After my first professional conference, a trip to Mardi Gras & a fantastically busy week of work, I'M BACK! More on that later. Today I introduce my recurring blog post focused on time, my obsession with the past and my insatiable appetite for research!
Every single day I learn a new fact about Charleston's colorful past. HIDDEN HISTORY is dedicated to the not-so-popular Charleston stories you may not hear on a guided tour down Market Street. Here we go!
HOW TWENTY-FOUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS CHANGED CIVIL RIGHTS IN CHARLESTON
On April 1, 1960, twenty-four students from Burke High School donned their Sunday best, took a seat at an all-white lunch counter and prayed they would not end up in jail, beaten or worse.
THIS IS INCREDIBLE! These kids were in high school! Normally those that participated in sit-ins were college students but the College of Charleston & The Citadel were still segregated.
The S.H. Kress & Co. building (now an H&M) was once a department store. The students chose this particular Friday to pose a sit-in because it was a teacher workday. They did not want to miss school and be accused of being delinquents!
No violence occurred but the store owner did remove chairs from the restaurant as not to encourage other to join the protest. After 6 hours, they were charged with trespassing.
By the summer of 1963, blacks were boycotting stores and restaurants up & down King Street! Because of the Burke High School students, the revolution had begun in Charleston!
(All photos provided by the Post & Courier.)
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