Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum Explained

Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum
Type:History
Location:1865 Lake Drive in Orangeburg, South Carolina

The Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum is a museum in Orangeburg, South Carolina, commemorating the civil rights movement. The curator of the museum is photographer Cecil J. Williams.[1]

Collection and background

The museum holds 35 historical exhibits consisting of 500 photographs and over 200 artifacts[2] concerning the civil rights movement in South Carolina during the 1950s and 1960s.[3] The exhibits focus of major events, such as the Briggs v. Elliott Supreme Court case, the Orangeburg Freedom Movement, Harvey Gantt admission to Clemson University, the Orangeburg Massacre, and the 1969 Charleston hospital strike.[4]

The museum also offers other attractions, including a civil rights movement timeline, an 800-name recognition wall, a digitization laboratory, a sign-in wall, media and presentation center, community meeting room, library, and gift shop.[2]

The 3,500-square-foot museum opened in 2019. It is located in a building Williams designed in 1986.[5]

Initially, Williams funded the museum himself until it generated interests from visitors and attracted regional and national grants. In 2020, the museum was featured on national television, and National Geographic.[5] He received a $100,000 donation for the museum a few months after its opening.[6]

Notes and References

  1. News: Williams . Emily . This 81-year-old SC photographer's self-made civil rights museum is now open . 17 December 2019 . Post and Courier . 4 August 2019.
  2. News: South Carolina's First Civil Rights Museum Opens in Orangeburg. https://web.archive.org/web/20191113012145/https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2019/11/12/100000-naming-rights-contribution-announced-by-cecil-williams-civil-rights-museum-in-orangeburg/. usurped. November 13, 2019. December 17, 2019. Charleston Chronicle. July 26, 2019.
  3. Web site: Interpretive Exhibit Themes . Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum . Cecil Williams Museum . 17 December 2019.
  4. Web site: Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum . Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum . Cecil Williams Museum . 17 December 2019.
  5. News: Harris . Bradley . A place of the future to house the past': Cecil Williams' Civil Rights Museum is now a reality . 17 December 2019 . The Times and Democrat . 18 August 2019.
  6. News: $100,000 Naming Rights Contribution Announced by Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum in Orangeburg . https://web.archive.org/web/20191113012145/https://www.charlestonchronicle.net/2019/11/12/100000-naming-rights-contribution-announced-by-cecil-williams-civil-rights-museum-in-orangeburg/ . usurped . November 13, 2019 . 17 December 2019 . The Charleston Chronicle . 12 November 2019.

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