Planning a Movement
In the face of segregation, African Americans created strong community institutions that became vital for supporting one another and planning resistance to Jim Crow laws. Black churches, schools, and civic groups provided financial, spiritual, and social support for individuals and their communities.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), founded in 1909, led the way in promoting civil rights and organizing campaigns to fight against lynching and other injustices. In 1917, Columbia and Charleston established South Carolina’s first NAACP branches. Organizations like the Southern Negro Youth Congress (SNYC) focused on young people, training them in civil rights advocacy and activism.
These community groups and organizations set the stage for the development of the broader Civil Rights Movement.
NAACP
This hymn, written in 1900, became the anthem of the NAACP and by extension, an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. It is known today as the “Black National Anthem.”Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library
1900 James Weldon Johnson wrote the hymn Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing in 1900. It became the anthem of the NAACP after it was founded in 1909. As a result, it was seen as an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.
Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library
1948 In post-World War II South Carolina, John H. McCray, Peter Ingram, J.C. Artemus, and James M. Hinton were prominent civil rights leaders. From left to right: John H. McCray, Peter Ingram, J. C. Artemus, and James M. Hinton.
Courtesy of South Caroliniana Library
October 24, 1948 Leaders and activists used flyers to spread the word about meetings and organize civil rights activities. They often urged people to attend mass meetings, usually held in churches.
Courtesy of South Caroliniana Library
November 30, 1952 Members of the Ridgeland, S.C., branch of the NAACP in coastal Jasper and Beaufort Counties meet with John Bolt Culbertson, an influential White attorney who actively supported the NAACP and civil rights causes.
Courtesy of South Carolina Political Collections
1953 Judge Hubert Delany, from New York, was keynote speaker at the 1953 Annual Conference of the NAACP in Charleston.
(From left to right: John Bolt Culbertson, Modjeska Monteith Simkins, Hubert Delany, James Hinton, and John H. McCray)
Courtesy of South Caroliniana Library
In post-World War II South Carolina, John H. McCray, Peter Ingram, J. C. Artemus, and James M. Hinton were prominent civil rights leaders. From left to right: John H. McCray, Peter Ingram, J. C. Artemus, and James M. Hinton.
Courtesy of South Caroliniana Library
Leaders and activists used flyers to spread the word about meetings and organize civil rights activities. They often urged people to attend mass meetings, usually held in churches.
Courtesy of South Caroliniana Library
Members of the Ridgeland, S.C., branch of the NAACP in coastal Jasper and Beaufort Counties meet with John Bolt Culbertson, an influential White attorney who actively supported the NAACP and civil rights causes.
Courtesy of South Carolina Political Collections
Judge Hubert Delany, from New York, was keynote speaker at the 1953 Annual Conference of the NAACP in Charleston. John Bolt Culbertson, Modjeska Monteith Simkins, James Hinton, and John H. McCray were crucial to the development of the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina. (From left to right: John Bolt Culbertson, Modjeska Monteith Simkins, Hubert Delany, James Hinton, and John H. McCray)
Courtesy of South Caroliniana Library
“My first name is fight, my middle name is fight, and my last name is fight.”
1946
World War II veteran Sgt. Isaac Woodard was dragged from a bus, brutally beaten, and blinded by White police officers in Batesburg. The attack drew national attention to White violence against African Americans. The case is also credited with pushing President Harry Truman to desegregate the armed forces in 1948.
Courtesy of Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library
“We will run on to see what the end will be.”
Profiles in Activism: Planning a Movement
Countless people laid the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina. Learn more about some of their stories!
N. J. Frederick
Teacher, lawyer and civil rights activist
N. J. Frederick
Teacher, lawyer and civil rights activist
Nathaniel J. Frederick (1877-1938), born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, was a journalist, attorney, and educator. Frederick was a founding member of the Columbia branch of the NAACP in 1917.
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Levi Byrd
Plumber and NAACP leader
Levi Byrd
Plumber and NAACP leader
Levi Byrd invited representatives from NAACP branches across the state to a meeting in 1939, leading to the creation of the South Carolina Conference of the NAACP.
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Ethel Williams Wilson
Missionary leader, professor and civil rights activist
Ethel Williams Wilson
Missionary leader, professor and civil rights activist
Ethel Williams Wilson (1914-1987), from Columbia, S.C., a director of missions and professor of history at Benedict College, supported the Civil Rights Movement, including student activism.
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Matthew Perry
Judge, lawyer and civil rights activist
Matthew Perry
Judge, lawyer and civil rights activist
Matthew J. Perry earned his law degree from S.C. State in 1951. He later became the chief legal strategist for the S.C. NAACP and became the first African American federal judge in South Carolina.
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Modjeska Simkins
Civil rights activist and public health advocate
Modjeska Simkins
Civil rights activist and public health advocate
“My first name is fight, my middle name is fight, and my last name is fight.”
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