Claflin Humanities

We are underway with our 2026 Commencement Ceremonies. Congrats to all the Claflin University graduates, and especially our graduates!

We held our Honors Convocation this evening at Claflin University. Students in took home significant awards. Isaiah Means won the Leadership and Service Award for the School of Humanities & Social Sciences, and Kyra Smith won the Highest Cumulative GPA Award for the Department. Both Isaiah and Kyra are majors who just defended their thesis projects. Congrats to Isaiah, Kyra, and the faculty who taught and mentored them!

Yesterday we kicked off CALA-Bash (Claflin’s Arts & Letters Annual Bash) at Claflin University with a visit from Rep. James E. Clyburn.

He joined us to discuss his book, _The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation_. Department of Associate Professor of , Dr. Robert Greene II, interviewed Rep. Clyburn, who offered insightful thoughts from his book, discussed the outsized role SC has played in the nation’s history, and encouraged our students to stand up and make their voices heard without the need to ask for permission.

We are in Thesis Presentation season at Claflin University! Our Honors students presented last week, including Kyra Smith and Isaiah Means, majors in in the Department of .

Check out this feature in The Washington Post on the legacy of Jesse Jackson, featuring commentary from our own Dr. Greene. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/02/27/jesse-jackson-civil-rights-trump/

Yesterday’s “Humanities and Law” session was a major success! 🔥

A massive thank you to Adonikam J. Hudson, J.D., for dropping gems on how the humanities prepared him for the rigors of law school. Our students left feeling inspired and ready to take on the legal world. 💼✨

The passing of the Reverend Jesse Jackson is a reminder of the importance of HBCU life and culture to American society. A native of Greenville, South Carolina, Reverend Jackson became a trailblazer from a young age. From being part of the Greenville Eight as a young college student in 1960, to becoming a trusted aid of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. while still in his 20s, to leading two remarkable campaigns for president in the 1980s, Jesse Jackson always stood as a champion of the oppressed and a cheerleader for earning a quality education. Like so many other HBCUs, Claflin University Department of Humanities mourns the passing of a champion of justice and sends our condolences to Rev. Jackson’s family and friends.

Image: Rev. Jesse Jackson takes questions from the press at the Texas Performing Arts Center after President Barack Obama’s keynote address in April 2010. Photo by Eric Draper. Public Domain.

Join us for an inspiring talk with Adonikam J. Hudson, J.D. as he shares how a Humanities education paved his path to law school! Whether you're pre-law or just curious about your career options, this is a conversation you don't want to miss.
📅 Wednesday, February 25, 2026
🕐 1PM
📍 Student Center Conference Room 204

The CLAFS Lecture Series presents Dr. Robert Greene, Associate Professor of History at Claflin University, discussing "Black America, the National Pastime, and Black Memory, 1947-2020." February 17, 2026 | 11am | GTK 121 & Zoom.