Charleston Oral History Program at the Citadel

Charleston Hispanic Festival Posters.
The Tri-County Hispanic American Association (TCHA) was founded in 1986 to promote the Hispanic culture and organize community events. THCA was instrumental in the creation of what today is known as the Charleston County Latin-American Festival.
These posters were preserved and generously shared by Juana Bosch and Carmen Rigonan. They are part of the digital archive Aquí Estamos.


Posters del Festival Hispano de Charleston
La Asociacion Hispana del Tri-county (THCA por sus siglas en inglés) fue fundada en 1986 con el propósito de promover eventos culturales y comunitarios. THCA fue instrumental en la creación de lo que hoy conocemos como el Festival Latino American de Charleston County.
Estos posters foman parte del archivo digital Aquí Estamos. Fueron preservados y generosamente compartidos por Juana Bosch y Carmen Rigonan.

We are excited to announce that Grassroots Politics and Protest in Recent Charleston History, a new collection of oral histories from the Citadel's Charleston Oral History Program, is now available to the public through the Lowcountry Digital Library.
Graduate students enrolled in the Oral History of Modern Charleston class (Spring 2021) conducted the interviews. The result of their collaborative work is a remarkable collection focused on local activists involved in a diverse range of organizations from the Tea Party through Black Lives Matter.
This collection will be of tremendous value to students and researchers as it explores the recent rise of extra-parliamentary or grassroots politics as a response to Americans’ declining confidence in our formal democratic institutions and processes. Check it out shorturl.at/eotZ9 !
In the coming weeks, we will be sharing highlights of the interviews. Stay tuned!

The Oral History Association announces funding of up to $4,000 to undertake oral history research in situations of crisis in the United States and internationally. These funds may be applied to travel, per diem, or transcription costs for research in places and situations in which a longer application time schedule may be problematic. Such crisis situations include but are not limited to wars, natural disasters, political and or economic/ethnic repression, or other currently emerging events of crisis proportions.

https://www.oralhistory.org/award/emerging-crisis-research-fund/

Five years ago Liz Alston, the historian at the Mother Emanuel AME Church spoke to students in our oral history class "Race, Memory, and Reconciliation" about the congregation's efforts to archive the many gifts left at the church in the wake of the June 2015 killing of 9 church members. Ms. Alston, who passed away this week, was always very generous in speaking to our history students on campus and at the church. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IMWMjeNrzs&t=14s

Mother Emanuel AME Church- Preservation and documentation 0ct 25, 2016 Liz Alston, Mother Emanuel historian, and Meg Moughan Archivist of the City of Charleston speak to students of the class "Race, Memory and Reconciliation" ab...

Remembering Abe Jenkins, a great teacher, organizer, and humanitarian. Almost three years ago, Abe and his father shared the history of the Johns Island Progressive Club and Sea Island human rights movement with group of visiting Citadel cadets. https://www.postandcourier.com/news/abe-jenkins-jr-defender-of-johns-island-and-restorer-of-the-progressive-club-dies-at/article_5a22dde8-7937-11ec-932c-c7ed24dd0e0b.html

Thank you Abe and Bill Jenkins for hosting Mayor Riley's students at the historic Progressive Club and Moving Star Hall. This was a tremendous opportunity to learn a bit of the history of Esau Jenkins, Septima Clark, Bernice Robinson, Bill Saunders, and the Progressive Club community. It was a memorable visit and we look forward to returning.

Humanities Scholarships South Carolina Humanities seeks to encourage students to explore humanities fields as they pursue their academic careers. The humanities invite us to enrich

SC Humanities Awards $61,000 in Grants The South Carolina Humanities Board of Directors awarded more than $61,000 in Major Grants to 9 cultural organizations after a September 24, 2021

We invite you to register today for the Oral History Association's 2021 conference. Registration and more information is available at https://www.oralhistory.org/annual-meeting/

Voices from Afghanistan: A Serviceman and Veterans Reflect on the 20-year War A serviceman who helped evacuate Afghan refugees after Kabul fell, a veteran deployed nearly 20 years ago and a Citadel professor conducting an oral history project all reflect on the war in Afghanistan

Dr. Kerry Taylor's HIST 320: The Practice of Oral History students spent time in Hampton Park this week
as they discussed the South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition (1901-1902) and its relationship with Charleston's industrialization.
The Citadel Charleston Oral History Program at the Citadel City of Charleston, SC Government City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs

Riley's "Making of the International African American Museum" course airing on C-SPAN | The Citadel Today The course featured leading global figures Riley engaged to contribute what Riley calls "the under-told stories of African American experiences."

A shout out to Melanie Delgado. Melanie is a Citadel undergraduate evening student majoring in Political Science and has been helping us with outreach, social media, and much more.

These are a few images of the opening of Ecos: Arte Urgente at the Public Works Art Center in Summerville.
Thanks, Jana Riley and team!
The exhibit is on view until Sep 3, 2021.

The March 1969 firing of healthcare worker Louise Brown and eleven coworkers triggered a protracted strike at the Medical College Hospital in Charleston. The strike of several hundred low- wage African American workers fused traditional labor demands for better wages and union recognition with civil rights demands for fair treatment and an end to job discrimination. While speaking to graduate students in History 590 “Oral History in Modern Charleston,” Ms. Brown was asked to share her fondest memory of the strike. This was her reply:

"My fondest memory was this when the workers tried to sneak into the hospital with paper bags on their heads and the police protecting them, and Dr. McCord was afraid to come to the hospital so he took a helicopter and went to the top of the building to go to work. But yet still he said he was not going to hire some ignorant black women back to work, but yet he was afraid of these twelve black women. That he had to come to work in a helicopter because he was afraid to come past us because we had to actually block Barre and Ashley Ave. So, he was afraid. We weren’t going to touch him. That was my fondest moment. President of the hospital trying to sneak in, what? Boy, we rolled. We thought that was so funny. That’s my fondest moment."

Smart thoughts from journalist JoAnn Wypijewski on her anthology with implications for oral history https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/life-isnt-a-narrative-a-conversation-with-joann-wypijewski/?fbclid=IwAR2o4cpIO9-LYdaKX6luwcDQuoGKqd1vkMIePQBEppoD0gjnAxqXZY7nD4I

Life Isn’t a Narrative: A Conversation with JoAnn Wypijewski - Los Angeles Review of Books The author of “What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About ” discusses the irrationality of s*x panics.

Great guidance from Kelly Navies of the Smithsonian African American Museum https://www.wsj.com/articles/creating-an-oral-history-of-your-family-step-by-step-11605312323?page=1&fbclid=IwAR09r79EopMf4euqfqePPnJY5Edjsz6L_af4yB7Iwwok8onuvrsSJdxThH4

Creating an Oral History of Your Family: Step by Step It isn’t just about sticking a microphone in front of your family member. First, you have to learn some of the basics.

Coming up Thursday, Nov. 19 at 3:30:
"Antiracist Education through Digital Local History: A Virtual Roundtable"
The public health crisis caused by COVID-19 and the nationwide uprisings regarding racial and social justice have challenged public history professionals. Practitioners have had to expand their use of technology without training while urgently considering how to effectively create antiracism within their practice.
By sharing their experiences, we intend to provide a map of best practices for antiracist education in local public history using digital tools and platforms.
Our panel includes experts in local public history, archives, museums, and digital history: Mary Battle, Rachel Donaldson, Elisa J. Jones, Aaisha Haykal, Marina Lopez, and Leah Worthington.
TO REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/antiracist-education-through-digital-local-history-a-virtual-rountable-tickets-127435881151?fbclid=IwAR2UkOZcq51ngstaoMerSnXjgJ3JE3G7WRXse8j4Qr7jdKnykDs0soS_hM8

Antiracist Education through Digital Local History: A Virtual Rountable A roundtable on antiracist and digital local history, featuring experts Mary Battle, Aaisha Haykal, Marina Lopez, and Leah Worthington.

The Ga***rd and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation just launched their new collection strategy, Broadening Narratives. Check it out and consider talking with them about your project idea.
Thanks and kudos to our own Daniela Sanchez Martinez, Citadel's Class 2020, who is featured in this beautiful video telling about one of the Ecos Project stories that resonated deeply with her. Artwork by Sammy López.

Let's Broaden the Narrative What do we gain from sharing our stories? Learn more about our collections grantmaking strategy - https://gddf.org/collections/

OHA 2020 Annual Conference. Check out this important and timely conversation.
Black Lives Matter Uprising and Oral History
Panelists: Nishani Frazier, Miami University and Paul Ortiz, University of Florida.

Black Lives Matter Uprising and Oral History: An Open Forum

In 2016, cadets Thomas Spera and Avery Walton came to the Charleston Oral History Program to complete their Internship in Hispanic Language and Culture and lead a project to learn more about the experiences of the Citadel Latino Cadets. In this segment, one of their interviewees, cadet Alex Justiniano, talks about his family background and the growing Latinx community in Charleston and the Citadel.

Latinx Cadets_Alex Justiniano In 2016, cadets Thomas Spera and Avery Walton came to the Charleston Oral History Program to complete their Internship in Hispanic Language and Culture and l...

Join us tomorrow at 5:00pm for the Live Watch Party of Virtually Speaking: Conversation with the Artists from Ecos. We will be hearing from Sammy Lopez and Diana Farfán.

In 2016, cadets Thomas Spera and Avery Walton came to the Charleston Oral History Program to complete their Internship in Hispanic Language and Culture and developed a project to learn more about the experiences of the Citadel Latino Cadets. In this segment, one of the interviewees, cadet Daniel Escobar, talks about his family background and why he is proud of his heritage.

Latinx Cadets. Daniel Escobar In 2016, cadets Thomas Spera and Avery Walton came to the Charleston Oral History Program to complete their Internship in Hispanic Language and Culture and d...

A big thanks to El Informador Newspaper for highlighting our work documenting the Latinx communities in the Lowcountry.

🗞📲 https://www.elinformador.us/digital-edition/

Haz un clic 👆para leer la edición más reciente de El Informador! Estamos muy orgullosos de esta edición especial que marca el inicio de el Mes de Herencia Hispana con una obra de arte original en nuestra portada. La artista es una Venezolana que reside en Carolina del Sur. En ésta edición les compartimos información histórica del Charleston Oral History Program at the Citadel (Universidad The Citadel), la cual muestra la historia de los Latinos en Charleston. Busca una copia impresa y apoya tu tienda latina favorita!

🗣Entérate de los detalles de cómo y cuándo llegaron los Hispanos a Charleston y sus alrededores - p.13
🗣Fechas importantes para votar - p.6
🗣Grupos civiles piden justicia en demanda por restricciones a DACA - p.16
🗣 Suas Noticias - Sección en Portugués p.14-15

Hispanic Heritage Month
In 2016, cadets Thomas Spera and Avery Walton came to the Charleston Oral History Program to complete their Internship in Hispanic Language and Culture and developed a project to learn more about the experiences of the Citadel Latino Cadets. Listen to them discussing the complexities of their Latinx identities.

Latinx Cadets. Avery Walton & Thomas Spera In 2016, cadets Thomas Spera and Avery Walton came to the Charleston Oral History Program to complete their Internship in Hispanic Language and Culture and d...

Registration for Virtual Conference.
Check it out! https://oralhistory.org/2020/09/02/2020-annual-meeting-registration-is-now-open/

2020 Annual Meeting Registration is Now Open Online registration is now available for the 2020 Annual Meeting. You will need to use your Memberclicks account in order to register. If you don’t have an account, you will need to create one. ***Please make sure to select a type of registrati [...]

Morris Center is open to the public, free of charge.
For more info visit https://www.morrisheritagecenter.org/

We are delighted to share with you the recently published digital timeline: "A Chronology of Latinx History in Charleston.” https://ldhi.library.cofc.edu/exhibits/show/las-voces/introduction-2/a-chronology-of-latinx-histori
Published through the Lowcountry Digital Library at the College of Charleston, the chronology continues the Charleston Oral History Program at The Citadel’s work to document local Latinx history and culture. "Las Voces," published in 2017, is a digital history exhibit that draws from forty interviews with various Charleston’s Latinx community members, and “Aquí Estamos,” https://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/content/aqui-estamos-here-we-are-digital-collection/
is a National Endowment for the Humanities-sponsored effort to establish the first Latinx-related archival collections in the region.
The chronology spotlights the deep roots and experiences of Charleston’s Latinx communities. These are some highlights:
• The chronology helps to situate immigrant labor at the center of modern Charleston history, noting that Latinx immigrants have generated great wealth for agribusiness and helped construct the region’s modern infrastructure.

• It shows a dynamic Latinx presence moving through the area and developing relationships with established local communities since the fifties. As soon as immigrants arrived in significant numbers and there were efforts to assert their rights as human beings, African American civil rights activists and members of white faith groups provided critical support to them.

• Highlights the efforts of a variety of groups to celebrate Latinx cultures since the seventies.

• Indicates the response of business and public services to target the growing Latinx community at the beginning of the 21 Century.

• Hints at the emergence of immigrant rights organizations and efforts to gain political representation.

We hope that the timeline will be a useful tool for scholars, activists, educators, and policymakers that will prompt more questions, research, and action.

Finally, we would love to hear from you. Let us know what you think about the chronology and share with us your memories of Lowcountry Latinx history.

Tenemos el agrado de compartir con ustedes "Una cronología de la historia Latina en Charleston". https://ldhi.library.cofc.edu/exhibits/show/las-voces/las-voces-spanish/una-cronologia-de-la-historia-
Publicada a través de la Biblioteca Digital del Lowcountry-College of Charleston, la cronología representa un nuevo paso en el trabajo del programa de historia oral para documentar la historia y la cultura latinx en la región. Se suma a "Las Voces", una exhibición de historia digital que se basa en cuarenta entrevistas con residentes Latinx de Charleston y a “Aquí Estamos” https://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/content/aqui-estamos-here-we-are-digital-collection/
es un esfuerzo patrocinado por el National Endowment for the Humanities para establecer las primeras colecciones de archivos relacionados con las comunidades Latinx en la región.
La cronología evidencia las hondas raíces de las experiencias de las comunidades latinx de Charleston. Algunos aspectos a destacar son:

• Ayuda a situar la mano de obra inmigrante en el centro de la historia moderna de Charleston, señalando que los inmigrantes latinx han generado una gran riqueza para los agronegocios y también han ayudado a construir la infraestructura moderna de la región.

• Muestra una dinámica presencia latina moviéndose en la región y cultivando relaciones con las comunidades locales desde los años cincuenta. Tan pronto como llegaron inmigrantes en cantidades significativas y comenzaron los esfuerzos para hacer valer sus derechos y afirmar su humanidad, los activistas de derechos civiles afroamericanos y miembros de grupos religiosos mayormente blancos les brindaron un apoyo fundamental.

• Destaca los esfuerzos de una variedad de grupos para celebrar las culturas latinx desde los años setenta.

• Indica la proliferación de negocios y servicios públicos que emergieron con la creciente comunidad latinx a principios del siglo XXI.

• Provee indicios del surgimiento de organizaciones que luchan por los derechos de los inmigrantes como así también los esfuerzos para ganar representación política.

Esperamos que esta cronologia sea una herramienta útil para académicos, activistas, educadores y representantes públicos y que ayude a generar más preguntas, investigación y acción.

Finalmente, nos encantaría saber de ustedes: lo que piensan de esta cronología y también las memorias que les trae de estos y otros eventos de la historia de los latinos en el Lowcountry. Esperamos sus comentarios!

Remdinder--Please Join us Saturday.

‘For Which It Stands’

What: The Gibbes Museum will present “For Which It Stands: A Virtual Town Hall Series,” which features conversations with local artists and stakeholders on the American experience and the makings of a community. This first in this series is “Ecos: Arte Urgente,” the Charleston Oral History Program at The Citadel’s multimedia exhibit spotlighting the experiences of Latinx immigrants in the Lowcountry. Register in advance.

When: Noon. Aug. 29

Price: Free

More Info: 843-722-2706, bit.ly/2Eidghk

For Which it Stands: A Virtual Town Hall | Gibbes Museum Programs & Lectures What defines the American experience? What makes a community? Inspired by the exhibition Building a Legacy: The Vibrant Vision Collection of Jonathan Green and Richard Weedman, this three part series invites participants to a town hall-style Zoom with local artists and community stakeholders where w...

Mark your calendar friends!
Ecos, Arte Urgente is traveling to the Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage in Ridgeland, SC. It will be in view from September 5, 2020 to January 2, 2021. Visit the Morris Center page and website to learn more about the exciting public programs that will accompany the exhibit.

We are less than a month away from the opening of Ecos: Resonances of South Carolina Latino Stories. In celebration of the exhibition, we have some dynamic programs in September.
9/1: Virtually Speaking: Magical Realism & Crossing Borders
9/15: Virtually Speaking: Conversation with Artists from Ecos
9/22: Virtually Speaking: Screening of Book Club Discussion
9/29: Virtually Speaking: Conversation with the Artists from Ecos
Learn more about Ecos at https://www.morrisheritagecenter.org/upcoming-exhibits/

At home and considering conducting remote oral history interviews? You should check out this free web seminar that will discuss the pros/cons and remote interviewing best practices. The webinar is sponsored by the Oral History Association and Baylor’s Institute for Oral History. Tuesday, March 31 at 2 PM
https://www.oralhistory.org/2020/03/26/webinar-oral-history-at-a-distance-conducting-remote-interviews/

Webinar: Oral History at a Distance: Conducting Remote Interviews Sponsored by Baylor University’s Institute for Oral History and the Oral History Association Tuesday, March 31, 1pm to 3pm CDT Followed by an extended Q&A session This webinar is free for the public, and requires no pre-registration. A [...]

Celebrating "Carnaval" at Ecos: Arte Urgente. Thanks to Otro Sur from the College of Charleston and all those who came out for a tremendous evening of music, art and conversation.

The building opens in a few minutes. Come to see us. Bring a friend!

Here are a few photos of the opening reception of ECOS: Arte Urgente and SEISA 2020. Thanks you all for coming. The exhibit will be in view at the Cannon Street Art Center until Saturday March 21. Encourage a friend to visit it!

Just one week away. Join us!

We were saddened to learn of the recent passing of Folly Beach resident Susan Breslin, who spoke to an oral history class several years ago about her work with the Congress of Racial Equality and civil rights activism in the 1960s.

That conversation and many others related to the civil rights movement are part of the Citadel Oral History Program Collection.

https://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/lcdl/catalog/lcdl:142278

Susan Breslin, Interview by Kieran Taylor, 3 October, 2013 - Lowcountry Digital Library Catalog Search To listen to this oral history please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 audio

During visits to the site of the Charleston Bagging Mill strike of 1933 and the Dock Street Theater, Professor Taylor discusses the New Deal in Charleston with US History students. Such rich 20th C. history in the region--and we're not even scratching the surface.