Calendar honors historic contributions of S.C. leaders

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The 32nd edition of the South Carolina African American History Calendar features the Jenkins Institute, a Charleston orphanage with a musical program that has produced performers who have played in inaugural parades for U.S. presidents and for the Queen of England, as well as a dozen honorees who have enriched the state’s history.

The calendar is produced by the S.C. Department of Education and statewide partners including AT&T, Dominion Energy, SCETV, the University of South Carolina and WIS-TV.

“This year’s calendar honorees have demonstrated lifelong commitments to improving the lives of their fellow Americans and South Carolinians,” S.C. Education Superintendent Molly Spearman said in a news release. “With each page, you will be reminded of the tremendous legacies they have left to inspire future generations.”

Calendars are distributed free of charge to schools, faith-based organizations, community centers and the public. Biographies and timelines are used in classroom instruction by S.C. educators.

Calendars may also be ordered online at https://scafricanamerican.com/calendar-request/.

The 2021 honorees include:

• Allie Brooks, a Florence native who served more than 35 years as a teacher, principal and school superintendent in the Pee Dee.
• Gilda Cobb-Hunter, the first Black woman in Orangeburg County elected to the S.C. House of Representatives.
• Bernard and Herbert Fielding, Charleston natives and active NAACP members. Bernard Fielding served as Charleston County’s first Black probate judge, while Herbert was elected to the S.C. House of Representatives.
• Rosa Franklin, a Cordesville native and the first Black woman to service in the Washington state senate.
• Sherman James, a Hartsville native and the first Black president of the Society for Epidemiologic Research.
• Willis and Clara Langley, natives of Washington, N.C., who became the first Black couple to purchase a McDonald’s restaurant in Columbia.
• L. Casey Manning Sr., a Dillon native and the first Black scholarship recipient to play basketball at the University of South Carolina.
• Amy Surginer Northrop, a Dixiana native who was appointed as the first Black state inspector of S.C. beauty shops.
• Gloria Blackwell Rackley of Rock Hill, an educator and influential NAACP member and civil rights pioneer.  
• Nathan Spells Sr., a Bowman native and the CEO and founder of Construction Dynamics Inc. who was named a 2020 Icon by the Columbia Regional Business Report.
• A.J. Whittenberg of Fork Shoals, who served as president of the Greenville NAACP and was instrumental in the desegregation of Greenville schools.
• Dorris Wright, a Greenville native and leader of the Upstate’s civil rights movement.