The overwhelmingly male state legislature finally passed the “fetal heartbeat” bill after years of chipping away at women’s access to health care in South Carolina. The legislation, which effectively bans abortion in the Palmetto State, will face a legal challenge, costing the state money it cannot afford.
It speaks volumes about the legislature’s priorities that this is what lawmakers are jamming through in the middle of a pandemic and the challenges it poses for education, health care, and the economy.
Perhaps not since the Civil War has the country faced such a perilous future. To survive, we must cultivate a more informed and engaged citizenry. It is that very mission at the heart of the Modjeska Simkins School for Human Rights, launched in 2015 to teach a people’s history of South Carolina and skills to be an effective citizen or grassroots organizer in the Palmetto State.
The school is now accepting applications for the spring session, which begins with orientation on March 7 and ends with graduation on July 3. Classes will meet on alternate Mondays 6:30pm-8:30pm on Zoom.
“What makes the Modjeska Simkins School unique is that it reminds us that history is not something simply found in books, but is part of our everyday existence,” said the school’s faculty coordinator, Dr. Robert Greene II. “Knowing that history helps us to make informed choices about how to change the world around us — for the better.”
Greene, who teaches history at Claflin University in Orangeburg, said understanding our history and basic civics “is the best defense against all the terrible and hurtful ideologies of modern society — whether racism, sexism, nationalism, or homophobia. The Modjeska Simkins School continues the longer tradition from freedom movements around the world of building up citizens who then, in turn, build up their societies for all.”
The school, named for human rights activist Modjeska Monteith Simkins, is a project of the SC Progressive Network, which for a decade had offices in her home until it was turned into an historic site a few years ago. The Network is now housed next door, where the school will meet once the pandemic is over.
Orientation session, March 2020
Network Director Brett Bursey, who was mentored by Simkins for nearly two decades, said the school is the most rewarding project in the Network’s 25 years of grassroots organizing. “It has far exceeded our expectations. We have the input and involvement of extremely gifted teachers and activists. The students have taken it seriously, and have gone on to do important work on boards, commissions, in classrooms, and in community organizations across the state.”
Greene is a blogger and Book Review Editor with Society of U.S. Intellectual Historians and Lead Associate Editor, Black Perspectives, African American Intellectual History Society. He will be joined by an impressive line-up of guest speakers that include writers, historians, and seasoned political activists.
South Carolina has long had an over-sized influence on the national stage, in terms of individual players as well as historical significance. The reasons can be traced back to the state’s beginning, the only state built on a slave economy and maintained through the centuries by its exploitation of the working class, and its unrelenting resistance to progressive change. Connecting those dots — and understanding what they mean — forms the core of the school’s curriculum.
Classes cover political and social theory, as well as strategies, tactics, and practical tools for making progressive change. Upon graduation, students are asked to put what they’ve learned to work by getting involved in one of the Network’s ongoing projects or create one of their own.
Enrollment is open for this year’s spring session, which runs March 7 – July 3. Classes will be held on alternate Monday evenings 6:30-8:30 on Zoom. Visit the web site for more about the school, class schedule, or to apply. Some scholarships are available.
The school gratefully accepts donations for scholarships and stipends for our guest speakers. You may donate securely online, by calling 803-808-3384, or by sending a check to POB 8325, Columbia SC 29202.
Robert Greene (left) and Brett Bursey lead last year’s class orientation. Half the students came in person that day in March, just as the pandemic was hitting South Carolina. The rest joined online. It was the only time the class met face-to-face. We are better prepared for distance learning this session, and know the format even has its advantages.
Jim Campbell speaks at Network conference at Penn Center
Our dear friend, teacher, colleague, and mentor Jim Campbell died on Jan. 30 at age 95. His involvement in the SC Progressive Network goes back more two decades, and we are all richer for it.
He was generous with his time and talent, always eager to share his vast knowledge of history and the radical political analysis that informed his life’s work.
We are planning a tribute in conjunction with the upcoming session of the Modjeska Simkins School, which begins in March. Meanwhile, here are a few links worth watching and reading.
WATCH: UofSC history professor Dr. Bobby Donaldson interviews James Campbell in 2017 at Avery Research Center in Charleston.
A nonpartisan hotline is now live for voters in South Carolina who have voting-related questions or want to report problems they experience or witness at the polls.
The Election Protection Coalition, in alliance with in-state nonpartisan organizations, is working to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to vote in South Carolina. In addition to the 1-866-OUR-VOTE hotline, trained nonpartisan volunteers will be on the ground across the state to provide voters assistance at the polls on Election Day.
“This will be the 12th year that this free, nonpartisan service has helped South Carolina voters with problems at the polls,” said SC Progressive Network Education Fund Director Brett Bursey. “Beyond providing help to voters, reports to the hotline provide the only nonpartisan, real-time, statewide audit of the state’s election system that helps identify problems to address before the next election.”
By calling the hotline, voters can confirm their registration status, find their polling location, and get answers to questions about proper identification at the polls.
Voters who have been required to vote a provisional ballot should call the hotline for advice prior to the certification hearing on their provisional ballot that take place in each county’s election office on Nov. 6.
“Voters must be aware that the state’s photo ID requirements will be enforced for voting in person at all locations” said Susan Dunn, attorney for the ACLU of South Carolina. All voters are required to show a valid ID that includes: driver’s license, DMV-issued ID card, passport, concealed weapons permit, federal military ID, or their photo-voter registration card with them to the polls on Election Day.
Dunn said, “We recommend to voters without one of the accepted IDs to trade their paper voter registration card in at their county elections office for one with a photo on it.”
Susan Dunn answers questions during Oct. 3 election protection session.
Join SC ACLU attorney Susan Dunn and SC Progressive Network Director Brett Bursey for a training on Zoom to help protect voters in the upcoming election. Trainings will be held on Oct. 10, 15, 19, and 24.
Volunteers will monitor polling locations, direct voters with questions to the national Election Protection hotline, and report concerns to local election monitoring headquarters. Due to COVID-19, volunteers will not be asked to go inside any polling place. We will provide masks for all volunteers to wear.
We will work polling locations across the state, with an emphasis on Beaufort, Charleston, Greenville, Horry and Richland counties.
All volunteers are required to attend a 1.5 hour training. We ask that volunteers serve at least four hours on Election Day. No experience needed.
