South Carolina African American Heritage Foundation Presents Photographer Cecil Williams
The South Carolina African Heritage Foundation will present Cecil Williams, author, artist, photographer, inventor, former JET magazine photographer, for a two-day residency and public event January 9-10, 2017. Williams will present a one-day residency at Lamar High School on January 9 and Mayo High School on January 10.
There will be a public presentation at Black Creek Arts Council on Monday, January 9 at 6:00 pm. There will be a reception from 6:00-6:45 pm with presentation at 7:00 pm. The public event is free and open to the public.
Williams, a native of Orangeburg, South Carolina, continues his work today as an active photographer and he is also director of historic preservation at Claflin University. From the desegregation of Clemson University to the Orangeburg Massacre, Williams’ historical collection contains an estimated one-half million images of African-American culture, heritage and social activism. In addition to Williams’ historical collection, which is one of the largest in the world, Williams is an inventor, author, publisher and architect of six residences. Williams will display film images he recently digitized with his invention, the Film Toaster which digitizes images fifty times faster than other conventional technologies.
Some of his images include Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, President John F. Kennedy, former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt, civil rights activists Septima Clark and Modjeska Simkins, and Harry Briggs Jr., a Clarendon County man who as a boy was at the center of a lawsuit that culminated with the U.S. Supreme Court outlawing segregated public schools.
This event is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC). The SCAC is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission is working to increase public participation in the arts by providing services, grants and leadership initiatives in three areas: arts education, community arts development and artist development. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina and by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com or call (803) 734-8696.
The cultural and artistic components of this program are funded in part by the Black Creek Arts Council of Darlington County, which receives funds from the South Carolina Arts Commission, the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of the Coastal Community Foundation of SC, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The South Carolina African American Heritage Foundation supports the efforts of the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission identify and preserve historic sites, culture and lifeways of African Americans in South Carolina. For more information contact executive director Jannie Harriot at 843-332-3589 or scaaheritagefound@gmail.com
