Two Charleston thought leaders have been recognized with state Governor’s Awards in the Humanities, arguably South Carolina’s prestigious award for academic and cultural achievements in the humanities.
Charleston recipients this year include history professor Bernard Powers and Margaret Seidler, a Charleston-based author and community leader.
Powers, the College of Charleston’s professor emeritus of history and director of its Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston, is the author of “Black Charlestonians: A Social History 1822-1885.”
He is co-author of “We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel,” which recounts the events surrounding the city’s 2015 racially motivated murders. A key past leader of the International African American Museum, Powers also edited “101 African Americans Who Shaped South Carolina.”
Seidler, a native Charlestonian and direct descendant of local slave traders, delved into her family history to tell a more complete story of their role in “Payne-ful” Business: Charleston’s Journey to Truth,” which was a recipient of the 2025 Phillis Wheatley National Book Award.
A retired organization and leadership development consultant, she joined with former Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen to lead the Charleston Illumination Project, a year-long effort designed to give all parts of the community a voice in strengthening citizen and police relationships.
Outstanding achievements
Established in 1991, the Governor’s Awards in the Humanities recognize outstanding achievement in humanities research, teaching and scholarship; institutional and individual participation in helping communities in South Carolina better understand our cultural heritage or ideas and issues related to the humanities, excellence in defining South Carolina’s cultural life to the nation or world and exemplary support for public humanities programs.
It is administered by the SC Humanities, a nonprofit organization governed by a volunteer board of directors of statewide community leaders, and whose mission is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians.
In addition to the Charleston-based honorees, recipients in this category Dr. Philip Racine, William R. Kenan, Jr. emeritus professor of History at Wofford College, and Valerie Sayers, fiction writer, essayist and critic from Beaufort.
The 2025 recipient of the Akers Prize, formerly the Fresh Voices in the Humanities Award, is Erica Johnson, associate professor of history, co-director of African and African American Studies and the faculty coordinator for Universities Studying Slavery at Francis Marion University.
The new McMeekin Award, which recognizes individuals who embody service and advocacy of the humanities as well as the values of the humanities in their professional life, was awarded to S.C. (Cal) McMeekin, Jr. who worked for 29 years at S.C. Electric and Gas Company, before later joining Dial, Dunlap and Edwards LLC, a commercial real estate firm in Columbia.
The recipients will be recognized at the awards’ 34th annual luncheon and ceremony, which will be held at the Pastides Alumni Center in Columbia, South Carolina on Oct.16.
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.