{"id":66,"featured":0,"modified":"2023-06-02 19:57:34","latitude":32.776731100000006335903890430927276611328125,"longitude":-79.930793599999987009141477756202220916748046875,"title":"Service: Septima Clark's Continuing Influence, 1970-1980s","address":"City Hall
\r\n80 Broad Street
\r\nCharleston, SC 29401","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/1dafde6f3be599f34fa2d2ddd3a39572.jpg","creator":["Julia Eichelberger","Committee on Commemoration and Landscapes"],"description":"Septima Clark continued addressing injustice and poverty throughout the 1970s and 80s. By this time, more people in her hometown recognized the value of her activism. \u201cPeople were so afraid of me before,\u201d Clark told an interviewer in 1976. \u201cNow my preacher talked about me one Sunday. He was talking about things going different with God, and he mentioned my name.\u201d Joseph P. Riley amplified this recognition by inviting Clark to mark the beginning of his second term as mayor, having once again been elected by a coalition of Black voters and white progressives. In January 1980, Septima Clark was now one Charleston\u2019s most prominent Black leaders. The daughter of a former slave, she administered the oath of office to the city\u2019s mayor on the steps of City Hall, a structure enslaved labor had helped to build in the early 1800s.
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\r\nSince retiring from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1970, Clark had continued to work on local issues, including public health, food stamps, and day care to support working families. In 1974 she was elected to the Charleston County School Board, the same body that had fired her in 1956. As a Board member, she advocated for Black teachers and students whose needs were not always recognized by white Board members or in curricular materials. When the Board reviewed a booklet on American government in 1981, Clark noted that no Black people were represented there. \u201cI wanted to know who the black children would have to look up to in that book,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was nothing in there that would help black children to feel that they had a right to the tree of life, and I know how important that is.\"
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\r\nClark continued, \u201cOur children. . . also need to know how change comes about. You have to develop them to do their own thinking and not accept unjust things but break through those things and change them. . . . There is a young [teacher] who has been talking to her children about standing up for their rights, and her name is on the list to be terminated. I don\u2019t want to miss that meeting Monday, because I\u2019m going to vote on her to stay in that school. [. . .] They\u2019re going to try to fire her, but I\u2019m going to fight them.\u201d
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\r\nAlthough she was never wealthy and sometimes short of funds, Clark continued to give financial assistance to many young people, believing that if she did not, she \u201cmight refuse the very one who\u2019s going to do well.\u201d When Johns Island activist Bill Saunders asked Clark for help finding a room downtown for his daughter, a College of Charleston student, Clark offered to share her own bedroom. She also continued caring for family members. Her \u201cgrands\u201d sometimes lived with her, including a grandson with disabilities. \u201cMy son\u2019s grandmother kept him, so I had his little boy,\u201d she said. Her financial challenges were slightly eased in 1976 when the state of South Carolina began paying Clark the pension she would have received if she had not been unjustly fired in 1956. In 1981 the state paid her another $15,000, half of the pension Clark would have received in the twenty years following her dismissal.
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\r\nClark became a more public supporter of feminism during her retirement. \u201cI think the civil rights movement would never have taken off if some women hadn\u2019t started to speak up,\u201d she told interviewer Cynthia Stokes Brown. She knew that during that era, her own contributions had not always been recognized. In a 1976 interview, she recalled how often Rev. Ralph Abernathy had asked, \"why was Septima Clark on the Executive Board of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference? And Dr. King would always say, 'She was the one who proposed this citizenship education which is bringing to us not only money but a lot of people who will register and vote.' And he asked that many times. It was hard for him to see a woman on that executive body.\u201d
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\r\nClark shared her wisdom in lectures on college campuses. \u201cThe greatest evil in our country today is not racism but ignorance,\u201d she told Antioch College in 1970, adding, \u201cI believe unconditionally in the ability of people to respond when they are told the truth.\u201d Clark made it clear that to her, \u201cthe truth\u201d included the country\u2019s long history of systemic racism. In a 1975 essay, she commented further on this history. \u201cNothing that is Black and whole and alive in America can be fully comprehended apart from the endless white thrusts toward our exploitation, deracination, death and dismemberment,\u201d she wrote. \u201cIndeed, only then can we fully understand and celebrate the miracle of our continued vibrant living presence. Only then can we properly understand the nature of the dying among us.\u201d
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\r\nRecognition continued during the 1970s and 80s. Across the country, people sought her out for interviews and lectures. President Jimmy Carter, South Carolina governor Richard Riley, and other national organizations bestowed awards upon Clark, whose activism had once been branded anti-American. \u201cNow it has come to the place that [Charlestonians] see that the work I was doing was really worthwhile,\u201d she told Brown in 1979. \u201cI\u2019m very glad that I had enough patience and enough of the non-violent philosophy within me that I could take it and not be bitter towards any of them. They were afraid, but I wasn\u2019t,\u201d Clark said, adding, \u201cSome people here are still afraid.\u201d
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\r\nThroughout her career, people had tried to intimidate Clark, but could not make her quit. \u201cI have had a lot of things to happen to me and I had to live through it,\u201d she reflected in 1981. \u201cI\u2019ve had policemen sent to my door looking for the fight. Pure harassment. I\u2019ve had firemen sent to my door looking for the fire. Pure harassment. I\u2019ve had people call and curse me over the telephone, and I would just say, \u201cThank you, call again.\u201d I\u2019d put the phone down and here would come another call. There were nights when I couldn\u2019t sleep for that kind of thing.\u201d Clark expressed her ongoing resolve and her hope for even more change in the future: \u201cThere were times when I felt discouraged, too, but I felt I had to go on. I could not do anything by quitting. A quitter received nothing. . . . I know I\u2019m not going to live to see a black President, but I do hope in times to come there will be one.\u201d
\r\n","sponsor":null,"subtitle":null,"accessinfo":null,"lede":"At Charleston\u2019s City Hall in 1980, Septima Clark, an acknowledged leader in Charleston, swore in Mayor Joseph P. Riley for his second term. Now famous, Septima Clark continued to question the status quo and work for justice, encouraging other activists, especially women and young people, to do likewise.","website":null,"related_resources":["

Katherine Mellon Charron, Freedom\u2019s Teacher: The Life of Septima Clark.<\/em> University of North Carolina Press, 2009.<\/p>","

Katherine Mellon Charron, \u201cSeptima Poinsette Clark,\u201d South Carolina Women\u2014Their Lives and Time<\/em>s. University of Georgia Press, 2012, pp 240-259.<\/p>","

Refuse to Stand Silently By: An Oral History of Grass Roots Social Activism in America<\/em>, 1921-1964, ed Eliot Wigginton. New York: Doubleday, 1991.<\/p>","\u201cSeptima Clark Seeks Settlement of $15,000.\u201d Charleston Evening Post<\/i>, January 15, 1981.<\/span><\/span>","

Septima Clark with Cynthia Stokes Brown. Ready From Within: Septima Clark and the Civil Rights Movement, a First-Person Narrative.<\/em> Africa World Press, 1990.<\/p>","Septima Clark with Jacqueline Dowd Hall, July 25, 1976. Interview G-0016.<\/a> Southern Oral History Program Collection, University of North Carolina.","

Septima Poinsette Clark, Echo in My Soul<\/em>. Dutton, 1963.<\/p>","

Septima Poinsette Clark, Interview with Eliot Wigginton, June 20, 1981. Transcript, Box: 1, Folder: 10. Septima P. Clark papers, AMN 1000. Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture.<\/p>","Septima Poinsette Clark, \"The Vocation of Black Scholarship Identifying the Enemy.\"<\/a> Lowcountry Digital Library, Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston.","

Septima Poinsette Clark, Ready From Within: Septima Clark and the Civil Rights Movement, A First Person Narrative<\/em>, ed. Cynthia Stokes Brown. Africa World Press, 1990.<\/p>","Steve Estes, Charleston in Black and White: Race and Power in the South After the Civil Rights Movement<\/i>. UNC Press, 2015.<\/span><\/span>"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/1dafde6f3be599f34fa2d2ddd3a39572.jpg":{"id":617,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"Charleston City Hall, 80 Broad Street, 2023","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/1dafde6f3be599f34fa2d2ddd3a39572.jpg","description":"In 1980, Septima Poinsette Clark stood on the steps of this building to swear in Mayor Joseph P. Riley for his second term."},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/07534f37773b524548437692c711e92f.jpg":{"id":561,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"Black and white photograph of Septima P. Clark talking with University of California, Santa Cruz students outdoors. ","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/07534f37773b524548437692c711e92f.jpg","description":"Septima P. Clark with students at University of California, Santa Cruz, 1974. She was frequently invited to speak at universities. | Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC. "},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/0ae8bde22dbaf606ef2451d4aed736a1.jpg":{"id":631,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"Charleston Co Consolidated School Board photo 1975 in Septima P. Clark scrapbook.","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/0ae8bde22dbaf606ef2451d4aed736a1.jpg","description":"Septima Clark was the first Black woman to be elected to the Charleston school board, the same entity that had fired her in 1956. 1975 | Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC. "},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/05c69476d1e8d5c08c442a915ed4b617.jpg":{"id":609,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"AKA Letter to SPC congratulating her on the school board election. ","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/05c69476d1e8d5c08c442a915ed4b617.jpg","description":"Letter to Septima P. Clark from her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, congratulating her on her election to the Charleston County school board. | Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC. "},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/f1b280893caf8f37264195e21a174700.jpg":{"id":563,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"Charleston County Consolidated School Board Certificate of Election (Jan 1975) ","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/f1b280893caf8f37264195e21a174700.jpg","description":"Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC. "},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/77b987b539c360cce99bdd79ea949f78.jpg":{"id":558,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"Black and white photograph of Septima P. Clark and others ","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/77b987b539c360cce99bdd79ea949f78.jpg","description":"Septima P. Clark and others holding awards at Benedict College, 1975. Septima P. Clark was the first woman speaker in the history of the college. 1975. | Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC. "},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/15c3e71a289101df4bed73ee205b3ce4.jpg":{"id":562,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"Letter from SC Dept. of Education ","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/15c3e71a289101df4bed73ee205b3ce4.jpg","description":"Letter from SC Dept. of Education attesting to what Clark could have earned in retirement money if he hadn\u2019t been fired from her\u202fteaching position in 1957.\u202f | Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC. "},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/68058bd1e5043843b8724ab00cc76d70.jpg":{"id":560,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"Color photograph of Septima P. Clark holding trophy next to gentleman at National Education Association Award. ","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/68058bd1e5043843b8724ab00cc76d70.jpg","description":"Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC. "},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/be1c89145aa8be19851aaca043ec3604.jpg":{"id":625,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"Black and white photograph of Septima P. Clark holding flowers with a large crowd around the Septima P. Clark Expressway stone marker.","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/be1c89145aa8be19851aaca043ec3604.jpg","description":"Septima P. Clark with a large crowd around the Septima P. Clark Expressway stone marker. | Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC.
\r\n"},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/ca58f37d69bafeaf92263eb73fe03f51.jpg":{"id":632,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":""A Slave\u2019s Daughter Wins Award.\u201d","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/ca58f37d69bafeaf92263eb73fe03f51.jpg","description":"News coverage of Septima Clark\u2019s 1976 award from the National Education Association. | Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC."},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/af33b38213c1e7b7c81e15bba71b907f.jpg":{"id":628,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"Black and white photograph of Septima P. Clark standing at "This is Your Life" event, Old Bethel United Methodist Church. 1970.","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/af33b38213c1e7b7c81e15bba71b907f.jpg","description":"Septima P. Clark standing at "This is Your Life" event, Old Bethel United Methodist Church. 1970 . | Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC."},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/cbc112d59c48311c3f37393923d9d669.jpg":{"id":610,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"Photo of SPC with President Jimmy Carter","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/cbc112d59c48311c3f37393923d9d669.jpg","description":"Septima Clark with President Jimmy Carter in 1979, when she was honored with a Living Legacy award. | Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC. "},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/50090896393f2201ceb0044119313989.jpg":{"id":590,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"Photo of Mayor Riley swearing in ","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/50090896393f2201ceb0044119313989.jpg","description":"Mayor Joseph P. Riley being sworn in for his second term as mayor in 1980, with Septima P. Clark holding the Bible. Riley was elected, then re-elected, by a coalition of progressive white voters and Black voters. Clark\u2019s appearance was a recognition of this constituency as well as Riley\u2019s desire to govern the city with more equitable representation of Black citizens. | Courtesy of the Post and Courier. "},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/2e2f208dd5c51984781aea818a7d213b.jpg":{"id":626,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"Letter from Mayor Riley ","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/2e2f208dd5c51984781aea818a7d213b.jpg","description":"Letter from Mayor Riley to Septima Clark, thanking her for administering the oath of office to him on a cold January day. | Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC. "},"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/8fafe0ee60f3dee227d8556cf7185f2d.jpg":{"id":627,"mime-type":"image\/png","title":"\u201cThe Vocation of Black Scholarship: Identifying the Enemy\u201d","thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/8fafe0ee60f3dee227d8556cf7185f2d.jpg","description":"Nothing that is Black and whole and alive in America can be fully comprehended apart from the endless white thrusts toward our exploitation, deracination, death and dismemberment. Indeed, only then can we fully understand and celebrate the miracle of our continued vibrant living presence. Only then can we properly understand the nature of the dying among us.
\r\nSeptima Clark, \u201cThe Vocation of Black Scholarship: Identifying the Enemy\u201d February 13, 1975. | Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC."}}}