{"id":7,"ordinal":0,"featured":1,"title":"Sites of Inspiration: Septima Poinsette Clark & the Civil Rights Movement, Charleston, SC","creator":"Julia Eichelberger and Committee on Commemoration & Landscapes","description":"Many of the greatest achievements of Charleston native, educator, and activist Septima Poinsette Clark (1898-1987) are associated with sites on and near the C of C campus. Each story on this tour narrates an era in Clark\u2019s remarkable life and identifies a location where Clark withstood and overcame societal, political, and personal challenges.\r<br><br>Living in a time and place that afforded few rights or opportunities to Black citizens, Clark worked tirelessly to educate Black students, to advocate for Black educators, and to teach adults how to read, write, and become active citizens. She developed a program of \u201ccitizenship schools\u201d that enabled Lowcountry residents to vote despite state laws designed to prevent Blacks from voting. With Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders, she established similar schools in communities all over the South, and was often referred to as \u201cthe mother of the civil rights movement.\u201d\r<br><br>This tour augments an installation of interpretive panels in the Septima P. Clark Auditorium in the College of Charleston\u2019s Education Center on St. Philip Street.  In 1988, the College named the Auditorium in her honor. A plaque was installed by the auditorium door, but there was no further information about her life and legacy. To fill in this gap, in 2023 the College\u2019s Committee on Commemoration and Landscapes installed an exhibit of museum-style panels on the auditorium walls, where visitors can learn about ten eras in Clark\u2019s long life. This tour contains additional information on each era, commemorating Clark\u2019s ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. \r<br><br>To explore places where Septima Clark lived and worked, visit the sites on this tour, virtually or in person. Some of the College\u2019s properties and neighboring buildings look the same as they did in Septima Clark\u2019s lifetime. We can tread the same streets where she walked with her family and her students. We can visit the Avery, where she learned and taught, or Old Bethel United Methodist, where she worshipped. We can pass the site of the Coming Street YWCA, where Black women and allies tackled community problems; we can see where protests occurred on King Street and Rutledge Avenue. We can visit City Hall and Cistern Yard, where Clark was eventually recognized for her leadership.  And in the atrium of the Education Center, beside the Septima Clark Auditorium, we can view a mural by portraitist Natalie Daise, installed in 2023. \u201cSaint Septima\u201d celebrates the power and wisdom of Septima Poinsette Clark and invites us to follow her example. \r<br><br>Wherever we go on this picturesque campus and adjoining neighborhoods, we\u2019re walking in the footsteps of a visionary Black woman who changed her city and her country for the better. <br><br>","postscript_text":"This project was sponsored by the College of Charleston\u2019s Committee on Commemoration and Landscapes, with additional support from the Office of the President and from the Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston. \r\n\r\nResearch and editing by Mari Crabtree, Shannon Eaves, Julia Eichelberger, Susan Farrell, Valerie Frazier, Aaisha Haykal, Harlan Greene, Anthony Greene, Joanna Gilmore, Joe Kelly, Simon Lewis, Bernard Powers, Leah Worthington. \r\n\r\nSpecial thanks for images and permissions provided by the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, the South Carolina Historical Society, Old Bethel United Methodist Church, and C of C\u2019s Department of Marketing and Communications. \r\n\r\nWe also acknowledge the contributions and support of Ms. Yvonne Clark and Mr. Nerie Clark, Dr. Millicent Brown,  students in Joanna Gilmore\u2019s Fall 2022 Introduction to Museum Studies class, College of Charleston\u2019s 1967 Legacy Scholars, and the Gamma Xi Omega chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. \r\n\r\nThe interpretive panels and the Natalie Daise mural in the College of Charleston's Education  Center were co-sponsored by the following programs:  the departments of African American Studies, History, English, Psychology,  Political Science, Southern Studies, Women's and Gender Studies,  the School of Education, the Office of Insitutional Diversity and the First-Year Experience program.\r\n\r\nIf you have additional images or information to contribute to this tour, please contact us at discoveringourpast-group@cofc.edu.\r\n","tour_img":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/a6dcdfb157a510f0f38d1409534fda03.jpg","items":[{"id":58,"title":"Inheritance: Septima Poinsette Clark's Family, 1850s-1910s","latitude":32.78138341506008401893268455751240253448486328125,"longitude":-79.9364654192197150450738263316452503204345703125,"thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/a6dcdfb157a510f0f38d1409534fda03.jpg","fullsize":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/a6dcdfb157a510f0f38d1409534fda03.jpg","address":"105 Wentworth St.\r\nCharleston, SC 29401","custom":{"subtitle":"","text":""}},{"id":59,"title":"Education: Septima Poinsette Finds Her Calling, 1912-1919","latitude":32.78063299894059667849433026276528835296630859375,"longitude":-79.9449008832534246948853251524269580841064453125,"thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/7687f83a0ec7582827e58415e439edee.jpg","fullsize":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/7687f83a0ec7582827e58415e439edee.jpg","address":"125 Bull St.\r\nCharleston, SC 29401","custom":{"subtitle":"","text":""}},{"id":60,"title":"Overcoming: Septima Clark Meets Personal Challenges, 1920-47","latitude":32.77349889999999987821865943260490894317626953125,"longitude":-79.925087076715925604730728082358837127685546875,"thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/c21e3cb19d21cd51fd7e44189257e857.jpg","fullsize":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/c21e3cb19d21cd51fd7e44189257e857.jpg","address":"2 Murray Blvd.","custom":{"subtitle":"","text":""}},{"id":61,"title":"Activism : Pay Equalization and Septima Clark's Home, 1929-48","latitude":32.7881277218474025403338600881397724151611328125,"longitude":-79.932821859351037119267857633531093597412109375,"thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/7cb895376a5830642f03a08f6646c458.jpg","fullsize":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/7cb895376a5830642f03a08f6646c458.jpg","address":"17 Henrietta Street\r\nCharleston, SC 29403","custom":{"subtitle":"","text":""}},{"id":62,"title":"Allies: Crossing the Color Line with Septima Clark, 1947-1956","latitude":32.78541280733357865528887487016618251800537109375,"longitude":-79.939181506633758544921875,"thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/ff475e94ed23816bf5c7191aed226a76.jpg","fullsize":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/ff475e94ed23816bf5c7191aed226a76.jpg","address":"Coming Street YWCA","custom":{"subtitle":"","text":""}},{"id":63,"title":"Leadership : Septima Clark's Faith Helps Change the Lowcountry, 1954-1964","latitude":32.78428439250598103171796537935733795166015625,"longitude":-79.9417444756740138700479292310774326324462890625,"thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/536c7a1273a5f38fc93a857c07796eec.jpg","fullsize":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/536c7a1273a5f38fc93a857c07796eec.jpg","address":"222 Calhoun St., Charleston, SC 29403","custom":{"subtitle":"","text":""}},{"id":64,"title":"Courage: Septima Clark Inspires Nonviolent Resistance, 1960-1965","latitude":32.7826610999999985551767167635262012481689453125,"longitude":-79.9344317472068581764688133262097835540771484375,"thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/8d330e406ac8be8e2bb9fbc44021b06e.jpg","fullsize":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/8d330e406ac8be8e2bb9fbc44021b06e.jpg","address":"Kress Building, Wentworth and King Streets","custom":{"subtitle":"","text":""}},{"id":65,"title":"Persistence: Septima Clark Combats Poverty and Injustice, 1965-1970","latitude":32.784025489023946420275024138391017913818359375,"longitude":-79.9445762781805484564756625331938266754150390625,"thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/712132eba1b96ff614478c8b1864f18c.jpg","fullsize":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/712132eba1b96ff614478c8b1864f18c.jpg","address":"MUSC on Rutledge Avenue\r\n135 Rutledge Avenue\r\nCharleston, SC 29403","custom":{"subtitle":"","text":""}},{"id":66,"title":"Service: Septima Clark's Continuing Influence, 1970-1980s","latitude":32.776731100000006335903890430927276611328125,"longitude":-79.930793599999987009141477756202220916748046875,"thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/1dafde6f3be599f34fa2d2ddd3a39572.jpg","fullsize":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/1dafde6f3be599f34fa2d2ddd3a39572.jpg","address":"City Hall\r\n80 Broad Street\r\nCharleston, SC 29401","custom":{"subtitle":"","text":""}},{"id":67,"title":"Belonging: College of Charleston Honors Septima Clark, 1978-2020s","latitude":32.78442460000000124864527606405317783355712890625,"longitude":-79.9381149394589414214351563714444637298583984375,"thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/732ff0a2dabfcb6375faaaaa62340bbd.jpg","fullsize":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/732ff0a2dabfcb6375faaaaa62340bbd.jpg","subtitle":"Honoring a Visionary","address":"Cistern Yard\r\n66 George Street\r\nCharleston, SC 29424","custom":{"subtitle":"","text":""}},{"id":75,"title":"Dreaming: Student Activism at the College of Charleston","latitude":32.78432434999999856017893762327730655670166015625,"longitude":-79.938213816295245806031743995845317840576171875,"thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/53cac4d437d62b75e7fab1edf59990f3.jpg","fullsize":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/53cac4d437d62b75e7fab1edf59990f3.jpg","address":"The Cistern Yard, 66 George St, Charleston, SC 29424","custom":{"subtitle":"","text":""}},{"id":68,"title":"The Unveiling of \u201cSaint Septima\u201d","latitude":32.782499000000001387888914905488491058349609375,"longitude":-79.9359089999999952169673633761703968048095703125,"thumbnail":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/square_thumbnails\/1206a4b8800dc9f6e1f21d03ef2a4e24.jpg","fullsize":"https:\/\/discovering.cofc.edu\/redirect\/files\/fullsize\/1206a4b8800dc9f6e1f21d03ef2a4e24.jpg","subtitle":"African American Icon","address":"25 St. Philip St.","custom":{"subtitle":"","text":""}}]}