{"id":6958,"date":"2025-02-05T20:31:46","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T01:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/?p=6958"},"modified":"2025-02-05T21:20:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T02:20:58","slug":"modjeska-simkins-school-partners-with-historic-penn-center-for-spring-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/2025\/02\/05\/modjeska-simkins-school-partners-with-historic-penn-center-for-spring-session\/","title":{"rendered":"Modjeska Simkins School partners with historic Penn Center for spring session"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Modjeska Simkins School for Human Rights<\/a> has opened enrollment for its spring session, marking the school’s 10th year of teaching civics, organizing strategies, and a people\u2019s history of South Carolina to students of all ages and backgrounds. In this age of book bans and challenges to historical narratives, its role is more critical than ever.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2025 session runs March 3 \u2013 June 23, with classes meeting Monday evenings online and in-person at GROW<\/a> in Columbia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, the school is partnering with Penn Center<\/a> in St. Helena, which will be operating a satellite classroom from its campus for students in the area to attend the session live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is an honor to partner with such an historic institution,” said Brett Bursey<\/strong>, executive director of the SC Progressive Network<\/a>, the nonprofit that launched the school in 2015. “We hope this will become a model for collaborating with allied groups across South Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a full-circle moment for the Network, which held its first organizing meeting at Penn Center in 1996 and has returned there over the years<\/a> for its statewide conferences. The campus has a unique and storied history, beginning in 1862 as a school for freed people and later serving as an organizing hub during the modern civil rights movement, where luminaries such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.<\/strong> met to map strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Penn Center\u2019s partnership with the Modjeska Simkins School continues Penn\u2019s enduring legacy of providing educational and self-empowerment opportunities for the Carolina Lowcountry,\u201d said Dr. Robert L. Adams<\/strong>, the Center\u2019s executive director. \u201cInformed citizens, who are the cornerstone of American democracy, are nurtured by the rich intellectual experience and critical thinking skills offered by the Modjeska Simkins School. We are proud to extend the reach of such an important program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Penn Center with SCLC staff in 1966 <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bursey said, \u201cWe welcome anyone interested in understanding and better navigating our state\u2019s social and political landscape. Whether you are a lover of history, an activist seeking ways to be more effective in your work, a retired person wanting to get involved in your community, or a transplant who wants to know the peculiar history of South Carolina, this course will benefit you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Robert Greene II<\/strong>, a professor of history at Claflin University who has served as the Modjeska School\u2019s lead instructor since 2019, said, \u201cThe school remains a bulwark for truth against disinformation. At the Modjeska School, we believe in not only learning history for the sake of knowing our past, but learning how to think critically and how to think democratically. Contrary to popular belief, there is a tradition of human rights\u2014exemplified by Modjeska Simkins herself\u2014in South Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Robert Greene II speaks at a Jan. 25 celebration of the school’s 10th anniversary<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The curriculum, reflecting the Network\u2019s state-based strategy, focuses on South Carolina, which continues to play an over-sized role in our nation\u2019s politics. The course material is ever-evolving to include the latest research and historical analyses. There is nothing like it, not just in South Carolina but nationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a service to the larger community, the school also offers Deep Dive<\/a> programs on Sunday afternoons during the session that are free and open to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The course includes 16 evening classes, Sunday afternoon Deep Dives, and in-depth study guides. Tuition is based on a sliding scale, and limited full scholarships are available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Classes meet Monday evenings on Zoom and in-person at GROW<\/a>, 1340 Elmwood Ave. in Columbia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For details about the school, the 2025 class schedule, or to apply, click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are comments from some of last year\u2019s students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Josh Dunn<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Nilanka Seneviratne<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Tayler Simon<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Modjeska Simkins School for Human Rights has opened enrollment for its spring session, marking the school’s 10th year of teaching civics, organizing strategies, and a people\u2019s history of South Carolina to students of all ages and backgrounds. In this age of book bans and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-network-newsevents"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6958","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=6958"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6959,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6958\/revisions\/6959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scpronet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}