The University of South Carolina made a visible declaration of the contributions of the black community when it unveiled a new African-American Presence Wall on Wednesday.
The wall, on permanent display outside a ballroom at the Russell House, features eight panels of words and pictures tracing African-Americans’ history and leadership at the university from 1801 to today. It includes several periods of the school’s history relating to African Americans including when it was known as South Carolina College, Reconstruction, the end of Reconstruction, segregation and the modern Civil Rights Era.
The panels highlight many “firsts”, including the first black student body president and the establishment of the African-American Studies program.
“We hope people will be educated about the things African-Americans did at the university in the past and the things they are doing now,” said Rodrick Moore, director of multicultural student affairs. “I don’t think a lot of the current students know the full history of African-Americans at the University of South Carolina. We’re hoping this wall will help them learn.”
A sampling of facts from three periods in USC’s history related to African-Americans, as reported by the USC office of Multicultural Student Affairs: