{"id":1303,"date":"2009-02-12T13:58:47","date_gmt":"2009-02-12T18:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/?p=1303"},"modified":"2009-02-21T21:31:40","modified_gmt":"2009-02-22T02:31:40","slug":"network-moves-into-historic-simkins-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/2009\/02\/12\/network-moves-into-historic-simkins-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Network moves into historic Simkins House"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The SC Progressive Network<\/a> has set up shop in the Modjeska Simkins House<\/a> in downtown Columbia. We have been using the space for our monthly Midlands meetings over the past year, thanks to Historic Columbia Foundation<\/a>, which has managed the property since 2007. In February we signed a lease to rent the house, and are now holding regular office hours there.<\/p>\n

When Foundation Director Robin Waites handed over the keys, she said, \u201cModjeska must be smiling right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Simkins<\/a> was the matriarch of the state’s civil rights movement. Her work spanned six decades, until her death in 1992. The home where she lived for 60 years sits on a lot at 2025 Marion Street just off Elmwood. It served as office and meeting place, and housed visiting civil rights advocates, including Thurgood Marshall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe place has a really good vibe,\u201d said Midlands Co-ordinator John Dawkins. \u201cI\u2019m excited to be moving into a space with so much history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Network Director Brett Bursey said, \u201cWe haven\u2019t given up on owning our own building, but this is a gracious offer that is a good fit for us right now. Having offices right downtown will allow us to work with interns and volunteers, and will keep us more engaged with what\u2019s happening in the city and in the State House.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Simkins House is fully accessible, has two offices, a kitchen, a sun room, a proper front porch and two meeting rooms \u2014 which we invite our member groups to use.<\/p>\n

One of the first groups to express interest in holding meetings at the Network\u2019s new headquarters is the Greater Columbia Central Labor Council. It has been meeting at the office of the state AFL-CIO, which is in the process of moving outside of Columbia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing is perfect for us,\u201d said SC AFL-CIO President Donna Dewitt, who serves as Network Co-chair. \u201cWe\u2019ll have a place to hold meetings as well as access to office space when we are in Columbia to lobby or attend hearings,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to be a vibrant place for our Network members to congregate and collaborate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bursey said, \u201cI worked closely with Ms. Simkins for 25 years, and was proud that she called me one of her children. It seems a wonderful opportunity to keep Modjeska\u2019s spirit alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you are interested in using the House to hold your group\u2019s meetings, call us at 803-808-3384 or email network@scpronet.com.<\/p>\n

For more photos of the Simkins House, taken on Moving Day and at our first meeting in our new headquarters, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Modjeska Simkins<\/em><\/p>\n

***************<\/p>\n

Join us for a house warming party\u00a0March 7, 5:30-7pm
\nModjeska Simkins House,\u00a02025 Marion St., Columbia
\nFREE and open to all.\u00a0Come help us celebrate!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The SC Progressive Network has set up shop in the Modjeska Simkins House in downtown Columbia. We have been using the space for our monthly Midlands meetings over the past year, thanks to Historic Columbia Foundation, which has managed the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-network-newsevents"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1303"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1351,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1303\/revisions\/1351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}