Jubilee of Freedom

Beaufort County Historical Society, Coastal States Bank and the Mitchelville Preservation Project will present Jubilee of Freedom commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation at the University Performing Arts Center, 6 pm, Thursday, Jan. 31st. 

This historical document was read in Beaufort on Jan, 1, 1863, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was passed by the House of Representatives on Jan. 31, 1863.

Cast members for the event include, Dr. Stephen Wise, Dr. Lawrence Rowland, Anita Singleton-Prather (Aunt Pearlie of Gullah Kinfolk), Evelene Stevenson (Spirit of Old Beaufort), Mary Legree, Dave Smoot, Erika Pyle, Peter Ovens, Darryl Murphy  and Marcus Humphrey.

Tickets are $20 and $15 for Beaufort County Historical Society members/seniors/and students. Tickets are available by calling the USCB Performing Arts Center at 843-521-4145.

Gullah/Geechee Living Legacy Learning Series at STH

   
The Gullah/Geechee Living Legacy Learning Series at the new St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road, opens on Wednesday, January 30th  with "Reflections of Emancipation on St. Helena, SC." Queen Quet, Chieftess for the Gullah/Geechee Nation, will host this free program intended for all audiences.  The program begins at 6 pm.

Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation will do a histo-musical presentation incorporating historical documents that are part of what took place on St. Helena Island, SC as the Reconstruction Era began in the United States. Victoria Smalls, Director of History & Cultural Programs of Penn Center, Inc. will do a reading from the “Diary of Charlotte Forten” who was the first African American instructor at Penn School, the first trade, agricultural, and normal school for freedmen.Natasha D. Robinson who is also a native performing artist from St. Helena Island will present an original piece reflecting the island.  For more info, call (843) 838-1171 or e-mail GullGeeCo@aol.com.

When you attend the program, be sure to go into the Community Room and see the Lincoln Exhibit before it closes on Saturday, Feb. 2nd!
 

Contact the St. Helena Branch Library at (843) 255-6486 for details about the program or the Lincoln Exhibit.

Coastal Heritage Article on Emancipation Day

Just posted: A fabulous article about "Emancipation Day: The Freed People of Port Royal," vol. 27 #1 of Coastal Heritage – Fall 2012.  According to author John Tibbetts, "On Emancipation Day–January 1, 1863–sea islanders of the Beaufort District realized what they must do to help defeat the Confederacy and keep their freedom."  

Lincoln Exhibit and Programs at STH Branch

 
"Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War" exhibit is open at St. Helena Branch Library. Penn Center and the St. Helena Branch Library are partners on this project sponsored by the National Constitution Center, the American Library Association and the National Endowment for the Arts. You can see the Lincoln exhibit during St. Helena Branch Library's regular business hours through Feb. 2nd.

Supplementary programs being held at St. Helena Branch Library that you may want to pencil into your calendar are:  

Fri., Jan. 11th - Age of Lincoln - Lecture and Book Talk by Dr. Orville Vernon Burton 
                            2 Sessions:  1:00 pm start; 
                                                Reprise begins at 3:30 pm.


Wed., Jan. 30th -  "Reflections of Emancipation on St. Helena, SC," with Queen Quet                
                               6:00 pm start


For details or additional information, contact the St. Helena Branch Library, 6355 Jonathan Francis Sr. Road, at (843) 255-6486, via Facebook, Twitter, or Text askbcl to 66746 (Message and data rates apply).







Please note:  The Beaufort District Collection Research Room will be closed during lunch for the rest of this week.  Hours of operation are adjusted to: 10 am - Noon; and 1 pm - 5 pm on Jan. 8th - Jan. 11th.

Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War Exhibit on St. Helena

The Penn Center, in partnership with St. Helena Branch Library, has been awarded a grant for a Civil War Sesquicentennial national traveling exhibition "Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War."  

The traveling exhibition and tour are funded by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to the National Constitution Center.  This exhibit is sponsored by the National Constitution Center, the American Library Association and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Using the Constitution as the cohesive thread, “Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War” offers a fresh and innovative perspective on Lincoln that focuses on his struggle to meet the political and constitutional challenges of the Civil War. Organized thematically, the exhibition explores how Lincoln used the Constitution to confront three intertwined crises of the war—the secession of Southern states, slavery, and wartime civil liberties. Visitors will leave the exhibition with a more complete understanding of Abraham Lincoln as president and the Civil War as the nation’s gravest constitutional crisis. 

Because Penn Center partnered with the new St. Helena Branch Library, the 1,000 foot exhibit will be on display in the St. Helena Branch Library's community room beginning December 31^st – just in time for the 150^th Anniversary of the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation.  The exhibit will continue until February 2, 2013.  

St. Helena Branch Library is open 1:00 pm - 8:00 pm Mondays and Wednesdays; 10 am - 5 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays; Fridays 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm; and, Saturdays 9 am - 5 pm.  Call 255-6486 if you have questions about the exhibit.