Like other NAACP leaders, discrimination for moderation. He believed inpolite negotiation which investigates instances of on the basis of race, age, orgender, was one of rather than screaming confrontation. accomplishments. The A few weeks after Newman won aseat in the the group's more notable Caucus was also instrumentalin passing a law Senate, Senator Marion Gressetteasked Newman the option of for a favor. Gressette had been oneof the oldest that allowed state employees Martin Luther King day as aholiday. The Caucus and most stubborn opponentsof integration. He office to was once proud to becalled "Mr. Segregation." persuaded the governor to create an having his picture promote minority business.It helped pass laws Now he asked for the honor of consider buying taken with Newman. that encouraged the state to the impor- goods and services fromminority-owned and Senator Strom Thurmond saw below are the members of tance of African-American voters.When whites run businesses. Listed voting, he had tried to stop the Legislative Black Caucus as ofthe 1993-4 leg- were the only ones chairperson of the civil rights. He holds the all-timerecord for "fili- islative session, including the stop a civil group, Rep. Joe Brown.All together the members buster" in the U.S. Senate in trying to in the S.C. rights bill from passing. Filibuster meanstalking have nearly 150 years of experience nonstop until the other sidegives up. Realizing General Assembly. that times were changing,Thurmond sponsored the appointment of Matthew J.Perry to become civil rights lawyer and a federal judge in1976. A 1983 photo of Matthew J. Perry, the state's first African-American federaljudge. For more than twenty yearsbefore this, Perry Ed., The History lawyer in the state. Reproduced from Constance B. Schulz, had been the NAACP's chief of S.C. Slide Collection, slide C-112(Sandlapper For example, Perry had wonkey cases like that Publishing Company, 1989). Photo by VicTutte. which forced the integration ofClemson. He also Courtesy The State Newspaper. won the case thatforced the legislature to move to single-member districts.Perry went on to have a distinguished career as afederal judge. In 1990 Senator Theo Mitchell wonthe Democratic nomination for governor.He was the first African-American evernominated for gover- nor by the Democrats.Although he lost to the popular Republican incumbent governor,Carroll Campbell, the campaign was a realmilestone. It was also importantbecause neither candidate campaigned on racial issues.However, race was doubtless an unspoken issue inthe minds of many voters. The statestill had not overcome the burden of its history.

The Legislative Black Caucus After the 1992 election,twenty-five African- American legislators sat in the 170member S.C. General Assembly. That is fifteenpercent, about half the percentage of AfricanAmericans in the general population. However,itis enough to make a difference. Organizedinto the Legislative Black Caucus, they were now in astronger position to continue the workbegun nearly two decades earlier. The Black Caucus has played asignificant role in the making of manylaw:., The establish-

CIVIL RIGHTS 187 Legislative Black Caucus Members:1993-4 three of the five county councilseats in the years Senate that followed. Other units ofgovernment began Sen. Robert Ford making the same changes. Sen. Maggie Wallace Glover This change meant that localgovernments Sen. Darrell Jackson had to begin caring about everyone'sneeds. They Sen. John W. Matthews could no longer just provideservices to white Sen. Theo Mitchell areas. Black areas were able to get streets paved Seri. Kay Patterson and parks built. They had betteraccess to human Sen. McKinley Washington, Jr. services. With power in city halls andcounty governments, African-Americans found jobs House of Representatives more easily in government service. Rep. Ralph Anderson Rep. Donald W. Beatty Rep. Floyd Breeland Benefit For All Rep. Joe E. Brown If we are able to meet the educationaland social Rep. Alma W. Byrd needs of all citizens,more citizens will be pro- Rep. Ralph W. Canty ductive. We will all havea happier, healthier, Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter and wealthier state. Rep. Jerry Govan, Jr. South Carolinians continueto play an Rep. Jesse Hines important role in the civil rightsmovement. Dr. Rep. Curtis B. Inabinett William Gibson, a dentist fromGreenville, is Rep. Kenneth Kennedy president of the state NAACP. Likeso may others, Rep. W.B. McMahand he became involved in the civil rightsmovement Rep. Bessie Moody-Lawrence in the 1960s. The national NAACP,an organiza- Rep. Joseph H. Neal tion with 400,000 members, chose Gibsonto be Rep. John L. kott their vice chairperson. When thechairperson Rep. Lucille S. Whipper died in 1985, Gibson tookover the top position Rep. Juanita M. White on the board. As chairperson, he is involved in Rep. Dewitt Williams setting goals for the NAACP. One of hisgoals is to see that African Americans get their "fair In the 1980s the courts extended single- share" of opportunities in life. Hewants to member districts to county council districts,city ensure that government and business willpro- council districts, and school boards.One of the mote blacks as well as whites into decision-mak- key cases started in Edgefield County.As a child ing positions. This includes bothmanagement Tom McCain attended Bettis Academy andlater roles and positions on boards andcommissions. became a college math professor. He feltthe "at- Gibson also believes in the importance ofthe large" method of electing council memberswas vote. African-Americans must turn outat elec- unfair. His case took tenyears, but he was a tion time if they are to havean influence on gov- patient man. Starting his case in 1974, hefinally ernment policies. wonitin 1984. He later became County Nelson B. Rivers III is currently theexecutive Administrator in Edgefield. director of the state NAACP. Ata celebration of McCain's long effort hada dramatic effect. black history in February of 1993, hetold an African American communities and neighbor- Aiken audience that we should rememberthe past hoods could now get representation thathad because people gave their lives for the freedoms once been nearly impossible.InEdgefield we now enjoy. He graduated from the Citadel. County about two of every five votersare African Only a few years ago the Citadel wouldnot have Americans. With the "at-large" method ofelect- let him attend. About the only thing hecould ing the county council, no African-Americans have been at the schoolwas a janitor. While were elected. After the 1984 court ruling, the much progref,.; must yet be made,a great dea; of county changed to single-member districts. The progress has taken place. That progress isone of result was that African-Americanswon two or the greatest contributions of African-Americans.

188 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 201 VVV CHAPTER 15 African-Americansand SouthCarolina Today

revolution, African different and unique and each oneadds to the As a result of the civil rights nation. Those American citizens have a muchbetter chance to beauty of the whole. So we are as a While barriers still are ideas expressedin a way that nearly all play a variety of roles in life. enjoy whether or exist, the door of opportunityis open wider than Americans can understand and had to spend all their not they agree withJackson on other things. ever before. People once international energy merely enduring orfighting for rights. Jesse Jackson began his rise to little, many fame in Greenville, where he wasborn in 1941. After they pushed the door open a segregated society that rushed through. Some are stillworking to open He bears the hurt of the South Carolina was in thatday. He remembers the door completely. white school to reach Many others have turned theirskills and tal- having to walk right past a the all-black school six miles away.He remem- ents in other directions.They are building upon whistling at a store the work of the pioneers you metin this book. bers as an eight year old boy directions: politics owner. The ownerpulled a gun on him, cursed They blazed trails in many whistle at a white and government service, education,business, sci- him, and warned him never to and the arts, and religion. man again. He wasborn out of wedlock, and the ence, sports, media other kids teased him, sayingthat he was nothing but a nobody becausehe didn't have no Politics and GovernmentService daddy. He has spent the restof his life proving He has made mil- Today African-Americansfrom South Carolina that he is indeed somebody. contributions in politics and govern- lions of others feel that they, too,could become are making society treated ment serviceatalllevels.You canfind "somebodies," regardless of how Carolinians in international,national, state, and them. Jackson started learningleadership and local government. church. His skills The Reverend Jesse Jackson is oneof South speaking skills ;n school and Although improved with practice. He wasalso a very tal- Carolina's most famous political sons. quarterback. Despite he has never been active inSouth Carolina poli- ented football playera star the world. While his talent, he did not let sports comein the way tics, he is known around teachers remembers that Jackson is controversial becausehe is so outspo- of education. One of his him for his eloquent he was different from a lotof athletes. He asked ken, many people admire time if he knew he and moving speeches,including some of those for his assignments ahead of speaks for poor peo- was going to missclass because of sports. Jackson who disagree with him. He football that the University of ple of all races and all nations.When he ran for was so good in he tried to build Illinois offered him an athleticscholarship. He the presidency of our nation, told him that they what he called a "rainbowcoalition." By "rain- accepted the offer. Then they all colors and all only allowed whites to playquarterback. He left bow" he meant people of A&T University, a creeds. When Jackson spoke tothe Democratic and went to North Carolina talked about school with all African-Americanstudents. There National Convention in 1988, he he had the skill to America being like a quilt.A quilt is made of he could play any position many different patchesand patterns. Each one is win.

AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND SOUTH CAROLINATODAY 189

2d1 U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn, the state's first African-Americancongressper- son since the turn of the century. Photo by Scott Webster.

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This was the early1960s. He became direction of the new government.The Clinton involved in civil rights demonstrations.He led Administration offered Marion Wright sit-insat Edelman theaters and lunch countersin a position. She turned it down, preferringto Greensboro, N.C., where hewas in college. He influence Clinton from the outside. met other civil rights leaders and She is head eventually of an organization called theChildren's Defense began working with Martin LutherKing, Jr. Fund. Along the way he wenttothe Chicago Like Jesse Jackson, MarionWright first Theological Seminary, earninga degree to became interested in politics during become a minister. Following the the civil murder of King rights movement. Childhoodmemories of the in 1968, he began his rise to becomethe mostsegregated South in the 1950s deeply well-known civil rights leader affected among African- her. She remembers an auto wreckin front of her Americans. house. The ambulance only took the In 1973 Jackson returned white vic- to Greenville. tim, who was not badly hurt. It leftbehind the After winning international fame,citizens of badly injured black family. Yet shestill loves the Greenville welcomed him homeas a hero. They South. She remembers that both gave him a great dinner at the hotel in which he her parents' families left the South for betteropportunities in had once worked as a waiter. Theyhonored him the North. Her father, in a dining room that a minister, returned to once would not have South Carolina to preach ina small church in served him dinner. What he told thepeople at that dinner is the same Bennettsville. She feels she learnedmore about message he has been feelings of the heart by living ina small Southern preaching all over the world: "Iwas raised and town. born in the ghetto, but I am a child of the uni- She has spent her life giving of herheart to verse. War anywhere is a threat topeace every- others. She earned a law degreeso that she could where" (Barbara A. Rey nolds, Jesse Jackson: The help African-Americans in Mississippifight legal Man, The Movement, The Myth. Chicago:Nelson barriers to voting. She showed U.S.senators the Hall, 1975, p.44.). poverty of families living in the deep South. When Bill Clinton took officeas President Children whose stomachswere swollen with of the United States in January of 1993,African- hunger deeply moved the senators.One of those Americans from South Carolina helped mold the senators was Bobby Kennedy. She latermarried

190 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

" 0 0 one of his aides andtook the name Marion Myrtle Beach. In the 1990s lawyers ofboth races Wright Edelman. Shortly after that shefounded argue cases that Finneyhelps decide as judge. the Children's Defense Fund. The grouphas Many African-Americans work asprofes- Head Start sionals in government service. The stateboasts fought for all kinds of programs like chiefs. Charles and health care to help children ofall races. two nationally known police Edelman became a close friend ofHillary Austin is police chief in Columbia.Austin is rela- chair of the tively new in his role. However,he is quickly Rodham Clinton, who later was searches for Children's Defense Fund. With Bill andHillary in building a reputation as a man who Edelman now new ideas and triesthem out. Reuben Greenberg the White House, Marion Wright longer. He is has an inside voice in national politics.In a way has been chief in Charleston a little Edelman is the child of Mary McLeodBethune, a most unusual man.A former college professor, book. If you he is a member of two minority groups.He is whom you met earlier in this This police remember, Bethune was a friend ofanother pres- both African-American and Jewish. book, Let's Take ident's wife, Eleanor Roosevelt. chief is very tough on crime. His In 1992 James Clyburn becamethe first Back Our Streets, reveals his ideas.He wants citi- African-American to win a seat to Congressfrom zens and police to drivecriminals off the streets has proved and keep them off. While this ideacould lead to South Carolina since the 1800s. He careful to that racial barriers in voting arebeginning to police brutality, Greenberg has been crack. Although he was elected from anewly cre- make sure that his officers follow correct proce- of African- dures. Sometimes he puts on rollerskates to ated district that had a majority The American voters, he also won manywhite votes. check out what is happening on the streets. both races. head of the International Associationof Police Clyburn openly appealed to voters of chief as good To be an effective leader forthe 6th district, Chiefs says that every city needs a Clyburn felt that he needed white support.Even as Greenberg. his white Republican opponentagreed that Clyburn's election was in some wayspositive, Education better off when saying that the state would be in the blacks winning elections would notbe consid- The list of important African-Americans field of education is long. Here is ashort sample ered un Isual. and are working For most of the 1900s, African-Americansin of some of those who have been South Carolina could not sit on juries or serveas to improve our knowledgeand education in did ..otboth the state and the nation.They represent judges. As a result the legal system who are teach- alwaystreatthemfairly.TodayAfrican- nearly 7,000 African-Americans Americans do far more than just sit onjuries. ing in South Carolina's publicschools. African- interpret the American teachers make up morethan eighteen They help make the law and also the state. law as judges. In 1985 Ernest Finneybecame the percent of all the teachers in S.C. Supreme In Aiken County Dr. FrankRoberson is the first African-American on the instruc- Court .since 1877. In that year,Judge Jonathan school system's top administrator over Jasper Wright resigned fromthe court. Wrighttion. Like many SouthernAfrican-Americans, regained control Roberson left the South after finishinghis basic knew that the whites who had Southerners of all of state government would forcehim off the education. Like many other racial backgrounds, he felt strong ties tohis fam- court. Finney is not a native SouthCarolinian. ily roots and to the land. Afterhe earned enough When he was fourteen years oldin 1946, he money in New York tocomplete his education, took a job as he came back to South Carolina.He began teach- moved to the state when his father Moving into a dean at ClaflinCollege. His father insisted that ing and earned advanced degrees. though he did not administration,hebecametheAssistant he train as a teacher even Services. In the want to teach. He wanted tobe a lawyer. He Superintendent for Instructional both areas. early 1980s, he and his wifebuilt their own worked hard and earned degrees in land that his As a teacher Finney earned verylittle. To make a house with their own hands on waiter for grandfather once owned. As Robersonworks to little extra money he worked as a the children in meetings of the all-white S.C. BarAssociation in improve the education of all

AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND SOUTH CAROLINA TODAY 191 204 Carolina that presents researchon the black family. He has built a nationalreputation in this important area. Dr. Grace McFaddenteaches African-American studies classes at USC.She is famous for her work in oral history.She and her assistants videotape interviews withprominent people so that future generatlbnscan not only read their words, but hear andsee them. Dr. Ed Hayes works in the state CriminalJustice Academy in Columbia. Dr. Ricky Hillis chairperson of the Political Science Department at S.C. State. He often explains politicalevents in interviews with news reporters. Dr.TheresaSingleton, a nativeof Charleston,is one of only a few African- American female archaeologists in thenation. After teaching and working at theS.C. State Museum, she became curator forhistorical archaeology at the Smithsonian inWashington, D.C. She has been a pioneer inuncovering the story of the daily life of African-Americans who were brought to America. Dr.Sara Dunlop Jackson was born in ires==211Eftwai..... Columbia. Working at the NationalArchives in Alifift Washington, D.C., she has taught scholarshow to do research. Many historians give hercredit Dr. Frank Roberson, giving instructionsto an aide in the for teaching them how to track downthe impor- public school system in Aiken County. Heis only one of tant tidbits of information they needed in their thousands of African-Americans who today playa vital work. role in preparing the children of SouthCarolina for the challenges of the fixture. Photo by GinnySouthworth. Courtesy TheAiken Standard. Business The danger in talking about importantAfrican- Aiken County Schools, his familyis growing American business leaders today is thatwe must even deeper roots in the state. Roberson isrepre- leave important people out. You donot have to sentative not only of all thoseunsung heroes of look very far to see how much African-Americans the classroom, but also of themany African- contribute to the state and the nationalecon- Americans who help run South Carolinaschools omy in business activities. in important administrative positions. W. Melvin Brown is perhapsone of the best Dr.Thomas Elliot Kerns became thefirst examples. Brown is the chief operating officer,or African-American superintendent ofthe CEO, of a North Charlestoncompany, the Greenville County schools. The districthas the American Development Corporation. Hiscom- largest number of students ofany in the state. In pany provides jobs for 350 other people. It makes 1991 he was recognizedas one of the top eight equipment for the military. Much of his equip- school administrators in the entirenation. Kerns ment helped America win the war with Iraqin is no longer unique. By late 1993 twelvepercent the Persian Gulf in 1991. Brown'scompany is of South Carolina's schoolsuperintendents among the 100 largest private firms in South (eleven individuals) were, rican-American. Carolina, anditisthe thirty-thirdlargest In the area of higher education,African- African-American owned company in the entire Americans are active and prominent in andout nation. CEO Brown has a great deal to do inrun- of South Carolina. Dr, Augustus Rogersorganizes ning a company that makes about $35million a yearly conference at the University of South each year. All these responsibilities donot keep

192 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

205 restored him from volunteering his time. Brownis on the buildings. Among the buildings he has board of trustees for several colleges,including are St. Stephens and St.Mark's churches in Clemson, and chaired the ElectionCommission Charleston and Claflin College's TingleyHall. In in Charleston. In 1993 he becamethe first recent years DeCosta turned tohelp his commu- African-American to be inducted into the Southnity. He has won awards in volunteerwork for Carolina Business Hall of Fame. In a yearwhen helping such groups as the Boy Scouts,the Community over 200 people werenominated, Brown was one Spoleto Festival, and the Penn of only four people to win the honor . Center. SouthCarolinahasanotherAfrican- American business that is among thenation's Science best. The DeCosta family contractingbusiness has a long history in the state. It datesback Edwin R. Russell was a key figure inthe nuclear through three generations to the 1890s.Herbert age that began withdevelopment of the atomic A. DeCosta, Jr. brought it nationalfame in the bomb. Russell was born in Columbia morethan 1970s. In the 1930s DeCosta worked as a carpen- eighty years ago. His interest in scienceled him ter, learning the family businessfrom the ground to study chemistry at BenedictCollege. lie up. In 1940 hegraduated from the Avery received a B.A. from Benedict and amaster's Institute in his hometown of Charleston.After degree from Howard University. Inthe chapter earning a degree in architectural engineeringat on the military, youlearned that he left a job in Iowa State, he went to work for NASA.Later he Washington, D.C. when the armyrefused to returned home to run the constructionbusiness. accept his African-Americanstudents into the His greatest talent is in the restorationof old new chemical warfareservice as officers. He returned to South Carolina, but beforelong he was offered a job at theUniversity of Chicago. In 1993 Mr. W. Melvin Brown became thefirst African- Russell went to Chicago where heworked on American inducted into the S.C. Business Hallof Fame. production of the atomic bomb. In1942 he was His company, the American DevelopmentCorporation, is one of two African-Americanscientists involved one of the top African-Americanowned businesses in the in the first experiments withnuclear weapons. state. Courtesy Melvin Brown. Russell was one of twenty sevenpeople who received a citation from PresidentRoosevelt for his work. He still has the silverlapel pin he received. The War Manpower Commissionalso awarded him for his work. After the war Russell returned toSouth Carolina and worked with the AtomicEnergy Commission at the Savannah River Plantfor more than twenty-one years.His work there focused on how to purify nuclearmaterials and how to remove ingested materialsfrom the human body. The peaceful use of nuclearmaterials was one of his concerns.Russell retired to Columbia, to the same street wherehe had lived during his youth. After his retirement hetried to help others through his work in theconstruction field. Charles Bolden is one of the mostwell- known South Carolinians in the fieldof science. Bolden was born in Columbia in 1946.Ironically, in 1984, years after the Universityof South Carolina refused to admit him becauseof his race, the school honoredhim with an honorary degree. Perhaps by refusing him theydid him a

AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND SOUTH CAROLINA TODAY 193 "0k; 1986. Unhappily, one of his best friendswas killed when the Challenger explodedon take off. That was Ron McNair of Lake City, South Carolina. Son of an auto mechanic, McNair also had to overcome many obstacles in becomingan astronaut. He was valedictorian of his high school class, lettered in three sports, and played the saxophone in a school jazz band. After graduating with honors from Nort!1 Carolina A&T University, he earned a doctorate in physics from theMassachusettsInstituteof Technology. Known for his expertise in laser technology, he beat out 1,000 other applicants to join thespace shuttle program in 1978. He flew inone successful mission aboard the Challenger in 1984. Like other African-Americanheroes from South Carolina, McNair made the greatest sacrificeone can make in serving his naticn. He gave his life. His memory and inspiration liveson in the students of the Ronald E. McNair Junior High School in his home town of Lake City. South Carolina African-Americansare not only exploring space, but they have alsowon fame in exploring the inner body. Dr. Edward Sawyer Cooper, another Columbia native,was Charles Bolden, one of South Carolina's two African- electedpresidentoftheAmericanHeart American astronauts. Courtesy NASA. Association in 1992. At the age of seventy, this honor was the capstone of a long and distinguished career. His research includes not only heart diseases, but also strokes. In Philadelphia favor. Instead of U.S.C., he went to theU.S. he founded a research center for strokes. Public Naval Academy. After winning honorsas a stu- education about how to prevent these deadly dent, he joined the Marines and becamea pilot. diseases was another of his concerns. His work He won military honors for flyingmore than 100 has improved your chance fora longer and combat missions in Vietnam. Bolden hasa bach- healthier life. elor of science degree in electrical engineering and a master of science in systemsmanagement. In 1979 he completed the Naval Test Pilot Sports School. In 1980 he survived the rigorous selec- South Carolina has certainly produced its share tion process to become an astronaut. Boldenwas of star athletes. Among themare many African- pilot on two space shuttle flights andcomman- Americans. We would like to introduceyou to der on a third flight, logging nearly 500 hoursin just a few of them. space. Bolden was so successful in his work at One of the most remarkable youngmen to NASA that in 1992 the government asked himto come from the Palmetto State in recent years and develop a new mission for the entirespace to win national fame as an athlete could also be agency. Where we go in space in the years to considered a poet or humanitarian. Alex English come may be decided by a brilliant and talented was named after Alexander the Great. He lived man from South Carolina. Over his career, three up to the name. A native of Columbia, he was so schools have awarded him honorary doctorates. good inbasketballthatover100 schools Bolden was also lucky. He flew the last shut- recruited him. He chose to stay home and play tle mission before the Challenger disasterin for USC. After setting the all-time school scoring

194 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

2 0 7 record, he graduated in 1976 with a degree in 1964. He was the first American to win ."n English. Few NBA players have ever been better. Olympic gold medal in heavyweightboxing. He was tops in scoring in 1983. He hasplayed in Frazier used his fame and fortune tohelp others several all-star games. All of that was his basket- He has helped many charities. One ofhis many ball side. His other sides are just as impressive. projects was a "Father's Day Picnic forHomeless He wrote three books of poetry. Hetells how Children." A native of Beaufort County, the state important writing is to him in his autobiogra- legislature invited Frazier to speak after his vic- phy, which is titled The lie has tory over Ali. If you remember, this wasthe time been an actor in movies and on television,Alex when the state was just beginning toreally ern; English cares about people both here and around segregation and when tension was high.Frazier the rest of the world. He has raised over told the all-white legislature that we need to get $100,000 to feed the hungry children of Africa. closer together and work together andmake the In 1970 a South Carolinian becamethe state a better place. The legislators gavehim a world champion in heavyweight boxing. Inwhat standing ovation. some regard as one of the bestfights of all times, South Carolina can be very proud to claim "Smokinw Joe Frazier beat Muhammad All when one of the greatest femaleathletes of all time as Ali was at his peak. Frazier had first wonfame in a native daughter. Bornin the little town of

against people of all Today there are many African-American athletesfrom S.C. who have made their mark competing desegregation, African-Americans were limited to competeagainst only those of their own races and all nations. Prior to Constance B. Schulz, race, such as this Columbia professionalbaseball team, shown around 1920. Reproduced from Ed., The History of S.C. Slide Collection, slide G-6(Sandlapper Publishing Company, 1989). CourtesySouth Caroliniana Library. 4,1

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AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND SOUTH CAROLINA TODAY 195 0 Silver, South Carolina, in 1927, AltheaGibson 1-4 grew up in Harlem, New York. Her father taught her to be tough and competitive by givingher personal boxing lessons. Shegrew tall and strong. She soon became one of the best athletes in her neighborhood. A localmusician encouraged her to try tennis and arranged lessons for her. Two doctors from the Southsaw her play in a tournament and offeredto help. She wenttoliveinWilmington, North Carolina, where she workedon her tennis. In addition, she played in the band,was captain of the basketball team, and often playedfootball and baseball with the boys at school. Afterwin- 11E,r ning a college scholarship, she began winning professional tennis tournaments. Shewas the first African-American to play in andwin tne U.S. Open title and the firstto win the Wimbledon title. In the late 1950s, shewas the best woman tennis player in the world.After Charlayne Hunter-Gault, famous televisionnews journal- retiring from tennis, she changed sports and ist on public television. Courtesy SCETV. became a very successful pro golfer. Herreputa- tion for power in tennis carriedover. She was known as one of the longest driverson the pro golf tour. In 1983 the S.C. Athletic Hall ofFame Media and the Arts inducted her as a member. African-Americans from South Carolinaare mak- Breaking into the ranks of coaching has ing contributions in the media and thearts that been difficult for African-American athletes. touch people all over the world. Youmet quite a While whites were willing to appreciate theplay- few of these people in earlier chapters. Hereare a ing talents of blacks, they were less willingto few more. You can see some of themon televi- place blacks in positions of authority. This has sion each day. You can find their work inyour been especially true at the professional level.The library. They are an important part ofour cul- first African-American National FootballLeague ture. They help us understand it. They make it coach was named in 1989. Hewas Art Shell, a richer. They preserve it. Remember, theseare native of North Charleston. Shell had already only a few who represent many,many more. proven his worth as a player, as have other South Charlayne Hunter-Gault was born in the Carolinians. Charlie Brown of Charlestonwas a small South Carolina town of Due West in 1942. star receiver with the Washington Redskins and She did not live there long before she movedout the Atlanta Falcons. The Perry brothers of Aiken of the state. Yet, despite memories of racial dis- (William, "the refrigerator" and Michael Dean) crimination, she remembers South Carolina ina both earned all-pro honors as defensive linemen. positive way. Like so many other Southerners, Barney Chavous, also of Aiken, playedas a black and white, she feelsa sense of place, a defensive end for the Denver Broncos. Shellwas sense of belonging here in South Carolina. She exceptional. He made the Pro Bowlseven times went on to shoot for higher goals thaneven her in a row, played in two Super Bowls, andwas teachers saw for her. In 1960 Hunter-Gaultwas taken into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Within one of the first two African-Americans to enter a year as a coach, he turned the losing Raiders the University of Georgia. After earninga degree into a playoff team. Regardless of how therest of in journalism, she worked as a reporter for the his coaching career goes, he proved thatgreat New Yorker magazine and the New York Times men, whatever theirrace, can make great newspaper. Later she moved into broadcast jour- coaches. nalism. In recent years she has beenone of the

196 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE he is especially con- anchorreportersontheaward-winning many other giving people, MacNeil/Lehrer Report that is seennightly on cerned with ideas that will help childrensucceed public television. If you want toknow more in a tough world. her life in her Poet, writer, television journalist,and talk about her, you can read about famil- autobiography, In My Place. show host, Listervelt Middleton may be a Bill Terrell is one of the most visibleAfrican- iar name to many of you if youwatch public Carolina television. Born in Pineville in 1952,Middleton Americans on public television in South science from today. Though he moved to SouthCarolina only earned a degree inpolitical in the late 1960s, his work forSouth Carolina Benedict College in 1972. He began his career as Educational Television will have a lastingimpact. a news director for acommercial television sta- Terrell began producing and hosting"Jobman tion in Columbia. From there hemoved to S.C. Educational Television and soon beganwinning Caravan" in 1968 as a way to help young men show "For find work. By the 1990s it developedinto a pop- awards as host and producer of the ular news magazine type show that wonS.C. the People." His main concern ishelping people Educational Television its first Emmy award. understand the rich tradition of Africanculture. that con- He is helping us to see thatAfricans have Terrell looks at a wide variety of issues books of cern African-Americans inthe state. As with so affected the entire world. Three of his poetry are read all over theworld. He is also a performing poet who has given readingsof his work in major cities across thenation. The poetry reflects his roots bothhere and in Africa. Bill Terrell, producer of the award winning S.C. He wants us to remember the past,but he also Educational Television program "Jobman Caravan." today and Courtesy SCETV. asks us to face the challenges of tomorrow. Youhavealreadymet many South famous the 0. c Carolinians who have made the state world over in the field of music.African- Americans from South Carolina helped create jazz and the popular music we hear onthe radio. The tradition of gospel singing that is sostrong in the state continues into the 1990s.Gospel car- ga"*yirippo ries over into more formal kindsof singing. F, Naugle Myrtle Hall Smith, born in Greenville,is known the world over as a lyric soprano singer.She first won fame as a soloistwith the Billy Graham Crusade. Since then she has sung informal con- certs as well as in religiousservices as far away as China, Australia, and South Africa.

Religion African-American ministers have played acentral role in the history of South Carolinaand in the history of civil rights. In part, this isdue to the centralimportance ofreligioninAfrican- American life. A second reason isthe limited number of opportunities educatedAfrican- Americans had in other professions.Finally, you will recall that the church was aboutthe only place where large numbers of blackscould gather without alarming the white community.

AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND SOUTH CAROLINA TODAY 1 97 Today the civil rights movement has moved people you have met elsewhere in this book, beyond the bounds of the church. Asyou see such as astronauts Ronald McNair and Charles from this chapter, more andmore African- Bolden, Jr., and others who are less well-known. Americans have moved into other leadership Each year, the Black Hall of Fame honorsa group roles. This does not mean, however, that African- of people who have made the worlda little bet- American ministers no longer play leadership ter place. roles. Many still do. Some ministers of churches with African- American members continue toserve as leaders Changing Lifestyles in local chapters of the NAACP. Others, suchas For many average African-American families in the Reverend Ben Snoddy of Spartanburg,are South Carolina, life has changeda great deal in asking whether churches should change them- the last twenty five years. Change has beena long selvesas well as change society. Reverend time coming. After the Civil War, seventy-five Snoddy sees all races interacting in mostareas of years of hard work were needed to build enough life in South Carolina today. On the other hand, wealth and power to begin challengingsegrega- he echoes Martin Luther King, Jr. in observing tion. Breaking down these barriers took another that Sunday morning is the most segregated twenty-five years. Many African-Americans still morning of the week. Reverend Snoddy is work- livein poverty,justas many white South ing to change that. He brought together minis- Carolinians live in poverty. In the last quartercen- ters from several white churches and createda tury more and more families have entered the medical clinic.In order to reduce conflict middle class. What does thismean in daily life? between the races, he helped organize discussion Fewer families live on farms. Those that do groups of members from black and whiteoften farm part-time. Most of their income churches. He hopes that this and othercoopera- comes from work in town and cities around the tive projects like day care centers willsome day state. At the same time, family ties are still lead to integrated churches. important. Many choose to live in familygroup- Listing all the individuals who havecon- ings r,nd commute to work rather thanmove. tributed to South Carolina is nearly impossible. We can see this in the little community of However, these people deserve to be recognized. Promised Land. If you remember, Promised Land In 1989 the United Black Fund, working with was the little town created by African-Americans Benedict College, began planning to recognize just after the Civil War. Once they owned the some of these people and their accomplish- land, they created a close-knit community that ments. The United Black Fund raises money to lasted. Change has touched Promised Land. help organizations In the African-Americancom- Once the people lived by farming. Nowmost munity, such as community centers andpro- people have just small fields or gardens in which gramsforstudents fromruralareas. The to grow a few things to eat. In many of the old Committee of 100 Black Men, which raises fields grow stands of pine trees. These willeven- money for the United Black Fund, established tually be sold as pulp wood forpaper. Small the S.C. Black Hall of Fame. Persons both living housing developments now cover other fields. and dead who have helped other African- People who had left returned. They did not need Americans and contributed to the state and the as much land because they did not have to farm nation are honored each year at the organiza- for a living. Most of the roughly 500 residents tion's banquet. Honorees are selected froma list work in skilled factory jobs outside thecommu- of several hundred persons. Manypersons out- nity, work in clerical jobs, are self-employed in side the organization, including religious and small businesses, or just sell their labor. community leaders, have suggestednames. The Other things remain the same in Promised Black Hall of Fame holds photographs andmate- Land. Most important, the community endures rialsonthepersons who areinducted. as a community. It survived because of the self- Eventually they hope to find a permanent home reliance and pride of its residents. In 1978 the for all of these materials. men of the community created their own fire In 1991 the Black Hall of Fame inducted the department. They made their own tanker truck first group of thirty. The group includedmany using their own skills. They welded a water tank

198 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 21 the city onto a surplus military truck.Church is still the David Floyd returned to Charleston, family has of his birth, from Washington, D.C.in 1978. He center of community life. When a Charleston. As problems, neighbors help. felt he had more opportunity in Those who left for economic reasons orfor an administrator inthe public schools, he is better chances in life have kept intouch with working to create more opportunitiesfor others. their roots. Each August PromisedLand holds a He is providing them with reasons to stay. Homecoming Day. Relatives and friendsfrom Cecilia Trottie left Columbia in 1936after Washington High cities all over the nation return tocelebrate and she graduated from Booker T. renew their ties.Others who were sent to School. She was a teacher in NewYork for forty Promised Land as youths from citieswhere they years. She came homein 1984. She lives in the could not find work revisit the tinycommunity. very house in whichshe grew up. Though she Promised Land. has many friends in New York, she cameback to They found more than work in had always They found love and family. Columbia because it was home. It small been home. Promised Land represents many other War II, rural African American communitiesall over the Between World War I and World lost and peo- Balus Glover left family and friends inPromised state. Some have died as farms were He was part of ple moved to cities. Some, likeFrogmore on St. Land to find work in the North. Others, like the "great migration" that tookplace back then. Helena island, are fairly well-known. but Promised Land, are not. But they are there. He worked for railroads for many years 1974.he returned More families live in urban areas.Of course, always kept his ties to home. In this is true for both whites andblacks. Most to the land of his youth. Hehad always said he the would return. In his retirementhe has come neighborhoods in towns and cities across things he likes to state are still primarilywhite or black in racial back to the land. He grows the people eat on that land, landthat African-Americans composition. However, more and more the 1870s. He is are living together in uppermiddle class suburbs have owned and farmed since that are springing up. This is mosttrue among content. professionals and busi- Sherman Andersonleft South Carolina highly trained and paid of a landless ness-persons. twice. As one of eleven children Laurens County family, Anderson'sparents had to work hard just tofeed their family. They Returning and RediscoveringRoots moved to Philadelphia trying tofind more back to South One of the most remarkablechanges in recent opportunity. The family moved are moving back Carolina in the 1960s, and Andersonbecame one years is that African-Americans Irmo High to South Carolina. Peoplewho had to leave the of the first African-Americans to go to the nation. As School in Lexington County. Andersonagain left state made many contributions to He sought higher you have seen, someleft for better chances for the state, this time on his own. and oth- education, attending MorehouseCollege in education. Others left just to find work, Reserve ers for professionalopportunities. Although Atlanta and law school at Case Western the late 1800s after University in Cleveland, Ohio,where he won many began leaving in law school he Reconstruction ended,blacks outnumbered several awards as a student. After The African- worked in the mid-West, but in 1991he chose to whites in the state until the 1920s. he has directed American percentage of the statepopulation fell return to Irmo. Since returning, the trend the Educational OpportunityCenter at USC, until the 1970s. Sometime in the 1970s educational skills, reversed. The 1980 census showedthat during which helps adults improve into the begun a consulting firm, and wonelection to the the 1970s more African-Americans came Richland and state than left. The hardwork of generations was school board for District Five of Lexington counties. beginning to pay off. Conditionshad improved lived in the enough so that South Carolina wasbeginning to Verne Dooley's family had Public opinion polls North for generations. Althoughhe thought his attract talented people back. of enslave- are showing thatdespite remaining problems, only Southern roots were the roots relations ment, he found other rootswhen he moved to African-Americans in the South see race Because South as better than in theNorth. Columbia in the late 1980s.

AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND SOUTH CAROLINA TODAY 199 Carolina is recognizing the contributions of the nation a better-place for all of us. We cannot African culture to the state, Dooley foundnew possibly talk about all of them. Forevery one rootsmuch more positive roots. He also founa that we have named, countless others exist. that he and his family were welcometo live in Some of those we have left out may beyour par- any neighborhood they wanted. As a high rank- ents, their friends, your neighbors down the ing computer corporation executive, Dooley has street, or someone who lives nearby. been active in the community. He is contribut- This closing thought suggests a good project ing to an even richer culture by promoting the for your class. Identify African-Americans who arts, raising funds for the United Way, helping are doing important things in your community. train new community leaders, and giving his Invite them to visit your class. Have them tell time to schools. you about their lives. Ask them their feelings In this chapter we have looked at the people about their cultural and ethnic roots. Thenyou who live all around us. Some of themyou knew may want to expand and invite people with because you see their names in thenews. Others other cultural roots. The more we know about you did not know because they are not famous. each other, the better we will get along in the Even though they are not famous, theyare future. important. They are making South Carolina and

200 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

2 1 YVY CHAPTER 16 Conclusion: Whatis

South Carolina? MIM

We began this book by asking two questions. hopes had to remain hidden. They taught usthat What does Africa mean to you and whatdoes religious expressions have different levels of Africa mean to South Carolina? If you haveread meaning. Generations of African-Americans this book carefully, you know the answer to endured hardships that we can only try to imag- these questions is in the title of this final chapter. ine. That endurance is another kind ofcontribu- What is South Carolina? Whether your ancestors tion. Their endurance inspires us toknow that are European, African, Asian,Native American, we can endure what wethink of as hardships South or Central American, or some mixture oftoday. That endurance lasted throughfailed all of these does not matter. In one sensethe revolts, a Civil War, the short-lived hopesof answer is the same. If you are aSouth Carolinian, Reconstruction, and nearly 100 years ofsecond- regardless of your personal ethnic background, class citizenship. During the Reconstruction Africa is part of you. It is part of South Carolina. years African Americansmade great political Africa is in our history, politics, art, music,food, contributions. A bill of rights, a public school methods of growing food, buildings, religion, system, and a state government thatbegins to our manners, and even our veryspeech. Some see that it should help buildprosperity are no scholars even claim that we can see as much small things. Through all these years African- African culture in white Southerners as in black Americans worked and built. They ranfarms, Southerners.Itistime we allunderstand, started family businesses, and helped each other acknowledge, and appreciate this fact. South whenever possible. Surely they must have felt Carolina is many things, but a very important discouraged at times. part of it is Africa. Progress came ever so slowly. Finally, when We have spoken about many contributions the time k as right for a "second reconstruction," made by generations of people. Africanswho as the civil rights movementis sometimes called, were brought to SouthCarolina and their they were ready. They contributed to a national African-American children contributed much of movement that has given all of us betterchances the skill and labor that made the state relatively in life. Those who led that movement inSouth wealthy in colonial times. They created the rice Carolina showed great patience. They actedwith culture. This includes not just rice, but the way mode. ation. They suffered perhaps a littlelonger of life that surrounded what was grown.The than they might have. That enabled thecivil crafts and skills they brought andlearned rights movement in the state to takeplace with changed not only South Carolina, butthe relatively little violence. nation. They brought important practices in cat- Along this journey African-Americans con- tle herding that helped create the American cow- tributed in other ways. Some of these ways are boy. Even though enslaved, they never losttheir just now being recognized.African-American thirst for freedom. They took their ownreligious scholars, scientists, artists, and performershave heritage and combined it with Christianreli- all contributed to our knowledge,wealth, and gious beliefs to express that thirst forfreedom in culture. Even though they were neverfully free rich and emotional ways. This changedforever in what was supposed to be theland of the free, the practice of religion in America. Many oftheir generations of African-Americansoldiers gave

CONCLUSION: WHAT IS SOUTH CAROLINA? 201 their lives to defend the nation. They are among about a number of critical problems. An African- the heroes of battles from even before the American health expert at "the Black Family American Revolution through today's modern Summit" at USC advised African-Americans to high tech wars. "think smarter, eat smarter, and do smarter." Part Today African-Americans are contributing of that comes from building self-confidence. to all aspects of life in South Carolina. Among Gwen Owens, mother in the 1993 "Black Family them may be teachers in your school, local offi- of the Year" named at the Black Family Summit cials, civic leaders in your community, busi- spoke of the special responsibility of African- nesspersons helping your community to grow, American parents. She said that parents have to and those who write and report your localnews. spend time with children and build their confi- We could only talk about a very few of these dence. This requires more effort when children important people. Thousands had to be left out. belong to a minority group. Adults must provide We are moving to a multi-cultural society. the kind of positive role models that makeyoung We are moving to a society where we are learn- people want to achieve. Thomas Martin, uncle of ing to share a common culture that was created astronaut Charles Bolden and a teacher for thirty by us all. At the same time, we are moving years, urged parents to be more involved provid- toward the time when we are brave enough and ing leadership and to spend more time in the secure enough to learn about and respect all of schools. Representative Jim Clyburn often speaks the cultures that we bring to South Carolina. We to groups about giving African-Americans a sense are moving toa day when English,Irish, of power over their lives. This can overcomepeer Germans, Jews, Native Americans, when all ofus pressure which sometimes tells African-American will feel comfortable in celebrating and learning school children that getting good grades is "act- about African heritage. We are moving toa day ing white." when we can study the past, but not to make After reading this book, you should clearly someone feel guilty or inferior. Rather, we will be understand from all the people you have met able to admit mistakes and learn to do better. that success comes in all colors. Generations of While we may be moving in this direction, African-Americans have found success in all the journey is not over. We still have a way togo. fields. We just have not given them the recogni- The fact that this book had to be writtenas a tion they deserve. That is beginning to change. supplement shows that we have not yet arrived. 011ie Hough and her company, Q.H. Productions, African contributions need to be better inte- sponsored the first "South Carolina Black Male grated into a common text. The same can be said Showcase" in Columbia in 1992. The eventrecog- of cultural contributions of Native Americansnized twenty-two average yet extraordinary and others. African Americans who are family-oriented,suc- The journey willnot be entirely easy. cessful, and active in their communities. However, it will be no harder than the long way What can you do? Reading this book is a we have already come. Some fear this. They fear small start. Talking to each other is the next step. that their own backgrounds will be lost. Those Students at Marion High School, led by its new fears are misplaced. We cannot expect respect for African-American principal, are taking that next our own backgrounds unless we afford the same step. Their motto is "Harmony with Diversity." respect for the backgrounds of others. Tolerance They are sharing ethnic foods, dances, and hav- and mutual respect are among the most basic ing trivia contests about all the various cultures values of a democracy. that make up the state. They are integrating dif- All groups have their own challenges to ferent cultures into all the parts of their classes. face. The African-American community is facing The different ethnic cultures that makeup their own special challenges as well. Wecan see this state have lived together for a long time. We this in the statements and actions of community have not always gotten along very well. We have groups today in the state. The first step is admit- wasted talents and driven good peopleaway. As ting that problems exist. That is being done. You a result, we are a much poorer state than we oth- will find that almost any panel of African- erwise might have been. The future of the state is American community leaders today will talk In your hands. We can learn about each other

202 AFRICAN- AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

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Schofield Middle School students link their arms insolidarity in front of the old bell tower that marks the original Schofield School, built to educate African-Americans after theCivil War. Just like you, these students are the link between the past and the future of South Carolina.Photo by Aimee Smith.

and respect each other. We can build on the con- That is true. It is also part of your future.What tributions made by all the people who have South Carolina will be to you and yourchildren come before us. Or we can ignore,disrespect, for- depends on how you view the past. Wehave get, and fail to learn from our past.The choice looked back at ancestors who made many contri- belongs to you. butions. Soon it will be your turn. What does Africa mean to you? What is South Carolina to you? It is part of your past.

CONCLUSION: WHAT IS SOUTH CAROLINA? 203 0 r 4. u Bibliography

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BISLIOGRAPHY 213 Simpson, Merton. Telephone interview. October 18, Stuart, Bob. "Medal of Honor Winner Presentation 1993. Seeks to Rectify Slight of War Hero." The State Singleton, George A. The Autobiography fo George A. (April 24, 1991), 1B, 2B. Singleton. Boston: Forum Publishing Co., 1964. Stuart, Bob. "Single Member Plan Could Help Singleton, Vernie. "A Venture Into Shrimp: Hilton Barnwell." The State (October 18, 1987), 1B, 88. Head Island Fishing Co-op." Southern Exposure Stucker, Jan Collins. "Did You Know 1.D. Newman 11 (November/December 1983), 48-49. Kept You Safe During Desegregation?" The State Sirmans, M. Eugene. "Legal Status of the Slave in Magazine (March 25, 1984), 8-11. South Carolina, 1670-1748." Journal of Southern Stuckey, Sterling. "Through the Prism of Folklore," History 28 (November 1962), 462-73. Massachusetts Review 9 (Summer, 1968) 417-437. Small, Drink. Telephone interview. September 30, Taper, Bernard. Gomillion Versus Lightfoot. New York: 1993. McGraw Hill, 1963. Smyth, William D. "Segregation in Charleston in the Taylor, Arnold H. Travail'and Triumph: Black Life and 1950s: A Decade of Transition." South Carolina Culture in the South Since the Civil War. Westport, Historical Magazine 92 (April 1991), 99-123. Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1976. Sobel, Mechal. Trabelin On: the Slave Journey to an Thompson, Dorothy Perry. Wheeler Hill and Other Afro-Baptist Faith. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Poems. PhD dissertation, University of South Press, 1979. Carolina, 1987. South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Thornton, John K. "African Dimensions of the Stono Tourism and the South Carolina State Museum. Rebellion." American Historical Review 96 To Walk the Whole Journey: African-American (October 1991), 1101-13. Cultural Resources In South Carolina. Columbia, Tindall, George. South Carolina Negroes, 1877-1900. S.C.: South Carolina State Museum, 1992. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina South Carolina Statutes VII, 397-417. Press, 1952. Southern, Eileen. The Music of Black Americans: A Towne, Laure M. Letters and Diaries of Laure M. Towne, Ilstory. New York: Norton, 1971. Written From the Sea Islands, S.C 1862-1864. Edited by R.S. Holland. Cambridge, Mass.: "Spanish-American War Buffalo Vet Dies at 110." The Riverside, 1912. Reprint 1969. State (August 31, 1993),3B. Treleese, Allen W. White Terror: The Ku Klux Klan and Starobin, Robert S. (comp). Denmark Vesey: The Slave Southern Reconstruction. New York: limper and Conspiracy of 1822. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Row, 1972; Greenwood Press, 1979. Reprint. Prentice -Hall, 1970. Tucker, Susan. Telling Memories Among Southern Starr, William W. "Rio of Black Activist Restores His Women: Domestic Workers and Their Employers in Prestige." The State (August 22, 1993), 4F. the Segregated South. Alexandria, Louisiana: Starr, William W. "Make a Place for New Novel by Louisiana State, 1988. Sanders." The State (April 18, 1993),.1-2F. Turner, Lorenzo D. Africaniss in the Gallo!: Dialect. Starr, William W. "Massacre Story in Paperback." The New York: Arno Press and the New York Times, State (August 29, 1993), 5F. 1969. "State of the Southern States." New South 23 (Winter, Tuten, Jan. "Battle to Scrap At-Large Method Has Been 1968), 138-141. Bitter." The State (October 18, 1987), 1B, 9B. Stavisky, Leonard Price. The Negro Artisan in the South Tuten, Jan. "Sumter Victory Sweet After Eight-Year Atlantic States, 1800-1860: A Study of Status and Fight." The State (October 18, 1987), 1B, 8B. Economic Opportunity With Special Reference to Tyler, Greg. "Rebel Drummer Henry Brown." Civil Charleston. Doctoral dissertation. Columbia War Times Illustrated (February 1989), 22-3. University, 1958. Ullman, Victor. Martin L. Delaney: The Beginnings of Sterling, Dorothy (ed.). We Are Your Sisters: Black Black Nationalism. Boston: P?acon Press, 1971. Women in the Nineteenth Centry. New York: W.W. United Black Fund. "The South Carolina Black Hall of Norton and Co., 1984. Fame." Columbia, S.C.

214 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE South Uza, Okon E. From Slavery to Public Service:Robert Williamson, Joel. After Slavery: The Negro in Carolina During Reconstruction. Chapel li Smalls, 1839-1915.New York: Oxford, 1971. University of North Carolina Press, 1965. Vlach, John M. The Afro-American Tradition in 1840- Decorative Arts. Cleveland: Cleveland Museumof Willis, Deborah (ed.). Early Black Photographers: Art, 1978. 1940. N.Y.: The New Press, 1992. Vlach, John M. By the Work of Their Hands:Studies in Willis, Sue. "From Plow to Plane." The Columbia Afro-American Folk life. Charlottesville: University Record (March 28, 1985), n.p. Press of Virginia, 1991. Willis-Thomas, Deborah. Black Photographers: 1840- Vlach, John M. Charleston Blacksmith: The Workof 1940. N.Y.: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1985. Philip Simmons. Athens, Ga.: University of Wilson, Charles R. and William Ferris (eds). Georgia Press, 1981. Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Chapel l lilt: Voelz, Peter M. Slave and Soldier: The Military Impactof University of North Carolina Press, 1989. Blacks in the Colonial Americas. PhD Dissertation, Witlett, Frank. African Art. New York: Oxford University of Michigan, 1978, revised. Hamden, University Press, 1971. Connecticut: Garland Publishing, 1993. Wood, Peter H. A Review of Roots, by Alex Haleyand Walden, Margaret B. (project coordinator)."Black The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750- Contributions To South Carolina History." An 1925 by Herbert G. Gutman. Southern Exposure 4 unpublished set of instructional modules. (Winter, 1977), 105-106. Columbia, South Carolina: The South Carolina Wood, Peter. Black Majority: Negroes in ColonialSouth Department of Education, 1990. Carolina From 1670 Through the Stono Rebellion. Ware, Lowry. "The Burning of Jerry: The LastSlave New York: Knopf, 1970. Execution by Fire in S.C." South Carolina Wood, Peter. "It Was A Negro Taught Them: ANew Historical Magazine 91 (April 1990), 100-106. Look at African Labor in Early South Carolina." Werner, Craig. Black American Women Novelists: An Journal of Asian and African Studies 9 (1974) 169 Annotated Bibliography. Pasadena, California: ff. Salem Press, 1989. Woodward, C. Vann. The Strange Career of Jim Crow. West, Donald. Archivist, Avery Research Center. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State Telephone interview. October 25, 1992. University Press, 1955. West, Otto D. "Once Thriving Area, Bettis Park Woody, Robert H. "Jonathan Jasper Wright,Associate Revived." The Aiken Standard (August 8, 1993), Justice of the Supreme Court of South Carolina IC. 1870-1877." Journal of Negro History 18 (April Weston, Zack. Telephone interview. September28, 1933), 114-131. 1993. Workman, William 1)., Jr. "Black Vote Still Belongs to Weston, Zack. Biographical sketch of CharityEdna the Democrats." The State (January 27, 1979). Adams Early. S.Caroliniana Library, University Workman, William D., Jr. "Bloc Voting Not Newin of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C. South Carolina." The State (January 28, 1979). White, Deborah Gray. Ain't I A Woman? NewYork: Workman, William D., Jr. "Bloc Voting Not Evident Norton, 1985. on Amendments." The State(January 29, 1979). Wiggins, Ernest. "Segregating OneselfForfeits Wright, Donald. African Americans in theColonial Era. Opportunities." The State (October 6, 1990), 1B, Arlington Heights, Ii.: Harlan-Davidson, 1990. 4B. Yarborough, Tinsely. A Passion for Justice: J. Waites Wikramanayake, Ivy Marina. The Free Negro in Ante- Waring and Civil Rights. New York: Oxford,1987. Beaton South Carolina. 1966 PhD dissertation, Zupan, Fran H. "Teaching by Example:God, 1.ove The University of Wisconsin. Ann Arbor: and Respect Guide Black Family of the Year." University Microfilms, 1987. The State (March 18, 1993), 1B. Wikramanayake, Marina. A World in Shadow: The Free Black in Antebellum South Carolina. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1973.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 215 "V Appendices

APPENDIX A African-American State Senators 1868-88

Name District

Barber, George W. Fairfield Bird, Israel R. Fairfield Cain, Lawrence Edgefield Cain, Richard Harvey Charleston Cardozo, Henry Kershaw Clinton, Fredrick Albert Lancaster Duncan, Hiram W. Union Duncan, Samuel L. Orangeburg Ford, Sanders Fairfield Gaillard, Samuel E. Charleston Green, Samuel Beaufort Green, Joseph Orangeburg Hayne, Charles D. Aiken Hayne, Henry E. Marion Hoyt, William R. Colleton Jamison, James L, Orangeburg Jervey, William R. Charleston Johnston, William E. Sumter Jones, William H. Georgetown Lee, John Chester Martin, Moses Fairfield Maxwell, Henry J. Marlboro Miller, Thomas E. Beaufort Myers, William F. Colleton Nash, William Beverly Richland Rainey, Joseph H. Georgetown Randolph, Benjamin F. Orangeburg Reynolds, Thomas John Beaufort Robinson, Hamilton Beaufort Simmons, Robert Berkeley Smalls, Robert Beaufort Swells, Stephen A. Williamsburg Walker, Dublin 1. Chester War ley, Jared D. Clarendon White, John Hannibal York Williams, Bruce H. Georgetown Wimbush, Lucius Chester Wright, Jonathan Jasper Beaufort APPENDIX A 217

2 26 APPENDIX B

African-American State Senators 1983 to present

Name Years served District

Ford, Robert 1993 - present Charleston

Fielding, Herbert U. 1985 - 92 Charleston Gilbert, Frank 1989 - 92 Florence

Glover, Maggie Wallace 1993 - present Florence

Jackson, Darrell 1993 - present Richland

Matthews, John W. 1985 - present Orangeburg

Mitchell, Theo 1985 - present Greenville

Newman, 1. DeOuincey 1983 Richland

Patterson, Kay 1985 - present Richland

Washington, McKinley 1990 - present Charleston

218 AFRICAN- AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE APPENDIX C African-Americans who Served in the SouthCarolina House of Representatives 1868-1902

Name Years Served County

Adamson, Frank 1870-74 Kershaw Adamson, William 1869-70 Kershaw Alexander, Pervis 1876-78 Chaster Allman, Jacob C 1872-76 Marlboio Anderson, Robert B. 1890-98 Georgetown Andrews, William J. 1874-78 Sumter Airtson, Robert Betel 1872-74 Charleston Beaufort Bampfield, Samuel J. 1874-76 Beaufort Bascomb, John 1870-74 Georgetown Baxter, Jonathan A. 1884-90 Berkeley Beckett, William W. 1882-84 Fairfield Bird, Daniel 1876-77 Georgetown Bolts, John William 1898-1902 Bosemon, Benjamin A. 1868-73 Charleston Clarendon Boston, Hampton 1876-7R Darlington Boston, John 1868-70, 72-74 Newberry Boston, Joseph D. 1868-76 Georgetown Bow ley, James A. 1869-74 Charleston Bryan, Richard 1870-74, 76-77 Charleston Brown, Stephen 1868-70 Newberry Bridges, Sampson S. 1872-78 Brodie, William J. 1868-70, 76-77 Charleston Chester Burton, Barney 1868-72 Orangeburg Byas, Benjamin 1870-72 Abbeville Cain, Everidge 1870-74 Edgefield Cain, Lawrence 1868-72 Orangeburg Caldviell, Christian 1876-78 Charleston Capers, Benjamin F. 1876-77 Colleton Chlsolm, Caesar 1882-84 Barnwell Coker, Simon P. 1874-76 Chester Coleman, Samuel 1875-78 Clarendon Collins, Augusta 1872-76 Greenville Cook, Wilson 1868-70 Richland Curtis, Andrew W. 1872-78 Orangeburg Danner ly, Abraham 1872-74 Orangeburg Danner ly, William 1870-72 York Davies, Nelson 1872-76 Richland Davis, James 1870-72 Charleston Davis, Thomas A. 1870-72, 74-76 Charleston De Large, Robert C. 1868-70 Kershaw Dibble, Eugene H. 1876-78 St. Matthews Dix, John 1872-74 Charleston Drayton, Paul B. 1880-82 Colleton Driffle, William A. 1868-70, 80-82 Orangeburg Duncan, Samuel L. 1872-76 Charleston Eckhard, Sidney C. 1877-80

APPENDIX C 219

2,i l) Name Years Served County

Edwards, Frederick J. 1876-77 Charleston Elfe, William T. 1878-80 Charleston Elliott, Robert Brown 1868-70 Barnwell 1874-76 Aiken Ellison, Henry H. 1870-74 Abbeville Evans, John 1876-78 Williamsburg Ezekiel, Philip E. 1868-70 Beaufort Farrow, Simon P. 1874-76 Union Flelds,Thomas R. 1890-92 Beaufort Farr, Simeon 1868-72 Union Ford, Adam Pyatt 1870-74, 76-77 Charleston Frazier, WilliamH. 1872-74 Colleton Frederick, Benjamin 1878-80, 82-84 Orangeburg Freeman, John M. 1874-76 Charleston Frost, Florian Henry 1870-72 Williamsburg Forrest, Ellis 1876-78 Orangeburg Gnatt, Hastings 1870-84 Beaufort Gardner, John 1868-70 Edgefield Gary, Stephen 1870-72, 74-76 Kershaw George, Ebenezer 1874-76 Kershaw Gibson, John 1874-77 Fairfield Giles, Fortune 1870-74 Williamsburg Gilmore, John T. 1872-74 Richland Glover, William C. 1870-72, 76-77 Charleston Goggins, Mitchell 1870-72, 74-76 Abbeville Goodson, Aespo 1868-72 Richland Gourdin, Erasmus H. 1872-74 Marion Graham,David 1872-76 Edgefield Grant, John G. 1868-70 Marlboro Grant, Joseph J. 1872-76 Charleston Grant, Wilham A. 1872-74 Charleston Grant, William H. W. 1868-70 Charleston Green, Charles S. 1872-74 Georgetown Greene, Samuel 1870-75 Beaufort Greenwood, (sham 1872-74 Newberry Hamilton, Morris C. 1892-94 Beaufort Hamilton, Thomas 1872-78 Beaufort Harriott,Robert M. 1874-76 Georgetown Harris, David 1868-72 Edgefield Hart, Alfred 1870-72 Darlington Hayes, Even 1868-70, 72-74 Marion Hayne, Charles D. 1868-72 Barnwell Hayne,James N. 1868-72 Barnwell Hayne, William A. 1874 -76 Marion Henderson, James A. 1868-70, 74-76 Newberry Henderson, John T. 1870-72 Newberry Holland, Gloster H. 1872-76 Aiken Holland, William 1874-76 Abbeville Holmes, Abraham 1870-74 Colleton Hough, Allison 1872-74, 76-78 Kershaw Hudson, Allen 1870-72,74-76 Lancaster Humbert, Richard H. 1870-78 Darlington Humphries, Barney 1868-70 Chester Hunter, Alfred T. A. 1874-76 Laurens

220 AFRICAN- AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE 231 County Name Years Served

Charleston Hunter, H. N. 1870-72 Newberry Hutson, James 1868-70 Fairfield Jacobs, Henry 1868-70 Sumter James, Burrell 1868-70 Orangeburg Jamison, James L. 1870-72 Aiken Jefferson, Paul W. 1874-76 Charleston Jervey, WI Iliamil. 1868-72 Chesterfield Johnson, D. I. J. 1868-70 Laurens Johnson, Griffin C. 1868-72 Fairfield Johnson, Henry 1868-70 Marion Johnson, John W. 1872-74 Charleston Johnson, Samuel 1868-70 Sumter Johnston, William E. 1868-69 Orangeburg Jones, Marshall 1886-88 Orangeburg Jones, Paul Edward 1874-76 Georgetown Jones, William H. Jr. 1868-72 Darlington Keith, Samuel J. 1870-77 1876-77 Newberry Keitt, Thomas Darlington Lang, Jordan 1868-72 Charleston Lazarus, Joseph S. 1876-77 Charleston Lee, George H. 1868-70 1876 Chester Lee, John Fairfield Lee, Levl 1872-74 1868-72, 72-74 Edgefield/Aiken Lee, Samuel J. Charleston Lesesne, Joseph 1876-77 Chester Lily, John 1872-74 1870-73 Charleston Logan, Aaron Abbeville Lomax, Hutson J. 1868-70 Richland Lowman, William M. 1876-78 Colleton Maree, William 1876-80 Fairfield Martin, Prince K 1876-78 1868-70 Barnwell Mayer, Julius Orangeburg Mays, James P. 1868-70 Fairfield McDowell, William John 1870-72 Georgetown McDowell, Thomas D. 1870-72 Orangeburg McKinley, Whitefield J. 1868-70 Charleston McKinley, William 1868-70 1868-72 York Meade, John W. Charleston Mears, George Maxwell 1880-92 Charleston Mickey, Edward Sr. 1868-72 Barnwell Middleton, Benjamin W. 1872-74 Fairfield Miller, Isaac 1872-74 Laurens Mills, James. 1872-74 Beaufort Mills, L S. 1882-84 Beaufort Miller, Thomas E. 1874-80 1870-72,74-78 Clarendon Milton, Syfax Richland Wort, Charles S. 1872-74,76-77 1884.86 Beaufort Mitchell, Friday S. .. 1868-72 Union Mobley, Junius S. Fairfield Moore, Alfred Phillip 1870-72 1874-78 Orangeburg Morgan, Shadrach Beaufort Morrison, William C. 1868.70 Georgetown Moultrie, William J. 1880-84 Beaufort Myers, Nathaniel B. 1870.75, 76-78 BIBLIOGRAPHY 221

23,.; Name Years Served County

Nash, Jonas W. 1868-69 Kershaw Nelson, William 1868-70 Clarendon Nix, Frederick Jr. 1872-74, 76 Barnwell North, Charles F. 1872-74 Charleston Nuckles, Samuel 1868-72 Union Owens, Joseph 1880-82 Barnwell Parker, Joseph 1880-82 Charleston Palmer, Robert John 1876-78 Richland Pendergrass, Jeffrey 1868-72 Williamsburg Peterson, James 1872-78 Williamsburg Perrin, Wade 1868-70 Laurens Petty, Edward 1872-74 Charleston Pinckney, William G. 1874-77 Charleston 1882-84 Berkeley Pressley, Thomas 1872-74 Williamsburg Prioleau, Isaac 1872-74, 76-77 Charleston Purvis, Henry W. 1868-70 Lexington Ramsay, Warren W. 1869-76 Sumter Ransler, Alonzo J. 1868-69 Charleston Reed, George A. 1872-74, 76-78 Beaufort Ravenel, Cain 1882-84 Berkeley Ravenel, C. A. 1890-92 Berkeley Reynolds, Andrew Cash 1880-90 Beaufort Riley, Henry 1872-74 Orangeburg Rivers, January R. 1890-94 Beaufort Rivers, Prince R. 1868-72 Edgefield 1872-74 Aiken Robinson, Joseph 1876-78 Beaufort Rush, Alfred 1868-70, 74-76 Darlington Rue, John C. 1880-82 Beaufort Sasportas, Thaddeus K. 1868-70 Orangeburg Saundors, Sancho 1868-72 Chester Shrewsburg, Henry L 1868-70 Chesterfield Scott, Robert F. 1868-70 Williamsburg Scott, William H. 1874-76 Williamsburg Sheppard, William H. 1884-86 Beaufort Simkins, Augustus 1872-76 Edgefield Simkins, Paris 1872-76 Edgefield Simmons, Aaron 1874-78, 84-86, 88-90 Orangeburg Simons, Limus 1872-74 Edgefield Simons, William 1868-72, 74-76 Richland Singleton, Andrew 1882-84 Berkeley Singleton, Asbury J. 1870-72 Sumter Singleton, J.P. 1871-72 Chesterfield Singleton, James 1876-77 Charleston Smalls, Benjamin F. 1876-77 Charleston Smalls, Robert 1868-70 Beaufort Smalls, Sherman 1870-74 Colleton Smalls, William 1878-80 Charleston Smiley, James 1868-70 Sumter Smith, Abraham 1868-72, 76-77 Charleston Smith, Jackson A. 1872.78 Darlington Smythe, Powell 1868-70 Clarendon Spears, Butler 1872.74 Sumter

222 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE County Name Years Served

Charleston Spencer, Nathaniel T. 1872-74 Georgetown Sperry, Charles H. 1872-74 Orangeburg Straker, Daniel A. 1876 Malboro Stubbs, Thoroughgood 1868 Laurens Sullivan, Caesar 1872-74 Barnwell Sumpter, Edward, M. 1870-76 Colleton Tarlton, Robert S. 1870-74 Marlboro Thomas, John Williams 1870-72 Colleton Thomas, William M. 1868-76 Marion Thompson, Benjamin A. 1868-70 Richland Thompson, Samuel B. 1868-74 Charleston Tingman, Jululs Caesar 1872-74, 76-77 Charleston Turner, Robert W. 1872-74 Clarendon War ley, Jared D. 1870-74 Beaufort Washington, Julius Ervin 1886-90 Edgefield Weldon, Archie 1874-76 Richland Wells, James N. 1876-78 Sumter Westberry, John W. 1874-78 Richland Weston, Ellison M. 187176 Beaufort Whipper, William J. 186872, 75-76 York White, John H. 1868-72 Abbeville Wideman, Hannibal A. 1872-76 Beaufort Wigg, James 1890-92 Richland Wirder, Charles M. 1868-70 Georgetown William, Bruce H. 1874-76 Sumter Wilson, James Clement 1872-74 1876-78 Darlington Wines, Zechariah Charleston Wright, John B. 1868-70 Abbeville Valentine, Richard M. 1868 Laurens Young, James 1872-76

APPENDIX C 223 234 APPENDIX D African-American State Representatives 1971 to the present

Name Years served District

Anderson, Ralph 1991-present Greenville Bailey, Kenneth 1985-91 Orangeburg Barksdale, Hudson 1975-81 Spartanburg Beatty, Donald 1991-present Spartanburg Blanding, Larry 1977-90 Sumter Breeland, Floyd 1993-present Charleston Broadwater, Thomas 1981-84 Richland Brown, Joe E. 1986-present Richland Byrd, Alma 1991-present Richland Canty, Ralph 1991-present Sumter Cobb-Hunter, Glide 1992-present Orangeburg Faber, James 1985-90 Richland Faint, Ennis 1989-90 Greenville Felder, James 1971-72 Richland Ferguson, Tee 1983-89 Spartanburg Fielding, Herbert U. 1971-72, 83-84 Charleston Finney, Ernest 1973-76 Sumter Foster, Samuel R. 1981-92 York Gadson, Tobias 1981-84 Charleston Gilbert, Frank 1983-88 Florence Glover, Maggie 1989-92 Florence Goggins, Juanita 1976-78 York Gordon, Benjamin 1973-89 Williamsburg Govan, Jerry N. 1993-present Orangeburg Hines, Jesse E. 1993-present Darlington Inabinett, Curtis 1991-present Charleston Joe, Isaac 1981-84 Lee/Sumter Johnson, I.S. Leevy 1971-80 Richland Kennedy, Kenneth 1991 -present Williamsburg Martin, Daniel 1984-92 Charleston Matthews, John W. 1975-84 St. Matthews McBride, Frank 1985-89 Richland McMahand, Willie B. 1993-present Greenville Middleton, Earl 1975-84 Orangeburg Miles, Mary 1983-84 Calhoun Mitchell, Herbert 1985-86 Orangeburg Mitchell, Theo 1975-84 Greenville Moody-Lawrence, Bessie 1993-present York Murray, Joseph 1975-79 Charleston Murray, Julius 1979-83 Richland

224 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

r- 43 j Name Years served District

Richland Neal, Joseph 1993-present Patterson, Kay 1975-85 Richland Scott, John L. 1990-present Richland 1985-90 Greenville Shelton, Sara Richland Taylor, Luther 1983-89 Washington, McKinley 1975-90 Charleston Whipper, Lucille S. 1986-present Charleston Beaufort/Jasper White, Juanita 1980-present Berkeley Williams, Dewitt 1983-present Richland Wilson, George 1975-78 Woods, Robert 1973-86 Charleston

APPENDIX E

SOUTH CAROLINA AFRICAN-AMERICANCONGRESSMEN 1869-1897

Name Years served

Rainey, Joseph H. 1869-1879

De Large, Robert C. 1871-1873 Elliott, Robert Brown 1871-1875

Cain, Richard H. 1873-1875, 1877-1879

Ransier, Alonzo 1873-1875

Smalls, Robert 1875-1879, 1881-1887 Miller, Thomas E. 1889-1891

Murray, George W. 1893-1897

APPENDIX E 225 23L VVV Index

A arts.Seecontributions: in media and the arts; contribu- abolitionist movement, 30-31 tions: in music and the performing arts Adams, Charity Edna.SeeEarly, Charity Edna Adams Asante.SeeAshanti Adams, Fanny Phelps, 86 Ashanti, 4, 9 Adams, John, 85 Atomic Energy Commission, 193 Africa: culture, xiii, 1-10, 13-14, 17, 22, 43-57, 108-10, Attucks, Crispus, 158 139; map, 3; family in, 8; return to, 16.See also Austin, Charles, 191 African-Americans: emigration to Africa autobiographies.Seeliterature: autobiographies and African-Americans: contributions of, xiv, xvii, 60-63, 69; non-fiction treatment in history, xiii, 157; explorers in the New Avery Normal Institute, 86, 88 World, 10; population, 11, 199; enslavement in the Avery Research Center for African-American History and New World, 11; and rice production, 13-15; learning Culture.SeeAvery Normal Institute about the Civil War, 59-60; prejudice, 74; cultural Ayers, Vivian, 121 pride, 146; economic progress, 198-99; returningto Ayllon, Lucas Vasquez de, 10.See alsoexplorers, Spanish South Carolina, 199; problems facing, 202.See also artisans; contributions; emigration; enslavement; free B African-Americans; military service; soldiers Bailey, York, 7 African Methodist Episcopal Church.SeeAME Church Baker, Augusta, 129 African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.SeeAME Zion Baker institute, 113 Church Bakongo, 47, 54-55 AfriCobra, 147 banjo, 46 agricultural fairs, 92, 93, 96 banking, 96 agricultural self-help.Seefarming Bannister, Edward, 146 Aiken, Kimberly, 143 Bantu, 4, 45 Allen, Macon B., 98 Baptist Church, 114-15 Allen, Richard, 110 Barber, J. Max, 121 Allen University, 75, 98 basketmaking, 9, 48-50 AME Church, 43, 73, 75, 110, 112 Bass, Jack, 184 American Revolution, 28-29, 46, 158-59 Bass, Leon, 166 AME Zion Church, 112 Bates, Clayton "Peg Leg," 140 Anderson, James Alonzo "Cat," 136 Battery (Fort) Wagner, 64 Anderson, "Pink," 142 Battle of 1.ittle Big Horn, 161 Anderson, Ralph, 169-70, 188 Battle of New Orleans, 159 Anderson, Robert (delegate to 1895 Constitutional Battle of San Juan Hill, 162-63 Convention), 83 beach music.Seedance Anderson, Robert, 181 Beatty, Donald W., 188 Anderson, Sherman, 199 bebop.SeeGillespie, John Birks "Dizzy" Anderson, Webster, 169-70 Benedict College, 75, 85 Anderson, William "Cat," 132 Benedict Institute.SeeBenedict College architecture, 55-57.See alsoAfrica: culture Benton, Benjamin Franklin "Brook," 139 Arid, 34-5 Berry, Julia.SeeJeanes Supervisors Arnett, Benjamin, 101 Bethea, Joseph B., 113 art: nature of, xiv; painting, 145-55.See alsophotography Bethel AME Church, 112 artisans, 18, 20, 22, 39, 47-52.See alsoenslavement: occu- Bethune, Mary McCloud, 164, 175-76 pations during; free African-Americans: occupations Bettis Academy, 87-88, 117

226 AFRICAN- AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE Capers, Virginia, 141 Bettis, Alexander, 87, 117 Institute Bible Way Church of our Lord of Jesus Christ WorldWide, Cardozo, Francis L., 33, 88. See also Avery Normal 114 Caroline, J.C., 86 carpenters, 18-19, 20, 22. See also artisans;crafts Big Apple, 140 Black. See African-Americans carpetbaggers, 83 Carroll, Richard, 85, 100, 115 Black Caucus, 186, 187-88 carving. See wood carving Black Codes, 69 Black History Month, xvi catechisms, 106 Catholic Church, 111, 114 Black Muslims, 115 Black Seminole Scouts, 160 Centenary Church, 113 Blackwell, Tarleton, 154-55 Central Baptist Church, 115 Cesar, 38-39 blues, 131. See also music Chamberlain, Governor. See politics: corruption inelections boat building, 20, 51-52. See also artisans Bolden, Charles, 99, 193-94, 198 Charleston. See dance Bonneau, Thomas, 38, 39 Charleston Renaissance, 147 Booker T. Washington Foundation, 86 Chavous, Barney, 196 Booker T. Washington High School, 86, 99 Childress, Alice, 122 Chisholm, Smart, 63 Bowie, Sandra, 141 boxing, 35. See also Frazier, "Smokin'" Joe Christian Benevolent Society, 42 Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, 112-13 Boykin, James A., 7 Christianity. See religion: Christian Boykin, Monroe, 115 churches: establishment of, 110-15; split withwhite Brailey, Troy, 104 Brainerd Institute, 86 churches, 111-12 cities: migration to, 101 Brawley, Benjamin, 126-27 Brawley, Edward McKnight, 126 citizenship schools, 177 civil rights, 171-88; defined, 177;demonstrations and Breeland, Floyd, 188 protests, 184-85, 186-87. See also Durhamstatement, Brer Rabbit stories. See folktales Briggs, Harry. See Briggs v. Elliot NAACP Civil War, 59-67; causes of, 59; and women,65-66 Briggs v. Elliot, 179. Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, 104 Claflin College, 74-75, 98, 113 Clark, Septima Poinsette, 177 Brown, Charlie, 196 Clemson University: integration of, 181, 187 Brown Fellowship Society, 40 Brown, Henry "Daddy," 67 Clinton, Bill, 190, 191 Clinton, Frederick Albert, 112 Brown. James, 138, 139 Clinton, Hillary Rodham, 191 Brown, Joe E., 187-88 Brown, Lucy Hughes, 98 Clinton, Isom Caleb, 112 Brown, Morris, 29, 40, 110 Clinton Junior College, 112 Brown, Napoleon "Nappy," 138-39 clothing: African, 9-10, Clyburn, James, 87, 185, 190, 191, 202 Brown, Simon, 8, 119-20 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas,171, 179 Cobb-Hunter, Gilda, 188 Brown, W. Melvin, 192-93 Colby, Lewis, 75 Buchanan, Beverly, 156 colonoware, 54-55 Colored Agricultural and Mechanical Association,92 buffalo soldiers, 160-61, 172 Bull, William. See Stono Rebellion Colored Farmers' Alliance, 92 Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. SeeChristian business after Reconstruction, 95-97. Seealso contributions: Methodist Episcopal Church in business Columbus Times, 103 Butler, Susan Dart, 88-89 Committee of 100 Black Men. See UnitedBlack Fund Byrd, Alma W., 188 Byrd, Levi S., 177 compounds, 57 Confederates: policy toward African-AmericanUnion soldiers, 63-4, 66-67; help fromAfrican-Americans, C 66-67, 71; See also Civil War Cain, Richard H., 72-73, 100 Congo River, 4 call. See religion: song and dance Congressional Medal of Honor, 64, 160, 164, 169 Calvert, Melvin, 168 Camden Revolt. See enslavement: rebellion against Constitution of 1865, 70 camp meetings, 1 1 1 Constitution of 1868, 69-73 Constitution of 1895, 74-75, 82-83 Campbell, Carroll, 187 "contraband of war," 61-62 cane. See walking sticks contributions: summary of, xvii, 201; toSouthern cooking, Cannon Hospital and Training School, 98 8; endurance as, 24; resistance toenslavement as, 24; canoes, 51-52 to good government, 71; ineducation, 74, 191-92; in Canty, Ralph W., 188

BISLIOGRAPHY 227

235 higher education, 76, 99; during Reconstruction, 83; Durham, Jacob Javan, 117 outside the state, 102-3; in science, 103, 193-94; in Durham statement, 127 civil rights, 103, 104, 171, 188; in business, 103, 192-93; of churches, 116-18, 198; in music and the E performing arts, 143; art, 156; in the military, 157, Early, Charity Edna Adams, 166-68 163-64, 166, 170; in politics and government service, Edelman, Marion Wright, 190-91 189-91; in medical research, 194; in sports, 194-96; Edgefield Policy, 81 in media and the arts, 196-97 Edgefield potters, 48 cookware, 53. See also colonoware education: during Reconstruction, 73 -7b, 78 -79; after Cooper, Edward Sawyer, 194 Reconstruction, 86-91; under segregation, 173. See Cooper, Edwin, 86 also Jeanes Supervisors Cooperative Workers of America, 92 Eight Box I.aw, 82 cosmograms. See colonoware election laws: at-large and single-member districts, 185-86, cotton, 13 188 cotton gin. See William Ellison elections: 1876, 81-82; 1878, 82; 1880, 82; 1882, 82. See Coulter Academy, 86 also politics Covary, Don, 138 Elliot, Robert Brown, 72 cowboys, 16-17, 101 Ellison, William, 39 crafts. See Africa: culture; artisans; basketmaking; boat Elmore, George A., 182 building; business: after Reconstruction; carpenters; Elmore v. Rice, 182 colonoware; free African-Americans: nonworking; Emmanuel AME Church, 112 occupations; pottery; quilts; walking sticks; women: emigration: to Africa, 73, 100; after Reconstruction, and crafts 99-104; to the American West, 100-101; reasons for, Creighton, George, 40 101; loss of talent, 102-4, 156 Creighton, Maria, 40 English, 10, 13, 15, 27, 29 crop lien system, 79 English, Alexander, 194-95 Cullen, Countee, 8, 146 enslavement: impact on culture, xiii, 5; impact on family, culture, 43. See also Africa: culture; New World culture; 8, 31-32, 43, 79-80; origins of, 10-12, IS; trade in, South Carolina: culture 10-12, 13; excuses for, 10; conditions on ships, 11; number of people forced into, 11; occupations dur- D ing, 17-22; escape from, 19-20, 25, 27-28, 30, 46, 49, Dahomey, 4 52, 61-62, 159; impact on women, 20; and old age, Daise, Natalie, 129 20; and children, 20; and factory work, 20; and hiring Daise, Ron, 129 out, 20; and competition with white workers, 21; Dakers, Beryl, 142 value of those in, 21-22; and buying freedom, 22, 34, dance: African features, 44, 45; Charleston, 139-40; Shag, 72; resistance to, 23-32, 60-61; number of people 140; beach music, 140; modern dance, 140-41 under, 23, 27; different conditions of, 23-24; mar- Dave the Potter, 47 riage in, 23, 31; punishment of those in, 23; African- David: an enslaved preacher, 107-8 American reaction to, 23, 30, 31; noncooperation of Day, Thomas, 39 those under, 24-25; rebellion against, 25, 27-29, 30, De Costa, Herbert A., 193 36, 46, 50, 159; suicide of those in, 26; and arson, Delaine, Joseph A., 179-80 26-27, 30; possibility of ending, 28; freed from, 33; demagogues, 85 freedom as a re.iard, 34-35, 38-39; surviving under, Democratic Party, 72, 74, 82, 173-74, 182, 189 44; diet during, 53; revenge for, 67; attempts to rein- Denmark Industrial School. See Vorhees College stitute after Civil War, 69; and religion, 105, 113-14; Dereef brothers, 34 and literacy, 106-7; and military service, 157-58, 159. Devore-Mitchell, Ophelia, 103-4 See also boat building; Ironworking discrimination: in the military, 157, 161-62, 164, 165, 167; Episcopal Church, 114 in education, 173, 177, 178-79; in sports, 189, 195. etiquette, 9 See also voting rights; whites: and discrimination Europe, James Reese, 133-34 disease, 6-8, 14-15, 194 Evans, Matilda, 88, 98-99 doctors, 7, 98-99, 194 Everett, Percival, 123-24 Dooley, Verne, 199-200 explorers, Spanish, 10 Dorsey, Jessie. See Vorhees College Dorman, Isaiah, 161 F Doyle, Thomas Samuel, 60, 153 face vessels, 47 drama, 141-43 fairs. See agricultural fairs drivers. See overseers family: importance of, 8, 198, 202; reunification after the drums, 24, 46 Civil War, 79-80 Dubois, W.E.B., xiii, 3, 146, 177 fanner baskets. See basketmaking; rice: production methods Duckett, Lewis, 94 farm ownership, 92, 94; subdivision of, 101

228 AFRICAN - AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE farming, 37-38, 76, 79, 85, 91-94, 101-2. See alsofree Georgetown: rbellion planned at, 30 African-Americans: occupations gerrymandering, 186 Farquarson, Joe, 40 Ghana, 3 Faulkner, William, 119-20 Gibson, Althea, 195-96 Fields, James, 141 Gibson, Annie, 179 Fields, James Franklin, 143 Gibson, William, 188 Gillespie, John Birks "Dizzy," 135-36. See also jazz Fields, Julius, 141 Gleaves, Richard H., 71 Fields, Mamie, 121 fifes, 46 Glover, Balus, 199 figural vessels, 48 Glover, Maggie Wallace, 188 filibuster, 187 Glory, 64 Finney, Ernest Jr., 186 Golden Gate Quartet, 137 Finney, Nikki, 121 Gomillion, Charles, 186 Fire-Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas,114 Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 186 First African Baptist Church of Beaufort, 115 Goode, Allen, 78 First S.C. Volunteers, 65-66 Goodwin, MacArthur, 153-54 First World War. See World War I Gordon, Floyd, 154 fishing, 8, 52 Goree, Janie Glymph, 90 flag of South Carolina. See South Carolina flag gospel, 137-38 Floyd, David, 199 Govan, Jerry Jr., 188 folk medicine, 6-8, 38-39. See also midwives Glory. See Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 54th folktales, 1-2, 16, 32, 43, 119-20 Grant, Ulysses S., 64, 82 food, 8, 19, 52-55. See also Africa: culture;enslavement, grave decorations, 108-10 diet during; Lee, Eliza Greater St. James Holiness Church, 114 Ford, Nick Aaron, 128 Great Migration, 101 Ford, Robert, 188 Green, Charles Peter, 18 Fort Mose. See enslavement: escape from Green, Freddie, 136 Fort Moultrie, 158 Green, Jonathan, 154 Greenberg, Reuben, 191 Fort Sumter, 64 Fort Wagner. See Battery (Fort) Wagner Gressette, Marion, 187 Forten, Charlotte, 45 Griffith, Gilroy, 86 Fourteenth Amendment, 70, 171 Grimke, Archibald, 102-3 fraternal societies, 40, 42 Grosvenor, Vertamae, 128 guardians. See free African-Americans: restrictions on Frazier, "Smokin'" Joe, 195 free African-Americans: call for tax on, 21;number of, 33; Gullah, 15-16, 45, 109 restrictions on, 35-37; enslavement of, 37; occupa- "Gullah Jack," 108 tions, 37-40; economic difficulties of, 37-38;professionals, 38; education, 38; in business, 39; opportuni- H ties for women, 39-40; self-help, 40, 42;prejudice Haley, Alex, 2, 3 against other African-Americans, 40; asfuture leaders, Hamburg, 63 Hamburg Massacre, 81-82 42. See atm) enslavement: freed from;ironworking; Hammond, James, 61 servants, Indentured Hammond, John, 101 freedmen, 67, 70 Seeagricultural fairs Freedman's Aid Society, 113 Hampton, A.E. Friendship Baptist Church, 115 Hampton, James, 153 Hampton, Wade, 82 Friendship Normal and Industrial Institute, 86 basketmaking; boat Friendship United Methodist Church, 113 handicrafts. See Africa: culture; artisans; building; business: after Reconstruction; carpenters; Frowers, Jack, 49 colonoware; free African-Americans: ironworking; Fugitive Slave Law, 30, 31, 61 occupations; pottery; quilts; walking sticks; women: Fulani, 17.See alsocowboys and crafts Harlem Renaissance, 122, 146-47 G Harleston, Edwin A., 146, 149-50 Gallman, U. S. See Jeanes Supervisors Harleston, Elise Forrest, 63, 149 games, 44 Harmon Foundation, 146, 150 Gandy, Charles, 115 Gantt, Harvey, 181 Hayes, Ed, 192 Hayes, Rutherford B., 82 Garrett, Ben, 94 Gary, M.W.SeeEdgefield Policy head tax, 36-37 head-toting, 5, 6 Geechle, 139.Seealso dance tlenderson-Davis Players, 141 George, David, 111 Henderson, Ernest, 165 George, Randall D., 95

BIIILIOGRAPHY 229 240 Herring, James V., 150-51 Johnson, William Henry, 150, 151 Heywood, Dubose, 132, 147 Johnson, Woodrow Wilson "Buddy," 136-37 HIgginson, Thomas, 45, 63 Johnston, Olin, 182 Hill, Catherine Peppers, 141 Jones, Etta, 137 Hill, Ricky, 192 Jones, Jehu, 39, 40, 41 Hines, Jesse, 188 Jones, Joshua Henry, Jr., 121 Hinton, James M., 177 Joplin, Scott, 131 history: preservation of, 87 juba, 45 History of South Carolina Slide Collection: pictures, 5, 8, 9, jubilation, 108 11,14,15,19,31,36,37,38,47,50, 56, 61, 62,70, Just, Ernest Everett, 103 74,75,77,79,80,90,91,94,97,106, 107, 115,132, 135, 163, 172, 173, 181, 184, 187, 195 K Holland, "Peanuts," 132 Kendall Institute, 114 Hollings, Ernest "Fritz," 181 Kennedy, John, 127, 183 Holloway, Richard, 39 Kennedy, Kenneth, 188 homeland. See Africa: culture Kente cloth, 9-10 hoppin' John, 54 Kerns, Thomas Elliot, 192 Hough, 011ie, 202 "King of England's Soldiers," 159 house servants. See enslavement: occupations during King, Martin Luther Jr., 78, 187, 190 Howard School, 86 King, Susie. See Taylor, Susie King Humane Brotherhood, 40 Kin loch, Richmond, 33-34 Hunter, Jane Edna, 126 Kin lochs. See free African-Americans: in business Hunter-Gault, Charlayne, 196-197 Kitt, Earths, 128, 141 Kongo, 4, 108, 109 Korean War, 168 Idowa, Joyce, 140 Ku Klux Klan, 72, 81, 174 impressment, 66 inabinett, Curtis B., 188 L Indians. See Native Americans Ladson, George, 111 Indian Wars, 159-61 Ladson United Presbyterian Church, 111 Ingliss, Robert, 39 Laing High School, 86 integration: in military, 166, 168; of schools, 178-81; of Lamar, violence at, 185 churches, 198 Lancaster Normal and Industrial School, 86 ironworking, 50-:51, 155-56 langaage: impact of African terms, 8, 15-16. See also Gullah Islam. See religion: Islam Laurens, Henry, 10 Laurens, John, 10 Lawson, William H., 101 Jackson, Andrew, 159 lawyers, 98, 102-3 Jackson, Arthur, 142 Lebby, Larry, 128, 154-55 Jackson, Darrell, 188 Lee, Eliza, 39-40 Jackson family, 95 Leevy, Isaac Samuel, 96 Jackson, Jesse, 189-90 Legislative Black Caucus. See Black Caucus Jackson, Sara Dunlop, 192 Liberty Hill AME Church, 112 Jaggers, Charles, 11516 Lie le, George, 111 jazz, 131, 135-37. See also Gillespie, John Birks "Dizzy" Lighthouse and Informer. See McCray, John H. Jeanes Foundation. See Jeanes Supervisors Lincoln, President Abraham, S9, 60, 72 Jeanes Supervisors, 90-91 literacy test, 183 Jemmy. See Stono Rebellion literature: in early days, 12, 43; fiction and poetry. 120-24; Jenkins, Daniel. See Jenkins Orphanage Band autobiographies and non-fiction, 124-28; oral tradi- Jenkins Orphanage Band, 132-3, 139 tion continued, 128-29. See also folktales Jeremiah, Thomas, 29, 39. See also enslavement: rebellion Little Big Horn. See Battle of Little Big Horn against Locke, Alain, 147 "Jim Crow" laws, 171 Longshoreman's Protective Union Association, 97 jockeys, 18 John Work Chorus. See Booker T. Washington High School M Johnson, Charles, 163 MacBeth, Arthur, 147-48; photographs by: 89, 148 Johnson, General, 140 McCain, James, 183 Johnson, I.S. Leevy, 96 McCain, Tom, 188 Johnson, James Weldon, 146, 177 McCloud, Mary. See Bethune, Mary McCloud Johnson, Lyndon, 183 McCray, John H., 96, 121 Johnson, Ralph H., 168-69 McFadden, Clarence, 179

230 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

241 McFadden, Grace, 192 mulatto, 33-34 McKaine, Osceola E., 171-74 multi-cultural, xiv McKinley, William, 38 Murray, Ellen, 77 blues; dance; gospel; jazz; musi- McKinney, Nina Mae, 142-43 music: classical, 46.See also cal Instruments; ragtime; rhythm and blues; singing McMahand, W.B., 188 See also McNair, Ronald E., 194, 198 musical Instruments, 45, 46-47; availability of, 131. banjo; drums; fifes; Jenkins Orphanage Band Mali, 3 Manigauli, Annie Rivers, 95 Muslim.Seereligion: Islam Manigault, William, 95 Mutual Savings Bank, 96 Mann, Celia, 34 manners.Seeetiquette N See alsofree African-Americans: restric- NASA, 194 manumission, 35. 186; tions on NAACP, 3, 89, 96, 102-3, 118, 121, 146, 173, 178, founding of in South Carolina, 150, 177; why needed, Marion, Francis, 158 174; and school integration, 179; and voting rights, Marion High School, 202 182; and moderation, 183, 185, 186-87; 1990sleader- Maroons.Seeenslavement: escape from ship In, 188 Marshall, Leroy, 154 Colored Marshall, Thurgood, 179 National Association for the Advancement for Martin, Thomas S., 99, 202 People.SeeNAACP Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 54th, 64, 143 Native Americans, 51-52, 55, 56 Mather Academy, 86-87 Neal, Joseph H., 188 Mather School, 86 Nelson, Annie Greene, 121-22 Matthews, John W., 188 New South,95 See alsofood Mayfield, Julian, 121 New World culture, 2, 52-53. Mays, Benjamin, 104, 126, 127-28 Newman, 1. DeQuincey, 118, 186-87 Medical University of South Carolina: hospital workers' newspapers, 95-96, 103 Colored Farmers' Alliance strike, 185 Norris, John D.See See alsoemigra- medicine, 6-7.See alsocontributions: in medical research; occupations: after Reconstruction, 94-99. disease; doctors; folk medicine; midwives; root doc- tion: to the American West; enslavement: occupations during; free African-Americans: occupations tors memory jugs.Seegrave decorations Omar lbn Seld, 12 Methodist Church, 113 oral tradition. See folktales; literature; storytelling Metropolitan AME Zion Church, 112 Orangeburg: shooting of demonstrators, 183, 184-85 Middleton, Abram, 116 Ott, Horace, 141 Middleton, Listervelt, 121, 197 overseers, 23 midwives, 6, 7, 38, 39 Owens, Gwen, 202 military service, 157-70 Owens, Joseph Alexander, 94 Miller, Dan Robert, 153 Miller, Doris, 164 Miller, Kelly, 125-26 painting.Seeart Panelto Leader,96, 148 Miller, Thomas, 83 agricultural fairs Millican, Arthenia J. Bates, 122 Palmetto State Fair Association.See Minors Moralist Society, 40, 42 Patterson, Kay, 188 minstrels, 46, 141.See alsodrama Payne, Daniel A., 124-25 Allen University Missionary Record,73 Payne Institute.See Mitchell, Theo, 187, 188 Penn Center, 16, 76-78, Molyneux, Tom, 35 Penn School, 7, 49, 77-78, 115 monkey jugs, 48 Penn School for Preservation, 78 Monteith, H.D., 96, 178 Pentecostal and Holiness Churches, 114 Monteith, Henri, 181 peons, 76 Perry, Matthew, 86, 181, 187 Monteith, Modjestka.SeeSimkins, Modjestka Monteith Moody-Lawrence, Bessie, 188 Petry, Michael Dean, 196 Morgan, Jones, 162 Perry, William, 196 Morris College, 117 Persian Gulf War, 170 Morris, P.B.See Sea Island News Person, Houston, 137 Morris Street Baptist Church, 115 Peter, Jesse, I 1 1 mortar and pestle, 46.See alsorice: production methods Phillips, John, 115 photography, 147, 148, 149.See alsoMacBeth, Arthur; Mossl, 4 Mount Carmel AME Zion Church, 112 Roberts, Richard Samuel Mount Morlah Baptist Church, 115 physic lam.Seedoctors Mount Zion United Methodist Church, 113 Pickens, William, 121)

BIBLIOGRAPHY 231 Piquet, Louisa, 43 Roberts, Richard Samuel, 86, 148-49; photographs by, 17, Pinckney, Charles: plantation of, 30 75, 93, 95, 99, 116, 122, 141, 149, 163, 173, 179, 182 Planter, 64-65 Robinson, Abraham, 117 play songs. See singing Rogers, Augustus, 192 Messy v. Ferguson, 171 Rollins, Frances Anne, 125 l'oinsette, Septima. See Clark, Septima Poinsette roofs, thatched, 56 politics: and corruption in elections, 72, 81-82, 83; impor- Roosevelt, Teddy, 162 tance of organizing in, 174-75. See also contributions: root doctors. See folk medicine in politics and government service roots. See Africa: culture poll tax, 175, 183 Roots, 2 porch, front, 57 Rose, Arthur, 151-52 Porgy, 132. See also Charleston Renaissance runaways. See enslavement: escape from Port Royal experiment, 77 Russell, Donald, 181 Portuguese, 5 Russell, Edwin R., 164, 193 pottery, 47-48 Powell, Colin, 170 Presbyterian Church, 113-14 S Primas, John, 39 Sacharisa, 26 Prince, Fleming W., 115 St. Barnabas Protestant Episcopal Church, 114 professionals: after Reconstruction, 98-99. See also contri- St. Helena Island, 6, 7, 16, 76-78 butions; free African-Americans: professionals St. James the Greater Catholic Church, 111 Promised Land, 78 79, 101-2, 198-99 St. Mark Holiness Church, 114 Prysock, Arthur, 137 St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church, 114 Purvis, Robert, 30-31 St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 114 "put on the mask." See enslavement: families under St. Peter's Catholic Church, 114 Sanders, Daniel Jackson, 114 Q Sanders, Dori, 121 quilts, 50 Schofield, Martha, 88, 116 Schofield Middle School, 88, 98, 203 Schofield Normal and Industrial School, 88 ragtime, 131 schools. See education Rainey, Joseph, 71-72 Schulz, Constance, xv. See also History of South Carolina Randolph, Benjamin Franklin, 81, 116 Slide Collection Randolph, Virginia. See Jeanes Supervisors scientists, 103 Ransier, Alonzo J., 71 SCLC, 177 rebellion. See enslavement: rebellion against Scott, John L., 188 Reconstruction: reasons for, 69-70; rights created by, 70-71; Sea Island News, 95 leaders during, 71-73; policies during, 73-76; corrup- Second Presbyterian Church of Sumter, 114 tion during, 76, 83; end of, 81-82; evaluation of, 83; Second World War. See World War II voting during, 116 segregation: in sports, 18, 189, 195; in education, 73; and Reed, Isaiah, 83 religion, 118; in public facilities, 175, 176 Reformed Episcopal Church, 114 Sellers, Cleveland, 185 religion: Christian, 3, 5-6; Islam. 3, 5-6, 105; song and Senegambia, 3 dance, 44-45; as a means of control during enslave- servants, indentured, 10, 34 ment, 106; and escape from enslavement, 106; and Shaw, Robert, 64 revolution, 108; and segregation, 113, 118; and Shell, Art, 196 enslavement, 113-14. See also churches; contribu- Sherrnm, William T., 62, 76 tions: of churches; grave decorations; Voodoo shotgun house, 57 Republican Party, 69, 81-83, 96, 116 shout. See religion: song and dance Revolutionary War. See American Revolution Sidney Park Church, 113 Reynolds family, 101-2 Sierra Leone, 16 rhythm and blues, 138-39 Silver Bluff Primitive Baptist Church, 111 rice: as reason for enslavement, 12; growing in Africa, 12; Simkins, Modjestka Monteith, 86, 96, 178-79 growing in New World, 12; culture, 13-15; amount Simmons, Philip, 51, 155-56 produced, 13; production methods, 13-14, 15 Simmons, Rosetta, 185 Richardson, Toby, 50-51 Simpson, Merton D., 153, 154 rifle clubs, 82. See also Edgefield Policy Sinclair, William A., 89-90 Rivers, Nelson B., Ill, 188 singing: and work, 14, 44; African tradition, 43-44; hidden Rivers, Prince, 63 meaning in, 44-46, 107; play songs, 44; See also John Roberson, Frank, 191-92 Work Chorus Singleton, George A., 126

232 AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE PALMETTO STATE

243 Singleton, Theresa, 192 T Slave Code of 1740, 27 Tanner, Henry, 146 slave ships. See enslavement: conditions on ships; See also Tate, Eleanora, 124 The Wanderer Taylor, Susie King, 65-66 slave patrols. See enslavement: escape from Terrell, Bill, 197 slave trade. See enslavement: trade in Thirteenth Amendment, 69 slide collection. See History of South Carolina Slide Thompson, Clarissa, 121 Collection Thompson, Dorothy Perry, 119 Small, Drink, 138 Thorne, John, 94 Smalls, John, 64 Thurmond, Strom, 187 Smalls, Robert, 64-65, 71, 83, 101 Tillman, Ben, 69, 82 Smith, Gladys "Jabbo," 132, 136 Tillman Leagre Theater Workshop, 140 Smith, James W., 161 Timbuktu, 4 Smith, Myrtle Hall, 141, 197 Towne, Laura, 77 SNCC, 185 township plan, 28 Snoddy, Ben, 198 transportation, 19 soldiers: in Civil War, 62-67.Sw also contributions: in the Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, 113 military; military service Trinity United Presbyterian Church, 114 Solomon, James 181 Trottie, Cecilia, 199 Songhai, 4 Trowell-Harris, Irene, 168 songs. See singing trustee. See free African-Americans: restrictions on soul music, 139 Tucker, Renty, 19 South Carolina: culture, xiii, xvii, 1, 5, 13, 16, 22, 201; pop- Turner, Nat, 27 ulation, 23, 33, 199; today, 201-03 Tuskegee Airmen, 165 South Carolina African-American Heritage Council. See his- Twiggs, Leo E, 152-53 tory: preservation of South Carolina Agricultural College and Mechanics U Institute. See South Carolina State College underground railroad, 31 South Carolina Black Hall of Fame, 198 Union Army: and African-American soldiers, 62-64; dis- South Carolina Black Male Showcase, 202 crimination against African-Americans, 64, 65-66 South Carolina flag, 158 unions, 97, 104, 185 South Carolina, History of Slide Collection. See History of United Black Fund, 198 South Carolina Slide Collection. United Methodist Church, 113, 118 South Carolina Human Affairs Commission, 187 Unity and Friendship Society, 40 South Carolina Land Commission, 76, 77 University of South Carolina: integration of, 75-6, 181; South Carolina Plan. See white primary training African-American lawyers, 98 South Carolina State College, 74-75 South Carolina Volunteers, First Regiment of, 62, 63 V Southern Christian Leadership Conference. See SCLC Vanderhorst, Richard H., 113 Vesey, Denmark, 27, 29-30, 35, 37, 50, 108, 110 Spain, 27, 52 Spain, Amy, 60, 67 Vesey, Denmark revolt. See Vesey, Denmark Spanish-American War, 162-63 Victory Savings Bank, 96, 178 Spears, Charles, 156 Vietnam War, 168-70 Spingarn Award, 146 Virginia, 10 Spingarn, Joel, 146 visual arts and crafts, 145-56 spirituals, 44-45 vocal songs. See singing Spiritualaires, 137, 138 Voodoo, 6, 8, sports. See contributions: in sports Vorhees College, 88 Springfield Baptist Church, 115 Vorhees Industrial School. See Vorhees College winning Stevens, Harold A., 103 voting rights: loss after Reconstruction, 82-83; Stewart, T. Mc Cants, 98 back, 173-74, 177, 181-83; importance of, 175; Stokes, A.J., 117 impact of, 185-88 Stono Rebellion, 24, 27-28 Voting Rights Act of 1965, 183 stories. See folktales storytelling, 43. See also Baker, Augusta; folktales; literature Stowers, Freddy, 164 Walker, D.I., 112 Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. See SNCC Walker, William Aiken, 145 Straker, Daniel Augustus, 75 walking sticks, SO Stroyer, Jacob, 53, 124 The Wanderer, 11 Sullivan's Island, 16 Waring, Waites, 182 sweetgrass baskets. See basketmaking War of 1812, 159

BIBLIOGRAPHY 233 244 Washington, Booker T., 85 Wilkinson, Robert Shaw, 92 Washington, George, of Columbia, South Carolina, 162-63 Williams, Dewitt, 188 Washington, McKinley Jr., 114, 188 Williams, Maurice, 140 Watkins, J.C., 114 Wingo, Winston, 154 Watson, Albert, 185 witchcraft, 7-8 "wattle and daub" walls. See architecture Witherspoon, Mary Jane, 7 Weld, Angelica Grimke, 64 women: and crafts, 20; in Civil War, 65-66; in the military, Wesley United Methodist Church, 113 166-68. See also enslavement: impact on women; free West Africa, 3, 108 African-Americans; opportunities for West Indies, 55 wood carving, 50 West, John, 185 World War 1, 163-64, 172 West Point, 161-62 World War 11, 164-68, 172-73 Wheatley, l'hillis, 1-2 Wright, A.W., 177 Wheeler, Catherine, 128-29 Wright, Elizabeth Evelyn. See Vorhees College When All Africans Could Fly, 32 Wright, Jonathan Jasper, 74, 191 Whipper, Lucille S., 188 Wright, Marion. See Edelman, Marion Wright Whipper, William, 83 Wright, Samuel, 141 White Hall AME Church, 112 Wright, Stephen J., 99 White, Josh, 138 White, Juanita M., 188 Y white primary, 175, 182. See also Democratic Party yam, 53 whites: and discrimination, xiii, 10, 63, 64, 69, 71, 85, 105, Yoruba, 57, 108 164, 165, 177; fear of Africans, 35; fear of free African- Yoruba Village Dancers, 140 Americans, 35-36; fear of lost labor, 100 Young, Tommy Scott, 121-22 Whittaker, Johnson C., 161 Whittemore, Benjamin Franklin, Z Wigg, James, 83 Zion Church Clinic, 99

color, national origin, on the basis of race, does not discriminate and activities. Inquiriesregarding Department of Education in its programs The South Carolina treatment or empioyment Street. Columbia,South in admission to, Direder, 1429 Senate sex orno handicap policies should bemade to Personnel the Carolina 29208,(803) 734-85C6. $76,222.14 COST 45,642 TOTAL PRINTING DOCUMENTS PRINTED 81.66 TOTAL NUMBER OF COST PER UNIT

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