African American Studies Commons^™

Iii.A.2 Displacement & Barriers To Home Ownership, Kim Rostan, Bria Harper, Jim Neighbors, Mark Byrnes

Crafting Democratic Futures

This document explains how systemic racism and discriminatory policies from the Civil War & Reconstruction period through the 20th century prevented African Americans in Spartanburg from building wealth through land ownership and home equity. It details barriers such as Black Codes, sharecropping, convict leasing, exclusion from New Deal programs, discriminatory housing policies, and urban renewal projects that displaced Black neighborhoods without providing equitable opportunities for economic advancement.

Iii.B.2 Educational Barriers, Kim Rostan, Bria Harper, Rylee Jorgensen

Crafting Democratic Futures

The document examines how historical segregation and systemic racism have shaped educational disparities in Spartanburg County, highlighting persistent inequities in school resources, teacher pay, and student outcomes. It concludes that these historical barriers continue to influence academic performance and post-secondary enrollment, with schools serving more diverse populations often facing lower proficiency rates despite high graduation rates.

Iii.F.2 Safety And Security, Kimberly Rostan, Bria Harper, Jim Neighbors

Crafting Democratic Futures

The document details the persistent and systemic violence against Black people in Spartanburg County from the end of the Civil War through the Civil Rights era, highlighting the role of groups like the Ku Klux Klan and Red Shirts in enforcing white supremacy through terror, intimidation, and murder. It emphasizes that this continuous threat of violence created lasting psychological trauma and served as a major barrier to economic and social progress for Black communities.

No Back Door: Integrating Wofford College, 1964-1994, Dwain C. Pruitt

Library Exhibits

This exhibit explores the first 30 years of racial integration at Wofford College. It is made possible in part by a Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education “Reframing the Institutional Saga” grant supported by the Council of Independent Colleges and the Lilly Endowment.

Iii.G.2 Public Memory, Buried Histories, And Narratives Of Black Spartanburg, Kim Rostan, Bria Harper, Rhiannon Leebrick Ph.D., Miles Havard

Crafting Democratic Futures

The document explores how public memory shapes collective understanding of Black history in Spartanburg, emphasizing its role in challenging official narratives and fostering identity through community-driven projects. It highlights recent initiatives such as walking tours, cultural monuments, festivals, and exhibits that commemorate the Black community’s contributions and experiences, illustrating ongoing efforts to reclaim and celebrate buried histories.

Blacks In The History Of The Bethel Churches (Methodist) Of Charleston, South Carolina, David Myers

Methodist Books

This book is a study of the Black members of the various Bethel Methodist Churches in Charleston, SC, based on the records of those churches and on published histories of those churches.

Acknowledging Our Past: Race, Landscape And History, Alea Harris, Kaycia Best, Dieran Mcgowan, Destiny Shippy, Vera Oberg, Bryson Coleman, Luke Meagher, Rhiannon Leebrick Ph.D., Phillip Stone

Student Scholarship

This book is the product of nearly a year's worth of student research on Wofford College's history, undertaken as part of a grant by the Council of Independent Colleges in the Humanities Research for the Public Good initiative. The research was supervised and directed by Dr. Rhiannon Leebrick.

"Guiding Research Questions:

How did Wofford College and its early stakeholders support and participate in slavery?

How is the legacy of slavery present in the landscape of our campus (buildings, statues, names, etc.)?

How can we better understand Wofford as an institution during the time of Reconstruction through the Jim Crow era? …

Can You Hear Me? An Exploration Of Interracial Coupling Between African Americans And White Americans From The Perspective Of The Black Woman, Monica Branch

Student Scholarship

black-white racial tension is a sociological agent that permeates almost all forms of implicit biases when it comes to this specific race relation. The perspective of the black woman remains a highly suppressed viewpoint in the conversation of interracial dating between black and white people. The history of black and white interaction serves as a critical social basis for the dynamic of this country culturally, politically and economically. Society projects the common discourse that the United States (and the rest of the word) lives in a “post-racial” society, and that color, specifically black people, are not seen, but regarded as …

The Understanding Of A Single Story: Identities Amongst Black Students At Predominately White Institutions, Jonathan A. Franklin

Student Scholarship

This paper examines the structure of identities amongst Black students at predominately white institutions – particularly focusing on Wofford College. Extensive focus groups were conducted with members of the Black student body to further progress research. Racism regarding Black students and their social identity in addition to how it has structured the social identity amongst students are introduced in along with the identities of students on Wofford’s campus. Discrimination on campus has had the effect of narrowing Black students’ options for creating social identity and participating in campus community life. Black students regularly face a very confining choice to either …

Things Hidden: An Introduction To The History Of Blacks In Spartanburg, Dwain C. Pruitt

Local History

This book, published in 1995, is an introduction to Spartanburg, SC's African-American history, from settlement through the late 20th century.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1962, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1961, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1960, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1959, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1958, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1957, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1956, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1955, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1954, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1953, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1952, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1951, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1950, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1949, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1948, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1947, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1946, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1945, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1944, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.

South Carolina Conference Journal (Cj) 1943, Methodist Church. South Carolina Conference

South Carolina Conference 1866 Journal

No abstract provided.