Justice for All: A Conversation about Orangeburg's Civil Rights Movement

1645 Russell Street,Orangeburg SC 29115

01 November, 2022

Description

The Center for Civil Rights History and Research at the University of South Carolina presents a conversation with Dr. June Manning Thomas and others involved in integrating the school systems of Orangeburg, SC. The activity in Orangeburg is a crucial part of the rich tapestry of South Carolina's Civil Rights Movement. In 1964, a group of students including June Manning Thomas became the first Black students to desegregate Orangeburg High School in South Carolina. This extraordinary experience shaped her life and spurred her passion to understand racism and its effect on education in the Black community. In Thomas's new book, Struggling to Learn: An Intimate History of School Desegregation in South Carolina, she details the courage she and her classmates displayed during desegregation, the ways Black communities have fought to gain access to K–12 and higher education, and the social and political tools Black southerners used to combat segregation and claim belonging. This story of resilience highlights the tenacity and determination of a people fighting to ensure a better life for themselves and their children. This conversation brings together some of the individuals involved in the integration of Orangeburg High School and Orangeburg's Civil Rights Movement to discuss their experiences both in and out of school and to connect it to the present. June Manning Thomas is the Mary Frances Berry Distinguished University Professor Emerita of Urban Planning at the University of Michigan. She is the author of Planned Progress: Lessons from Shoghi Effendi and Redevelopment and Race: Planning a Finer City in Postwar Detroit, and co-editor of The City After Abandonment. Masks are strongly encouraged. Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Refreshments will be provided.