We've come a long way and still have a ways to go. This marker points out one of the milestones of that journey. It stands across the street from the South Carolina State House (you can see it in the background of one of the photos) and reminds us of one of the turning points in the Civil Rights struggle and the power of the Bill of Rights.
The front of the marker reads, "On March 2, 1961, over 200 African American college and high school students marched 6 blocks from Zion Baptist Church to the S.C. State House in an NAACP-organized protest of racial segregation. Led by Benedict College theology student David Carter, protesters walked the capitol grounds, carried signs, and, when ordered to disperse, sang patriotic and religious songs. Despite the orderly nature of the protest. 190 people were arrested for disturbing the peace."
The reverse reads, "Defended by NAACP lawyers. including local attorneys Matthew Perry and Lincoln C. Jenkins Jr. 187 students appealed their convictions to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1963, the Court ruled 8-1 that the arrests violated the 1st and 14th Amendments. The decision, styled Edwards v. South Carolina after lead plaintiff James Edwards Jr. was a landmark ruling cited to defend activists across the U.S. declaring states may not "make criminal the peaceful expression of unpopular views.""
This is marker number 40-214 and it was erected by "Columbia S.C. 63."
[Review 2193 of 2024 - 1166 in South Carolina - 23211 overall] read more