Very Brief History of Black History Month and Upcoming Programs

The story of Black History Month begins in Chicago during the late summer of 1915. Like thousands of other African Americans, Carter G. Woodson traveled from Washington, DC to participate in a national celebration of the 50th anniversary of emancipation sponsored by the State of Illinois. While there, he was inspired to do more to highlight the role of African Americans in the story of the United States.

Woodson selected February to honor the birthdays of two great Americans, Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809) and Frederick Douglass (chosen date February 14, circa 1818), both of whom played a prominent role in shaping black history. Well aware of the pre-existing birthday celebrations for these two men within the Black community, Woodson built Negro History  Week around traditional days of commemorating the black past. His goal was that the public would extend their study of black history and celebrate the contributions of Africans to American history. He wanted to make sure that achievements of Black men and Black women would be acknowledged and promoted.

The first Negro History Week was held in February 1926. As the modern Civil Rights movement gained momentum through the 1940s- 1970s, interest in studying the African-American experience also gained momentum.  In 1976, 50 years after the first celebration, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) used its influence to get a Presidential Proclamation of Black History Month.

Each year tends to have a theme. On account of 2020 being the 100th anniversary of Women's Suffrage, this year's focus is on voting rights.

To honor the contributions of Black people to local history, the Beaufort District Collection is holding two programs during February, one at Hilton Head Branch Library and the other at St. Helena Branch Library. Both are free to attend.  The family history workshop requires advance registration due to space and equipment limitations while the Gullah Days talk is first come, first seated.

 

Monday, February 10, 2020 at Hilton Head Branch Library, 11 AM

Three well-known and respected members of the community, Tom Barnwell, Emory Campbell, and Carolyn Grant, will share their memories and research about daily life on Hilton Head Island before the bridge connected it to the rest of Beaufort County. 

Beaufort was ground zero for men enlisting in the United States Colored Troops because of the Union army occupation. More than 5,000 men from South Carolina served in the United States Colored Troops, the majority of them from the Lowcountry. Popular and experienced genealogist Toni Carrier, Executive Director of the International African American Museum's Center for Family History will show participants how to find their USCT veteran ancestor from the records of their enlistment all the way until their death. There are abundant record sets for documenting USCT veteran ancestors and we'll look at each one, the information each contains and how to use it in your research. Part 1: Lecture by Toni Carrier; Part 2: Guided Practice with Toni & Grace to assist you.

 

Saturday, February 15, 2020 at St. Helena Branch Library, 1 PM - 4 PM

                                               Registration required: Call 843-818-4587

Se Sure to Sign Up Before All Seats Are Taken

As many of you have noticed, sometimes our programs and community outreach activities with registration required tend to fill up rather quickly. Most of the events listed below are currently taking registrants.

Dr. Daniel Vivian is doing his talk "Making Sporting Plantations: Rich Yankees and the Transformation of the Rural Lowcountry, 1900 - 1940" twice. First, in the BDC on Monday for free without any advance registration; and second, at Coastal Discovery Museum on Tuesday. 

Repeating: The session set for Monday, March 11 at 11 AM in the BDC's 2nd floor lobby does not require registration. We can fit up to 40 people in the 2nd floor lobby if need be. It's not an optimal situation but the volunteers who help with tax preparation have dibs on many of the Library's meeting spaces during tax season. Dr. Vivian is doing this program during his Spring break so we didn't have a lot of flexibility for the date and times of his two lectures for the BDC and the Coastal Discovery Museum. Please note: No seats remain for Dr. Vivian's talk on Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at Coastal Discovery Museum. Those seats were reserved very, very quickly.  

27 March - Registration now open: "Remembering Ann Head" with her daughter, Nancy Thode in cooperation with the Pat Conroy Literary Center. Closed when capacity is reached.  https://bit.ly/2Ddyda6

9 April - Registration will open on Tues., March 26th for the seats to attend "History and Tales of the Sheriff's Department" with Lt. Col. Neil Baxley, BCSO and Ed Allen, Coroner. This will be the final lecture of Season 3 of the Beaufort History Museum / Beaufort County Library Local History Series. Details will be posted at https://beauforthistorymuseum.wildapricot.org/events 

 

The African-American family history workshops are doing so well that the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, the International African American Museum's Center for Family History, the St. Helena Branch Library and the Beaufort District Collection have decided to offer reprises of the "Finding Your Ancestors in Freedmen's Bureau Records" workshop twice on Saturday, April 13, 2019: The morning session will be from 11 AM - 1 PM and you can reserve a seat ahead of time by registering; The afternoon session will be first come, first seated from 2 PM - 4  PM. Each session can only seat 20 people.


Update! 18 March 2019:
13 April - Registration now open: "Finding Your Ancestors in Freedmen's Bureau Records" with Toni Carrier at the St. Helena Branch Library at 11 AM; Again: We have only 20 seats so seats will likely fill very quickly. Closed when capacity is reached. To register: Call 843-818-4587 or e-mail: info@gullahgeecheecorridor.org. 

13 April -  Registration now open: "Finding Your Ancestors in Freedmen's Bureau Records" with Toni Carrier at the St. Helena Branch Library at 2 PM; The first 20 folks who arrive ready to participate will secure the first 20 seats. 

Looking ahead: The IAAM Center for Family History, the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission, the St. Helena Branch Library and the BDC are organizing 2 sessions of a workshop about how to locate information about the members of the United States Colored Troops as our next undertaking. 

Lineage & Hereditary Socieites Workshop on November 13, 2018

Please note: All units of the Beaufort County Library are closed Monday, November 12, 2018 in observance of Veterans Day. 

Regular hours resume on Tuesday, November 13th. The Research Room will re-open at 9 AM that day and we have an extra special family history workshop in the afternoon! 

Have you been putting off joining the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the Society of the Cincinnati, or another ancestor-based lineage or heritage society because you don't know where to start or how to gather the necessary evidence of your ancestral lines?  Do we have the perfect workshop for you - and even better yet - there's no need to register for this free program!

Join  BDC staff at the St. Helena Branch Library on Tuesday, November 13, 2018 at 4:00 PM for a “Lineage & Hereditary Societies: What are they and how do you join them?” Workshop with Bonnie Wade-Mucia.

Wade-Mucia is a Professional Genealogist and owner of Keeper of the Past Genealogy, LLC. As a native New Englander, she became fascinated with her family history and has been researching her genealogy for over 30 years. Bonnie is a graduate of the Boston University Genealogical Certificate program and the ProGen Study Group. She successfully completed the 2018 course specializing in DNA at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. She is the Lineage Chair and Librarian for the Emily Geiger chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution as well as the state Vice-Chair for the Volunteer Genealogy Committee for DAR. She is the former Governor of the South Carolina Mayflower Society. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the National Genealogy Society, and the Genealogical Speakers Guild. Bonnie resides in Bluffton, SC with her husband, Joseph.

The workshop will include discussion of the various types of lineage and hereditary societies, what the requirements are to join some of the best known ones and how to put together your application with your documented proof of descendant. She will also be covering how you can use DNA as proof in your lineage society applications. Participants are encouraged to bring along their lineage society questions and applications to work through during the workshop.

The Workshop is free and no registration is required. 

Free Family History Workshop Thursday, Oct. 19th

To celebrate Family History Month, we host author June Gardner who will share her experience compiling and publishing family histories in a free hands-on workshop.

June McManus Gardner was born July 3, 1935 in Columbia, South Carolina. In 1954 she married Norman Russ Gardner, a minister. For over sixty years their ministry has led them to serve in ten churches and five states. In recent years June's interest in genealogy led her to set a goal of writing a family history book about each of their eight family lines as a legacy for sons and grandchildren.She has completed six so far. Gardner's ancestors lived in Hampton, Allendale, Barnwell, Orangeburg, Charleston, Horry, Spartanburg, Richland, and Clarendon Counties. She has researched the Fitts, Reid, Harley, Williamson, Williams, Livington, Russ, Coggins, Wingo, Berry, Ervin, Wood, Seay, and Gardner families and allied lines. She is currently working on the Edgefield Connections relating to the McManus and Griffis families of aforesaid county. Come learn from an experienced author's insight into the process of researching and publication.

 
Event Name: “Preserving Your Family History Workshop”

Short Description of Event: Learn how to publish your own family's history with June Gardner, an author who's done it 6 times so far. 30 seats: first come; first seated.

Time and Date of Event: Thursday, October 19, 2017 at 2:00 pm

Location of Event: BDC@ Beaufort Branch, 311 Scott Street, Beaufort, SC 29902

Price of Event: Free; Ages 12 - Adults 

Gardner will be happy to sell copies of her books at the end of the program. For more information, e-mail bdc@bcgov.net or call 843-255-6468. 

Come help us celebrate Family History Month!

The Rite of Spelling Wright Right: Genealogy Tip of the Day

I think that I hear researchers vacillate and argue more about the correct spelling of a person's name than any other family history related activity. Sometimes the arguments become vehement. Genealogical guru Michael John Neill tackles this question in a wonderful blog post "The Rite of Spelling Wright Right" from his Genealogy Tip of the Day blog. It is a common problem and the spelling of names certainly changes through time and sometimes without much explanation. The key point to remember is this: A lot of people simply didn't care so consistent spelling of names is more an exception than the rule. Be open to alternate spellings that would sound similar enough to be worth your while to investigate a bit further.

Don't forget that we have family historian June Gardner here on Oct. 19th to share her knowledge of genealogical research and the publication process. Author of 6 books herself, she is sure to have valuable insights to share during this free workshop. 

Expect good tips on how to avoid some rookie mistakes in sharing your research with family and friends. Please join us. No need to register. Maximum capacity is 30 people.

The Big Read Continues: Hurricanes, Writing Workshops, and Art Exhibits

Everyone is on board for The Big Read.  Just take a look at what's happening on January 23rd!

I admit to a little bias about our contribution to The Big Read Project. Learn a bit about the "Spanish Repulse Hurricane," the Great Sea Island Storm, and 20th century hurricanes and tropical storms that caused death and destruction here in Beaufort County.(First come; first seated - no registration. Doors to the 2nd floor open at Noon-ish).

However, I know that hurricanes, death, and destruction do not appeal to everyone  - which is why I bring this wonderful opportunity to your attention:  

The inimitable Joggling Board Press publisher and editor Susan Kammeraad-Campbell is back to weave her magic - to help unleash the writer in you!  We know that storytelling is an integral part of what it means to be human. Our stories help us make sense of our world. They tell us who we were, who we are and who we can be. As Ursula K. Le Guin has attested: “There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.”

You may recall that Kammeraad-Campbell did several memoir writing workshops for the BDC a few years ago in connection with the publication of the national award-winning memoir, The Other Mother by Teresa Bruce. Kammeraad-Campbell drew on techniques she designed while guiding Bruce to access memories and render them through her senses in her workshops. Bruce describes her experience working with Susan in this Charleston City Paper article.  

Post-workshop survey responses were resoundingly enthusiastic:

• “Writer’s workshops in a public library setting are a necessary and non-judgmental arena to develop;” 
• “The workshop made me want to write more and to approach writing as a craft;” 
•  “This workshop changed my perception on the diversity and validity of other’s viewpoints;” 
• “This workshop empowered me ‘to be me’;” and, several one word critiques: 
• “Cathartic;”
•  “Therapeutic,” and 
• “Inviting.” 

Perhaps most telling, one participant said: “The public library is an inclusive setting where judgment is held at bay. The interaction with the other writers made me feel validated.” If you have any writing aspirations at all, you would be crazy (yes, I wrote "crazy!") not to take advantage of this opportunity to learn at the feet (well, table) of a master editor.

If you can't make the January 23rd session at St. Helena Branch at 1 pm, then be sure to catch the final installment at Beaufort Branch on Saturday, January 30th. No registration necessary. No writing experience necessary. Heck, she even supplies the pens and paper!

And don't forget to enjoy the artwork of Cassandra Gillens on display at St. Helena Branch Library through February 27 during regular library hours. Her work decorates our Library system newsletter, too.

We've have a list of all The Big Read programs and activities at http://www.beaufortcountylibrary.org/the-big-read so you can pick and choose among a variety of options available to help you understand and appreciate one of more aspects of Their Eyes Were Watching God by  Zora Neale Hurston.  
 

Time - and Spots - Are Running Out!

Teresa Bruce wrote a book about a woman whom she came to love like a mother using not only her own memories but the Byrne Miller Papers here in the Beaufort District Collection.  Bruce shopped her manuscript around to New York publishers for three years without any takers. "I kind of felt like that book was my terminal illness, and I wanted to know what was wrong with it and get a diagnosis and fix it." Fortunately, Bruce ended up at Susan Kammeraad-Campbell's house where this talented and generous writer and editor devised a uniquely collaborative creative process called "pearls." And thus, The Other Mother was born!

Participants in the BDC@ BDC November 2014 workshop said that Susan's work was

• “Cathartic”
• “Therapeutic”
• “Inviting”

Here is your chance to learn the basics of the Susan's "pearls" process at no charge to you.  We've bumped up the number of seats to 18 participants for this intense and intimate workshop but you will have to sign up in advance. Call Charmaine at 843-255-6468 to reserve your seat at this free BDC@ the Branches workshop! Charmaine's in the BDC Research Room, 10 am - 5 pm, Mondays through Fridays to take your call.

Please note: This workshop will be held in the small conference room of the Bluffton Branch Library located at 120 Palmetto Way, Bluffton, SC.  The two hour workshop will conclude at 3:00 pm. 

This workshop is the BDC's contribution to the Library's Maker Spaces initiative. 

Sign Up for the BDC@ BLU Memoirs Workshop

Susan, Joggling Board Press Publisher 

Teresa Bruce, author of The Other Mother, describes her experience working with Susan Kammeraad-Campbell in this Charleston City Paper article.  If you have any writing aspirations at all, you would be crazy (yes, I wrote "crazy!") not to take advantage of this opportunity to learn at the feet (well, table) of a master editor.

Please Note: This free BDC@ The Branches workshop will be held in the Bluffton Branch Library's Small Conference Room.  We will only accept 12 participants for this unique and stellar opportunity to learn how to write true stories that others will want to read.  Advance reservations strongly encouraged. Once we have 12 registrants, the workshop is closed.

BDC@ BLU: Memoir Writing Workshop: June 14th

I met Susan Kammeraad-Campbell through author Teresa Bruce while Bruce was finishing up her project The Other Mother: A Re-moir, Joggling Board Press, 2013. Bruce drew heavily from journals and images of the Byrne Miller Collection housed in the Beaufort District Collection to provide context as her relationship with Miller had such a profound impact on the course of Bruce’s life. As Bruce's project came to fruition, she introduced me to her editor and publisher, Susan Kammeraad-Campbell, and to Susan’s writing workshop.

The BDC sponsored a "Writing Memoirs" workshop last Fall to highlight the value of special collection and archival materials to provide context for memories, inform and enhance one's own sense of self, one's own sense of place, and one's own sense of inclusion as a valued and valuable member of the community. 


Here are just a few of the comments we received about the November workshop:

• “Excellent;” 
• “More, more;” and 
• “Build on this.”

Feedback from participants upon reflection after several months included these comments: 

• “Writer’s workshops in a public library setting are a necessary and non-judgmental arena to develop;” 
• “The workshop made me want to write more and to approach writing as a craft;” 
•  “This workshop changed my perception on the diversity and validity of other’s viewpoints;” 
• “This workshop empowered me ‘to be me’;” and, several one word critiques: 
• “Cathartic;”
•  “Therapeutic,” and 
• “Inviting.” 

Perhaps most telling, one participant said: “The public library is an inclusive setting where judgment is held at bay. The interaction with the other writers made me feel validated.”

In other words, the response to Susan Kameraad-Campbell's "Writing Memoirs" workshop was so good that we've invited her to hold a similar workshop at the Bluffton Branch Library on Saturday, June 14th from 1 pm - 3 pm. This workshop is part of the Library's initiative for encouraging  creativity by providing "Maker Spaces" and creative activities throughout the system as well as providing a "Literary Elements" program in line with the Adult Summer Reading Program.  


Due to the intimacy and intensity of the writing process, we are limiting the workshop to only a dozen or so people. If you are at least 12 years old and want to learn how to write a true story of your life that others will want to read, make your reservation with Charmaine as soon as possible cseabrook@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468.

 

Reminder:  The Beaufort District Collection is closed May 26th in observance of Memorial Day.