09/24/2026
Honoring a Living Legend of South Carolina History!
The 2026 SC African American Tourism Conference is proud to recognize Cecil J. Williams and present him with the Denmark Vesey Tourism Pioneer Award.
He will be at the conference on Saturday September 26, 2026 at the College of Charleston School of Business
Learn more by visiting www.scaat.us
The Denmark Vesey Organization Award honors an organization instrumental in the development and growth of Cultural/African-American Tourism in South Carolina.
For more than six decades, Mr. Williams has used his camera to document, preserve, and tell the stories of African Americans in South Carolina. Beginning his photography journey as a child, he became one of the most important visual historians of the Civil Rights Movement, capturing pivotal moments including Briggs v. Elliott, the Orangeburg Movement, the integration of Clemson University, the Charleston Hospital Workers’ Strike, and the Orangeburg Massacre.
A graduate of Claflin University, Williams has also served as its Director of Historic Preservation and has built an extraordinary photographic archive documenting South Carolina's African-American history. His work has appeared in books, newspapers, documentaries, museums, and exhibitions across the country.
In 2019, Cecil Williams and his family founded the South Carolina Civil Rights Museum in Orangeburg, preserving photographs, artifacts, and stories that help connect today's travelers and communities with the state's African-American heritage.
His life's work reminds us that photography can preserve history, storytelling can shape tourism, and our heritage is one of South Carolina's greatest assets.
Join us September 25–26, 2026, at the College of Charleston as we celebrate the people who have dedicated their lives to preserving and advancing African-American heritage tourism.
Cecil J. Williams — Photographer. Historian. Author. Preservationist. A true tourism pioneer.
You can learn more and support Mr. Williams and the museum by visiting https://www.southcarolinacivilrightsmuseum.com
