09/03/2026
SC CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM RECEIVES $75,000 GRANT FROM
SC ARTS COMMISSION TO EXPAND ARTS/HISTORY EDUCATION
The South Carolina Civil Rights Museum announced that it has received a $75,000 grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission to expand a series of statewide educational initiatives. The funding will support immersive programming that merges the arts with social studies, ensuring the powerful stories and emotions of the Civil Rights Movement continue to reach and inspire students across South Carolina.
The grant will fund three primary educational initiatives:
• The Poster Project: Visualizing History --
The museum will roll out a statewide distribution of "The South Carolina History that Changed America Arts in Education" posters. Featuring historic images captured by renowned photographer and museum founder Cecil Williams. These posters will be distributed alongside dedicated presentations at schools and community events across the state.
• Music of the Civil Rights Era: The Sound of Resilience --
Music was the heartbeat of the Civil Rights Movement. Songs like "We Shall Overcome" supported the resiliency and unity of the Black community in the fight for equal rights:
• Rural School Residencies: Multi-week residencies will take place in three schools, each located in a different rural county. An experienced historical musician will visit these schools to teach students the songs of the movement through voice and instrumentation. By connecting art to history, the program is designed to evoke the deep emotions, struggles, and spirit of the Civil Rights era.
Professional Development: Specialized training sessions for arts and social studies teachers, equipping them with the tools to seamlessly integrate civil rights history and the arts in their classrooms to tell the complete story of that period.
Open-Access Resources: The museum will continue to house and expand free lesson plans on its website for educators everywhere.
Theatre of the Civil Rights Era Pilot
Building on the success of its music programming, the museum will pilot a new "Theatre of the Civil Rights Era" initiative. This project will develop specialized lesson plans focused on the theatrical arts during the movement, designed to accompany and complement the existing music curriculum.
"This funding empowers us to take the profound history of the Civil Rights Movement directly into classrooms across the state, particularly in our rural communities," said Jannie Harriot, Program Director for the South Carolina Civil Rights Museum. "Whether it is through the photography of Cecil Williams or an experienced musician teaching the very songs that sustained our people, we are using the arts to bridge the gap between history and emotion. We want students to not just read about the fight for equality, but to truly feel the resilience that drove it."
This project is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
