Students from across South Carolina gathered at GROW in Columbia on Saturday, June 27, to celebrate their graduation from the spring session of the Modjeska Simkins School.

They’d been meeting every Monday evening since Feb. 28 online and in-person in Columbia and at five satellite sites. Many of the students had not seen each other face-to-face since the orientation session months earlier. They were excited to reconnect and talk about what the semester meant to them.

It was a happy occasion. You can watch the full program HERE.

See more commencement photos in our album.

We were honored to have as our keynote speaker USC history professor Dr. Bobby Donaldson, who has been a good friend and supporter of the Modjeska Simkins School from its beginning. His remarks are posted HERE.

It was a powerful semester, thanks to engaged students, talented guest presenters, and the leadership of Network Director Brett Bursey and lead instructor Dr. Robert Greene II.

We salute the new members of a unique club that started in 2015, with the first graduating class of the Modjeska School. The course is challenging because of the time commitment it requires, the amount of material covered, and the difficulty of the subject matter. To graduate is no small feat.

These students — of all ages, backgrounds, and life experience — have taken to heart Ms. Simkins’ call to action. As she said, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is no sitting-down time.”

More about the school at modjeskaschool.com. It includes details about Dr. Burnett Gallman‘s upcoming online series on Afrikan history, which will meet on Sunday afternoons July 12 – Aug. 23. The course is free and open to the public.