UofSC signs new agreement with NPS to expand civil rights history

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The Center for Civil Rights History and Research at the University of South Carolina is partnering with the National Park Service (NPS) to expand civil rights history in South Carolina.

With the new five-year agreement the center will receive $3.4 million to expand the center’s existing work in civil rights education and scholarly research, including for exhibits and programming at South Carolina sites in the NPS’s African American Civil Rights Network.

“I’m so pleased to with the Center for Civil Rights History and Research in advancing much-needed scholarship to deepen our understanding of pivotal moments and people in the American civil rights movement. Together will work to preserve and promote the often overlooked contributions to the American civil rights here in South Carolina and serve as a national model for interdisciplinary work in civil rights history, research, and education,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said.

The center plans on serving as a resource to property owners, community leaders, and organizations interested in ing the network in South Carolina.

Congress created the African American Civil Rights Network in 2017 to produce and spread educational materials relating to the African American civil rights movement. The network has historic sites, museums, libraries, and interpretive programs.

“This cooperative agreement and partnership are transformative for our university,” Bobby Donaldson, Executive Director of the university’s Center for Civil Rights History and Research said. “This partnership will expand our staff capacity and provide the center with additional resources to assist historic sites, museums, archives, and educational institutions across the South.”

The NPS has helped the center with several federal grant awards, including $100,000 for a summer teacher training institute in 2017.

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