Charleston Civil Rights and Civics (C3) partnered with Kids on Point this week to launch an inaugural five-day, immersive program designed to show high school students the often-ignored civil rights history of the Lowcountry.
The program launched Monday for a class of 20 rising high school freshmen and sophomores from several different Lowcountry schools to the Avery Research Center and the newly opened International African American Museum (IAAM). Throughout the week, students will embark on a bus tour of downtown Charleston, travel to Beaufort to experience Gullah Geechee culture, visit the Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum in Orangeburg and more.
“I have been talking with people about this program for almost two years, speaking with over 300 people about this program asking if there’s anything like this in Charleston,” said C3 Founder Leslie Skardon. “Not one person knew of anything like this program in the area. This was really a novel idea people were really excited about.
“We saw the need for a cohesive program that taught the story of our history that isn’t being taught anywhere else — and in a lot of places being covered up,” she added.
A packed first day
The diverse group of students from Lowcountry high schools arrived at the College of Charleston Education Center Monday morning before walking to the Avery Research Center. There, they heard an overview of the program’s schedule and got a quick tutorial on how to work their new Polaroid cameras to document the experience.
Students were then shuttled to the IAAM for a private tour by DeMett Jenkins, descendent of acclaimed Lowcountry civil rights leader Esau Jenkins, and welcoming remarks from former S.C. Sen. Marlon Kimpson.
Students spent the remainder of the day on a downtown bus tour of the city’s civil rights history. The tour highlighted monuments and historical sites such as the Grimke Sisters house, Emanuel AME Church, Marion Square and the Denmark Vesey Statue in Hampton Park.
At the end of the day, program leaders asked students to share a single word that encapsulated what they were thinking about and feeling. “Revolutionary, impactful, inspiring, uplifting, eye-opening — it was so rewarding to hear that feedback,” Skardon said.
“Those words at the end were really meaningful to me,” she added. “The common theme was ‘I learned something new,’ and at the end of the day, that’s what we’re here to do — to make sure these kids know about Septima Clark and Esau Jenkins and Robert Smalls. We need to make sure we’re holding up these heroes and giving these students someone to look up to.”
A hopeful future for the program
Skardon said she has high hopes for the future of the C3 program.
“I want this to be sustainable, at the very least I’d like to see it done annually for current freshmen over spring break or rising sophomores over the summer,” she said. “I’d love to see demand increase and do it twice annually, but I’d also love to see other age groups get involved. There are even adults who would benefit from this.”
But starting with a diverse group of high school students was important, Skardon said.
“A big part of this is relationship building — getting to know other students and people who aren’t like you, who go to different schools and have different religions and races and classes,” Skardon said. “We wanted to target high school specifically, because that’s when students are most open to building those relationships.
“More than that, we wanted to get students while they’re still figuring out what they want to do with their lives,” she said. “Do they want to go study something or do something? Can we share with them this history that often isn’t being taught in schools to help shape their career paths and embed within them this sense of citizenship and a call to serve their community?”
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