Bill "Cubby" Wilder was born in Charleston in 1940 and perhaps more than anyone else, has championed the revitalization of Mosquito Beach and has safeguarded its history. As a child, people called the area "The Factory" for the old oyster factory that was located there. His father, mother and aunt all worked at the factory. Mr. Wilder also recounts how Joe "Kingpin" Chavis had a store where he would sell seafood and other items to beach visitors. Wilder also explains some of the connections between various families like the Lafayette's and Wilders and talks of how his uncle Apple Wilder built the Harborview Pavilion in 1953 and how other clubs and businesses followed suit. Hurricane Gracie in 1959 did a great deal of damage and destroyed the first pavilion. Mr. Wilder talks about the popularity of Mosquito Beach in context with other poplar Black entertainment spots and how people were drawn here from a large geographic area. He talks about the long journey to Atlantic Beach. He describes the dating scene as the "bird and the bees" and relates his memories of moonshine and bootlegging in the area. Wilder talks too about how Mosquito Beach was a safe haven during segregation and recounts that the Pine Tree hotel was open from 1962 to 1989 when it was wrecked by Hurricane Hugo. He also discusses the recent past and the future for Mosquito Beach.
Richard Brown is native to Sol Legare and was born "just off of Mosquito Beach" in 1953. Mr. Brown's family farmed and they sold their produce in the Market in downtown Charleston. He took a three minute walk from his house to Mosquito Beach on the weekends with friends. He described the different experiences for children, teens and adults- saying that elders told kids to "stay with your equals." He recounts starting work in the oyster business with Irving Singleton when he was aged six or seven. He collected and shucked around 16-18 bushels of oyster a day from Kings Flats. He details the harvesting process and how the Sol Legare area historically had an abundance of seafood and fresh produce. He talks too about the hard work and self-sufficiency of the residents and their strict parenting techniques. He also relates stories about Joe Chavis and his wife Middie.
"Bill" Saunders was born in New York City in 1935 but was raised on John's Island by his mother's family. He talks about the inter-connectedness and self-sufficiency of the Sea Islands, particularly John Island, James Inland and Wadmalaw Island. He talks about the importance of Mosquito Beach to the African American community. He recognizes the work of Bill "Cubby" Wilder and Laura and Andrew "Apple" Wilder in particular for the successes of Mosquito Beach. He says of Mosquito Beach, "...that's the place I was free." He reminisces about his lifetime of work in the struggle for human rights, including the Charleston Hospital Strike, and earlier violent racist episodes on Johns Island. Finally, Mr. Saunders recounts some experiences from his days with WPAL radio and he talks a bit about the music scene at Mosquito Beach.
Russell Roper was born in 1943 in Charleston, SC. and in this interview he describes his memories of Mosquito Beach beginning in the 1950s. He relates that he and friends would enjoy the water, dance in the pavilion, swim, etc. There were boat races on Sundays and various clubs to visit like Uncle Jimmy's Club and Jack Walkers Club. Mr. Roper shares his memories of the segregation at Folly Beach and recounts an experience of being part of a group of young black men who went to Folly Beach one afternoon to cool off by the ocean until they were confronted by an angry group of white men. Andrew "Apple" Wilder was his uncle and Russell talks about his hotel, the Pine Tree Hotel where Russell worked on occasion. Mr. Roper also worked doing parking, operating bumper cars and operating a photo booth on Mosquito Beach. He tells of entertainers Bob Nichols, Honest John, John Ford and Shake-A-Plenty.
Cassandra Roper was born on Sol Legare in 1945, the daughter of Laura Wilder and step-daughter of Apple Wilder. In this interview, Ms. Roper recounts how, as a child, she and her cousins came to Mosquito Beach on Sundays after church and chores. She describes the boardwalk, the pavilion and the hotel, all run by her mother and stepfather. Like many people from the area, Ms. Roper went to live in New York City, returning to the realities of Jim Crow segregation at school and other places when she was about 13 years old. Ms. Roper recounts that Folly Beach was off-limits to African Americans except for work. She remembers the large crowds at Mosquito Beach and how it was an oasis from daily realities and how it functioned as a place for music and as a dating scene.
Joseph Kelly (b. 1962) describes his experience growing up in an Irish American family living in New Jersey and Texas. The only background information he knows of regarding his family is that his paternal great-grandfather was from Roscommon, and that he came over to New York City in the late 1890?s. Both of his parents grew up in Irish neighborhoods in the Bronx and were the first generation in the family to go to college. The family moved from New Jersey to Houston in the late seventies, and he notes that there was not a real sense of Irish ethnicity in Houston, as compared to what it was in the Northeast. He also notes that the sense of Irish culture, and celebration of Irishness, is growing in Charleston as a result of the public outreach he has done as Director of the Irish and Irish American Studies program at CofC.
Thomas Horan describes his experience growing up in an Irish American family in Boston. The paternal side of his family comes from County Galway, his paternal grandmother having come to the United States when she was sixteen, before Irish independence. His maternal grandmother married a man of Scotch-Irish descent. He was raised in the Catholic Church, as a result of what he refers to as an insistence on ?middle-class respectability,? and his family was close with some of the priests from the area, however, he is no longer an active participant in the Church. Though living in an area with a lot of Irish meant that the family didn?t experience any particularly significant discrimination, there was a sense of wanting to assimilate and move up into the middle class. He moved to the South in 1999, first to attend graduate school at Chapel Hill, and then to Charleston. He states that, in terms of anti-Irish or anti-Catholic sentiment in the South, there seems to be more continuity in population here than in northern cities, which perhaps makes things harder for new ethnic populations to integrate.
Anne Owens speaks about her experience growing up Irish American, having Irish ancestors on both sides of her family. She spent her childhood in California but moved to Charleston after her mother remarried. Her maternal grandmother?s family came from Anglo-Irish roots in County Offlay in the 1860?s, entering the U.S. in Boston and making their way to Michigan. Her paternal grandmother?s family was from County Fermanagh and came to the U.S. in the early 1800?s, through Georgetown, South Carolina, and eventually settled in Cheraw. It is through this side of the family that Anne is related to Patrick Lynch, who became Bishop of Charleston in 1855. Her great-great grandfather, James Thomas Lynch, married a woman from the Pinckney family, so Anne has deep family roots here in Charleston, as well as in Colleton County, where her great-great grandparents owned the Ashepoo Plantation. However, Anne also has a familial connection with her stepfather?s family, who are native Charlestonians, as her research has led her to discover that her biological father and her stepfather are in fact cousins, due to their shared Charleston roots. She feels a deep connection with the Shannon River area in Ireland, where her maternal ancestors had lived for centuries as landed gentry. Though she sees ethnic identity becoming less prominent as the years go on, she likes ?seeing America as an amalgamation of many, many people.?
William McCann speaks about his experience growing up as part of an Irish American and Italian American family in New York. While his great-great grandparents came to the United States from Longford and Wicklow in the 1850?s and took up blue-collar jobs, the family has little knowledge of family stories or memories from that time, as William?s paternal grandfather passed away when his father was in his teens. Because he had more contact with older relatives from his maternal, Italian, side during childhood, the majority of William?s experience of Irishness has been through relationships with his friends in New York, some who have parents that are native Irish. He feels that Irish identity is less prominent in the South, that there is less of a culture built around Irishness.
Michaela Henderson talks about her experience growing up in an Irish American family in Connecticut. Her great-grandmother came over from Valentia Island in the late 1800?s/early 1900?s and the family settled in the New Haven area. Her family relocated to Charleston her freshman year of high school and has lived in the area since then. While her family was very involved in an Irish organization in Connecticut, she feels that there is less of a centralized Irish American presence in Charleston, and that claiming a Southern identity seems more important here than claiming a specific ethnic background, such as Irish. However, she is hopeful that the situation seems to be changing, with more emphasis on ways to celebrate Irish heritage here in Charleston.
James Bouknight, MD, PhD (pronouns: He/His), white psychiatrist, speaks of growing up, family life, education and his personal and professional life. Born into a "close and loving family" in rural South Carolina, he grew up on a farm worked by others, his parents being teachers, and his maternal grandparents being a very supportive presence. He always knew he "wasn't like other kids", wasn't athletic, but excelled in school, attending Bishopville High School, as it was being integrated, calling off the junior senior. Aware of a flamboyant gay youth at school, and a gay man who was available for sex in Bishopville, Bouknight did not identify with them and was glad to start dating women when he attended Wofford, the fourth generation of his family to do so. Attending graduate school at Duke University was not a positive experience so Bouknight switched to the University of South Carolina where he had his first relationship with a man and earned his PhD in economics. He considers that relationship a "bad influence" since the man was closeted and engaged to be married. Bouknight then taught at Converse College, in an era when dating between professors and students was encouraged; he married the president of the student body, and their married life began well. He moved into the private sector and eventually became Chair of the Department of Business and Economics at Columbia College and his wife began law school. With time on his hands, Bouknight, keeping fit, began attending the YMCA in Columbia, SC, discovering it had an active gay scene, and his wife, learning of an affair he had with a man, demanded a divorce. It was a difficult time, leading to depression and financial straits. Finding a niche with happy, well-adjusted gay men in Columbia was a positive experience, and Bouknight began a relationship with Bob Stutts, another professor at Columbia College. At age thirty-five, he decided to enter medical school, realizing that the poor medical care his mother had received had led to her death. He attended the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, was out, and was friends with many other gay medical students. He did his residency in psychiatry at the Department of Mental Health in Columbia, SC, founding and running an AIDS support group; he eventually worked for a hospital and had a private practice, including many LGBTQ patients. When his relationship with Bob Stutts ended, he met Ramsey Still, whom he married in Maryland in 2013. He became board certified in geriatric psychiatry, one of the first in the state, and now, semi-retired, lives with his husband in Charleston, SC. At the end of the interview, Bouknight speaks of the illness and eventual death of his medical school friend, Olin Jolley, MD, of AIDS, and how those who are ill and dying are often put in the unfair position of taking care of those who visit them.
Terri Wolff Kaufman, in the first of two back-to-back interviews, describes her family tree with a focus on her paternal grandparents. Henry Wolff, a Polish-German immigrant, opened the Henry Wolff Department Store in Allendale, South Carolina, in 1901. He married Rachel "Ray" Pearlstine, daughter of Rebecca Tobish and Louis Pearlstine, of Branchville, South Carolina, and they raised their children, Cecile, Sura, and the interviewee's father, Louis Michael Wolff in Allendale. When Henry, who was much older than Rachel, died in 1914, Rachel took over the business and adopted the name "Ray" after their regular vendors declared, "We don't do business with women." Sura's husband, Sam Wengrow, assumed control of the store upon Ray's death in 1936. Terri, born in 1955 in Columbia, South Carolina, shares her memories of visiting the store as a young child and refers, during the interview, to photographs taken when her grandfather was the proprietor. Louis Wolff married Elsie Benenson in 1952. Elsie, the interviewee's mother, hailed from Atmore, Alabama, near Mobile. Terri discusses her father's education and career as an architect. He received his undergraduate degree from Clemson College in 1931 and his architectural degree from the University of Pennsylvania two years later. Considered a modernist, Louis became a principal in the firm Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle & Wolff in 1946. An example of his work is the former Tree of Life Synagogue at 2701 Heyward Street in Columbia, South Carolina, completed in 1952. Terri briefly mentions other buildings in Columbia that the firm designed and her father's various jobs early in his career, including his stint in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Europe during World War II. See Mss. 1035-565 for Terri's second interview and Mss. 1035-212 for an interview with Terri's aunt Sura Wolff Wengrow. For a related collection, see the Wolff family papers, Mss. 1045.
Terri Wolff Kaufman, in this second of two interviews, talks about growing up in Columbia, South Carolina, where she was born in 1955 to Elsie Benenson and Louis Wolff. Louis, an architect, designed the large modern house in which Terri and her younger siblings, Frances, Michael, and Bruce, were raised. Terri notes instances of antisemitism that she experienced as a child and tells the story of how her father and his business partners at Lyles, Bissett, Carlisle & Wolff handled discriminatory treatment directed at Louis by the Summit Club in Columbia. Louis's awareness of prejudice against Jews and African Americans in Columbia was evident when he discouraged Terri from meeting a black friend out in public, knowing that the association would make life more difficult for Terri and the family. The interviewee shares stories about her siblings, describes her parents' social life and civic activities, and recalls the African Americans who worked for her family in their home. The Wolffs belonged to Columbia's Reform congregation, Tree of Life, and observed the Sabbath by lighting candles on Friday nights before going to services. While they did not keep kosher, Louis insisted that a couple of food restrictions be followed. Terri was studying to be an actor in New York when her father died suddenly. She ended up earning a graduate degree in media arts and working in the television industry in Los Angeles. Terri and her ex-husband, Jack Kaufman, raised their son, Alex, in the Jewish tradition in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The interviewee finds it more "comfortable" living as a Jew in large northern cities as compared with the South, where Judaism is not as familiar or well understood. However, she thinks Jews who live in places with smaller Jewish populations are more likely to get involved in Jewish organizations as a way to connect with other Jews, as she has since her recent move to the Charleston area. Terri is married to a non-Jewish man, Vernon Dunning, and they are members of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim in Charleston, South Carolina. See Mss. 1035-564 for Terri's first interview and Mss. 1035-212 for an interview with Terri's aunt Sura Wolff Wengrow. For a related collection, see the Wolff family papers, Mss. 1045.
Leah Feinberg Chase was born in 1938 in West Point, Georgia, the eldest of three girls of Norma Beryl Goldstein and Morris Feinberg. In this interview, she talks about growing up in the small Georgia town bordering Alabama, roughly eighty miles southwest of Atlanta, then home to West Point Manufacturing Company. Her father opened a shoe repair business in West Point, later switching to ladies' and children's ready-to-wear clothing. Leah was the only Jewish student when she was attending the public schools in town. She says she "never experienced outright antisemitism in West Point," and she had many friends. "We were very cliquish." Yet, she notes "I always felt I was different," pointing out that she spent her weekends doing very different activities than her Christian friends. She and her sisters, Helen and Ina, attended Sunday school in Columbus, Georgia, where her paternal grandparents, Jake and Ida Feinberg, lived. Other weekends she traveled to youth group functions, such as Young Judaea conventions. Leah married Philip Chase of Charleston, South Carolina, in 1957. For a year before their marriage, she studied journalism at the University of Georgia, while Philip finished his last year in college at The Citadel. They raised four children?Stephen, David, Benjamin, and Freda?in Charleston. Leah describes her career in journalism at Channel 5, WCSC-TV; Custom Video; and Charleston Jewish Federation, where she edited the Federation's newspaper, Charleston Jewish Journal, which won national awards at the General Assembly of Council of Jewish Federations. The Journal also attracted unwanted attention during her tenure at the paper. She received death threats, including a bomb threat to Chase Furniture, the family business, prompting police protection. Leah gives an overview of the local civic organizations, Jewish and non-Jewish, that she has belonged to and served over the past decades, in particular the Foreign Affairs Forum. She makes note of her advocacy for and regular visits to Israel. Thirty years prior to the interview, Leah made a career change and became a travel agent. Other topics discussed include how observant Leah is of Jewish traditions compared with her parents, and an antisemitic incident that occurred when she applied for a job at the Evening Post/News and Courier in the late 1950s/early '60s. The transcript contains corrections made by the interviewee during proofing.
Alan Banov, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, tells the story of his great-grandfather Alexander Banov (Banovich), who was born in a Polish town called Kopcheve, modern-day Kapciamiestis, Lithuania, and lived in Nemnovo in what is today Belarus. Alexander, who immigrated to the United States in 1889, came to Charleston, where his brother Isaac Wolfe Banov had settled. Daughter Rebecca followed her father first, then came son Cassell, and finally, Alexander's wife, Sonia Danilovich, and their remaining children, Rachel, David, and Leizer, in 1895. Relying on information from his great-uncle David Banov's oral history, Alan recounts living conditions in Nemnovo, and the trip from Russia to Charleston, in particular, a segment of David and Leizer's journey. Because Russian border guards were likely to prevent young males from leaving the empire, the brothers, just twelve and seven years old, separated from Sonia and Rachel, and a hired smuggler led them into Germany where they were reunited with their mother and sister. Alan talks about Alexander's stores in Charleston, Georgetown, and Red Top, South Carolina. The interviewee's grandfather, Leizer, who assumed the name Leon, was in the first confirmation class at Brith Sholom, the Orthodox synagogue in Charleston. Leon became a pharmacist and opened apothecary shops at 442 and 492 King Street before earning his degree in medicine at the Medical College of South Carolina. Dr. Leon Banov, Sr., went to work for the city and county health departments and, after becoming director, oversaw the merger of the two entities. Alan discusses some of his grandfather's accomplishments as a public health director. Leon married Minnie Monash, whose father, Morris, owned Uncle Morris's Pawnshop in Charleston. Alan's father, Leon Banov, Jr., the eldest of three, became a doctor like his father and married Rita Landesman from Morris Plains, New Jersey. They raised Alan and his younger sister, Jane Banov Bergen, in Charleston. Alan describes his experiences at Charleston Day School and Gaud School for Boys. In 1967, after attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he began law school at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. To get a draft deferment during the Vietnam War, he took education courses and signed up to teach school. He was assigned to Abram Simon Elementary School in D.C., where he taught sixth grade for three years while earning his law degree. Alan recalls his early career as a lawyer working first for the National Labor Relations Board, and then the law firm Donald M. Murtha & Associates. He originally intended to work in labor law, but switched to employment law. He explains why that trajectory changed and talks about his work as an employment lawyer and, more recently, a mediator. Alan married Marla Needel in 1969. They raised two daughters, Jessica and Rachel, before divorcing in 2001. His partner, Sandi Blau Cave, whom he met in 2002, was present during the interview. The transcript includes comments and corrections made by the interviewee during proofing. For related materials in Special Collections, Addlestone Library, see the Banov family papers, Mss 1025; the Edna Ginsberg Banov papers, Mss 1039; and interviews with Leon Banov, Jr., Mss. 1035-240; Abel Banov, Mss. 1035-060; and Edna Ginsberg Banov, Mss. 1035-045.
Thalia Orozco (b.1994) was born in Charleston, South Carolina. Her parents are from Michoacán, Mexico, and they came to the USA as agricultural migrant workers. In the nineties, they settled down in Wadmalaw Island, SC. Orozco attended Rural Mission, Frierson Elementary, Angel Oak Elementary, and graduated from high school at Charleston Collegiate. In the interview, she remembers her childhood and teen years and explains the challenges of growing up in the Sea Islands as a first-generation American- born citizen. She reflects on race relationships, belonging and exclusion, representation, and the barriers to political engagement. Thalia Orozco (b.1994) nació en Charleston, SC. Sus padres, originarios del estado de Michoacán, México, llegaron a los Estados Unidos como trabajadores agrícolas migrantes. En los años noventa se establecieron en Wadmalaw Island, SC. Orozco aprendió sus primeras letras con el programa Head Start en Rural Mission. Luego fue estudiante de las escuelas Frierson Elementary y Angel Oak Elementary y completo sus estudios en la escuela media y preparatoria en Charleston Collegiate. En la entrevista recuerda su infancia y adolescencia y explica los desafíos de crecer en el Lowcountry como ciudadana de primera generación nacida en Estados Unidos. Reflexiona acerca de las tensiones raciales y las cuestiones de pertenencia y exclusión que ha experimentado como así también acerca de las barreras y desafíos para la representación y participación política.
Blanche McCrary Boyd (pronouns: she/her/hers) describes the events that lead to her becoming an acclaimed novelist and professor at Connecticut College. Born in Charleston, SC in 1945 to working class parents, she lost her father at age 15, one of the crucial events of her life. Living with family on a 400-acre plantation near Rantowles, SC, she became “radicalized” by events seen on television, realizing, unlike other members of her family, that she lived in a racist society, finding a “sense of horror” and a “sense of beauty” in the South. She attended Duke University and met Dean Boyd, the man she married, while attending Harvard University summer school. Boyd credits her husband for helping her mature and encouraging her writing once she decided upon that as a goal. Moving to California, Boyd began writing seriously at Pomona College, and won a Wallace Stegner Fellowship in creative writing at Stanford University. Her marriage unraveled, as she discovered feminism, and her attraction to women, bringing her to a “different reality.” She had starting drinking alcohol soon after her father’s death and she spent over a decade abusing it and drugs as she moved to New York and became a “radical lesbian.” She helped set type for the classic novel Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown, and founded Sagaris, an “institute for feminist thought,” associating with leading feminists, including accused bomber Patricia Swinton. She published essays, mostly about the South, in The Village Voice, learned how to “seize” her authority, and published books on popular musicians under the name Vivian Claire. She returned to Charleston, continuing writing and publishing novels, becoming sober in 1981. She discusses how a teenage car wreck involving a Black man’s death became the “fulcrum of my understanding of life” and how it serves as a metaphor for America as she wonders “what white people who are anti-racist are going to do about white supremacy.” She and her wife Leslie are the mothers of twins, James and Julia, and Boyd reflects on parenting, Leslie’s life-threatening illnesses, and how her novel Tomb of the Unknown Racist has capped her fiction writing career. As retirement from Connecticut College looms, she assesses her accomplishments, notes satisfactions, and the many surprising turns her life took.
Michael Lott (pronouns: He/Him/His). In the first of two oral history interviews, Michael Lott discusses his early years, his family, coming out, training and practice as a psychiatrist, his personal and professional life in New York City in the era of AIDS, and his health and retirement. Born in Norfolk, VA, he grew up in the Charleston, SC area on James Island, closely connected to his mother and grandfather, but alienated from his father, whom he was told was his stepfather until he was eight. Deeply religious, he would try “to pray the gay away” after various youthful sexual encounters, even as he mentions religious figures who were gay. He began college at Furman and finished at the College of Charleston, experiencing and describing closeted gay life on campus, in bars, like the Garden and Gun Club, and the city. Engaged briefly, he broke that off and was condemned for his sexual orientation by his Campus Crusade for Christ friends. His own near-death and the death of his brother prompted him to begin living an authentic life as he began his studies at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in 1980. He briefly mentions being on a plane hijacked to Cuba along with a gay CIA agent, and speaks more fully of homophobia at MUSC aimed at him and at an early AIDS patient at Charleston County Hospital. Serving on national medical school boards and committees, he engaged in gay and lesbian related causes, continuing his education in San Francisco (under a doctor who was a part of the Dan White murder trial) and did his residency in New York City, as it experienced the crises of AIDS, crack, and homelessness. Moving there in 1985 as “a farm boy from South Carolina” he eventually ran “with the Saint [disco] crowd”, partied with “beautiful people” on Fire Island and eventually became known as “the Tommy Tune of Death” for helping choreograph the exits of many friends lost to AIDS. He taught at New York University before “selling out” to work for drug companies, eventually going on disability due to his own HIV status. A slow progressor, diagnosed in 1989, he did not go on medications until 2016. Lott moved to Asheville, NC in 2019 and was settling in when the COVID-19 pandemic began. He speaks favorably of the city’s liberal attitudes and ends speaking about the sadness of all his losses but his happiness that younger LGBTQ people have not had to endure experiences similar to his.
Douglas Seymour (pronouns: He/Him/His) relates the story of his abusive childhood, growing up and attending school and college in Charleston, SC, his life as an adult, and his work as a peer navigator for people with HIV, often speaking forcefully on the corrosive impact of homophobia. He was beaten by his father for not liking sports and cars, and, although he adored his mother, she told him “being gay was worse than being a child molester and a child murderer.” He always knew he was attracted to men, and if “there hadn’t been the hitch of being told it was wrong...it would have been a natural flow into adulthood.” He graduated First Baptist High School, and due to his father’s demands, attended the Citadel, terrified that he would be picked on for being gay. There, however, he found acceptance among upperclassmen for his knowledge of pop music and found other gay cadets. Having started frequenting the bar Basin Street South as an underage teen, he began going to the King Street Garden and Gun Club, and Seymour recalls his times there and that era of the late 1970s and early 1980s as one of the happiest periods of his life. After college, he worked as a journalist in Summerville, SC, and he describes the cliquish nature of Charleston gay life at the time. His lack of self-esteem, he says, prompted his alcoholism and his settling into personal relationships that were often abusive. He lived in Washington, DC, from 1982 to 1991 and returned to Charleston with a diagnosis of AIDS, told by physicians to prepare to die. After living with his parents, and coming out to them, he moved into his own apartment and received health care from his physician and Lowcountry AIDS Services. Facing health crises, he quit drinking and quit smoking, hired a personal trainer and was in the best shape of his life in his fifties. He began to work for the local Ryan White program as a peer navigator for people newly diagnosed or those long-term survivors like himself. Seymour describes some of the social support programs he set up and notes the quandary of “a whole bunch of us gay men...[with] no career, no retirement...because we weren’t supposed to be here, and now we’re older, we’re isolated...[and] it kind of feels like nobody wants you.” The interview ends with reflections on the lack of a variety of specific spaces for LGBTQ people and how Charleston has changed over the years.
In his second oral history, Michael Lott (pronouns: He/Him/His) adds some information to fill out his first interview. He speaks of an early closeted boyfriend from Goose Creek, SC who killed himself probably due to his homosexuality, tells of his medical training in Charleston, SC where he encountered homophobia, and in New York City where many of his peers and professors were gay. He mentions knowing AIDS activist and author Larry Kramer, noting how Kramer transposed real events into his play The Normal Heart; he also discusses his friendship and admiration for gay activist and scholar Vito Russo. He describes his participation with the Gay Men’s Health Crisis AIDS fund-raising parties at the Pines on Fire Island, recalls professors who helped him at the College of Charleston, speaks of student and fraternity life there, and mentions future College President Glenn McConnell, as well as his experience with friends and patients during the AIDS crisis in New York.
Eric Sullivan (Pronouns: He/Him/His) describes growing up Easton, Maryland, moving to Charleston, SC to attend the College of Charleston, his graduate school training in Los Angeles, CA and his work as an LGBTQ therapist. One of five siblings, Sullivan knew he was different at "a pretty young age," and had a sense that he was gay before fully understanding what that meant. He "never got any messages growing up?about ? what the LGBTQ community was," but did have access to television programs such as Will and Grace and Queer as Folk. Coming out first to a friend, and then to his mother, he came out in "a public declarative statement" as part of a high school group project studying conversion therapy, realizing he could not just remain "a neutral party." He had experienced some negative responses before coming out, but very little afterwards. Sullivan explains his decision to attend the College of Charleston where he had his "first glimpse into gay culture" at a gay straight alliance meeting and at the gay bar Patrick's, and later Pantheon, both of which he describes. He notes with satisfaction how LGBTQ visibility has increased on campus since his years in school and recounts how a chance encounter working as waiter led him to graduate school in Los Angeles in the first LGBTQ counseling program in the country. He worked with homeless LGBTQ youth, adapted to the life there, was licensed and eventually moved back to Charleston, where, after some trepidation, he opened a practice specifically targeting LGBTQ clients. Responding to queries from people throughout the state seeking his services, he developed a successful on-line video practice before the COVID 19 pandemic. The interview concludes with Sullivan discussing the impacts of isolation, religion, and the lack of visibility on South Carolina's LGBTQ community, as well as other mental health issues.
Jack Sewell (pronouns: He/Him) speaks mostly of his life in Charleston, the various businesses in which he was engaged, and gay life, characters, and bars in the city. Born as a twin in Oklahoma, he grew up in Texas, was raised in a conservative Southern Baptist household and joined the Navy, which brought him to Charleston in 1966. While mostly closeted, to stay in the service, Sewell nevertheless visited many gay clubs, despite their being banned by the Shore Patrol, and he mentions the Navy investigating sailors for homosexual activities. In reply to questions, he names and describes many of the bars in town including The Wagon Wheel, The Ocean Bar and Grill, Pat's Lounge, the Stardust Lounge, the Bat Room, and "the Tiltin' Hilton" on Folly Beach, among others, including a gay bar he and his partner tried to open on Market Street, but which failed due to the curfew imposed by martial law during the 1969 Hospital Worker's strike. He also describes homophobia, vice squad raids, pay offs, cruising on the Battery and makes mention of the YMCA and bus station and other bathrooms. Out of the Navy, he first had odd jobs, including working as a debt collector, which led to visiting Dawn Langley Simmons. He and his partner began working as carpenters, building cabinetry for many businesses, bringing them in contact with many Jewish merchants and building owners whom he describes. The couple first opened "head" shops named A Different World, catering to a hippy clientele, in Charleston and Orangeburg and later opened a series of restaurants called The Hungry Lion in a variety of locations in the city, with the main location being near the College of Charleston on George Street. Sewell, who eventually bought out his partner, worked long days, often as the chief cook, as well doing numerous other tasks, eventually commuting from McClellanville, SC to where he retired in 2014. In the course of the interview he mentions? the Davis building, site of the Hungry Lion and the owners, a Jewish family in London, Jules Garvin, Bobby Tucker, Clifton Harris, Jr., whose murder on the Battery in 2006 is still unsolved, Joe Trott and other colorful gay characters. He also explains the coded vocabulary he and his friends used, mentions later bars such as the Garden and Gun Club, Les Jardins, and working at the Arcade Club and the restaurant Spanky's associated with it. He ends speaking of life in McClellanville and the man who means so much to him, Dewey Williams, a partner of 39 years, whom he married at the Lincoln Memorial in 2010.?
Stephen Gilroy talks about his experience growing up in an Irish American family in New York City and New Jersey. His grandparents came from County Leitrim, County Longford, County Cork, and County Waterford from the mid-1800?s to the very early 1900?s. All of his grandparents were in the working-class, as cabinet makers, butchers, dock-workers, and other blue-collar jobs. There wasn?t much focus on Irishness in his family while he was growing up, though he did have a strong relationship with an uncle who told him about all of the Irish families in the area. He?s been to Ireland with his family and has been to the church in County Leitrim where his paternal grandparents are from. He feels a connection with Ireland, which he describes as a ?magical? place. He and his wife moved to Charleston recently to be near their daughter, and he states that there is less of an emphasis on ethnic identity in Charleston, and more emphasis on a general Southern identity.
Erica Cokley was born in 1980 in Columbia, South Carolina. She graduated from Brookland-Cayce High School in 1998 and later studied at Strayer University in Charleston, where she earned an associate degree in business management. In the interview, she discusses how her childhood, her experiences at school, and the challenges she faces as a single mother intersect with her determination to participate in the political arena. Cokley remembers joining Fight for $15 when she was a Taco Bell employee, reflecting on her involvement in community issues and her determination to improve children’s living conditions and opportunities to succeed. In 2019, she formed Voices United, a non-profit organization. In 2020, she organized the Million Womxn’s March in North Charleston and was elected as a Charleston School District board member. Cokley discusses how the tragic deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd brought new urgency to working to stop racial injustices.
Jefferson "Jeff" Tobias Figg was born in 1936, and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, the youngest of three children of Sallie Alexander Tobias and Robert McCormick Figg, Jr. Sallie was descended from Joseph Tobias, founding president of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, established in Charleston in 1749. Jeff talks about growing up south of Broad Street and shares stories about various family members, including his elder siblings, Robert and Emily; his paternal uncle, Thomas Jefferson Tobias, and Thomas's wife, Rowena Wilson; his cousins David and Judith Tobias; and his maternal grandmother, Hortense Alexander Tobias. Jeff observes, "We have never been a particularly Jewish or Christian family." His mother, Sallie, was not notably observant as a Jew, though her mother was, and, according to Jeff, her brother, Thomas Tobias, "was obsessed with Judaism." Jeff's father, Robert, was raised by Baptists and did not adhere to any organized religion as an adult. The interviewee notes: "I've always considered myself Jewish. I feel it inside of me." For several summers, he attended Sky Valley Camp, near Hendersonville, North Carolina, run by an Episcopalian minister. Jeff describes his father's career as a lawyer, particularly his role in representing the state of South Carolina in Briggs v. Elliott. He briefly covers his father's tenure as the head of the law school at the University of South Carolina and his involvement with the South Carolina Port Authority. Jeff married Catherine "Kitty" Louise Cox in 1961, and they raised three children, Susan, Catherine, and Robert, in Charleston. Figg touches on his career with Xerox and the Adolph Coors Company, where he headed the sales department. He tells stories about prominent South Carolinians Strom Thurmond, James Byrnes, and Burnet Maybank; and he recalls Jewish Charlestonians Milton Pearlstine, Walter Solomon, and Solomon Breibart. Jeff's daughter Susan, who joined him in this interview, contrasts the message of the bestselling book "The Help" with her relationship with the black woman who worked for her grandmother. For a related collection, see the Thomas J. Tobias papers, Mss. 1029.
In her second interview for the Jewish Heritage Collection, Leah Feinberg Chase describes how she was drawn to journalism. The Georgia native earned a certificate from the University of Georgia's Peabody School of Journalism after taking classes for one year as a special student. The abbreviated program accommodated her plan to marry Philip Chase of Charleston, South Carolina, in 1957. The couple raised their four children in Charleston. Leah provides details about her career at WCSC-TV in Charleston, including the various positions she filled from copy writing to producing and cohosting shows in the 1960s and '70s. She credits WCSC owner John Rivers, Sr., with fostering creativity and independence in the work environment, and that extended to the women working at the station. Leah never encountered sexual harassment there, nor did she feel as though she had to prove herself to the men with whom she worked. She experienced one antisemitic incident that Rivers responded to with a vehement threat to fire the culprit, in the event that person's identity was revealed. Otherwise, being Jewish did not pose any difficulties, for example, when Chase wanted to take time off for religious holidays. Around 1980, the interviewee was hired by John Rivers, Jr., to produce videos for a company called Custom Video. Leah discusses working for that outfit and for United Christian Broadcasting Company of Atlanta, for whom she produced video in Israel for the film "Where Jesus Walked." In the 1980s, she turned down an offer to produce Mike Hiott's WCSC TV program to become editor of Charleston Jewish Federation's newspaper, "Center Talk," later renamed "Charleston Jewish Journal." She briefly outlines her work as editor and the recognition the Journal received from the General Assembly of the Council of Jewish Federations and the Advertising Federation of Charleston. Leah revisits her involvement in the Foreign Affairs Forum, mentioned in her first interview, remarking that while she held the positions of secretary, treasurer, and vice president, she believes the male-dominated group would not have elected her president had she pursued the office. The transcript contains comments and corrections made by the interviewee during proofing. See Mss. 1035-563 for Chase's January 31, 2020, interview.
In the second of two interviews conducted on September 28, 2021, Sandra Lee Kahn Rosenblum describes how she came to marry, in 1955, Raymond Rosenblum, a native of Anderson, South Carolina. They lived first in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Raymond, an M.D. who had signed on with the U.S. Navy under the Berry Plan, was in residency, and then in Great Lakes, Illinois. By the time Raymond was discharged from service, the Rosenblums were parents to Rachel, Fred, and Bruce. They decided to settle in Charleston, South Carolina, Sandra's hometown, and Raymond went into private practice. One reason they chose Charleston was they wanted their children to grow up in a city where there was a significant Jewish presence. Sandra notes that Charleston's Jewish community was "pretty cohesive. . . . like one big extended family." Just as the Jewish Community Center (JCC) on St. Philip Street was a focal point in her life when she was growing up in Charleston, the new JCC in the suburbs became a central meeting place after she returned with husband and children in 1960. Sandra and interviewer Dale Rosengarten discuss how a heavily-packed public events calendar sponsored by the Jewish Studies Program at the College of Charleston was a factor in the eventual demise of the JCC and its programming. Sandra and Raymond's fourth child, Elaine, was born in 1963. With household help and childcare provided by Lavinia Brown and Albertha Blake, Sandra immersed herself in volunteer work in local Jewish organizations and with the medical wives auxiliary. The interviewee explains the reasoning behind the decision to send Rachel to public school, while sending the other three children to Charleston Hebrew Institute (later renamed Addlestone Hebrew Academy). When her second child, Fred, was about to enter college, Sandra started taking classes at the College of Charleston. She majored in early childhood education and special education and earned a degree in six years. She talks about being a resource teacher at Murray-LaSaine School on James Island and working with disabled children as an itinerant teacher for Charleston County. Among other topics she touches on: Raymond's family in Anderson, South Carolina; Nat Shulman, JCC director from 1945 to 1972; traveling with Raymond; vacationing with family on Sullivan's Island; and Raymond's bar mitzvah at age seventy. In 1996, Sandra began volunteering with the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina, recording interviews with South Carolina Jews for the Jewish Heritage Collection Oral History Archives. Considering recent interviews she conducted regarding the acrimony among members of Brith Sholom Beth Israel (BSBI) and the events that led to a split in the congregation and the establishment of the Modern Orthodox synagogue Dor Tikvah, Sandra lends her view of what transpired. She also shares her feelings, as a lifelong member of BSBI, about the changes that have taken place and what she thinks the future holds for Orthodoxy in Charleston. Sandra and interviewer Dale Rosengarten talk about the changes taking place across the country in how Judaism is observed by participants in each of the major traditions and the responses of those traditions to societal conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Sandra reflects on how her identity is rooted in being American, southern, and Jewish. She reports having conflicting feelings about how the Civil War and the lives of Confederates such as Robert E. Lee are being interpreted in the twenty-first century, which leads to a brief discussion about critical race theory. Sandra added comments and corrections to the transcript during proofing. See also the interview (Mss. 1035-582) that precedes this one. For related oral histories, see interviews with Sandra's cousins Ellis Kahn in 1997 (Mss. 1035-142) and Jack Kahn in 1998 (Mss. 1035-182); and Sandra's husband, Raymond Rosenblum, and his siblings in 2008 (Mss. 1035-134).
Ben Chase, who served as president of the Orthodox synagogue Brith Sholom Beth Israel (BSBI) in Charleston, South Carolina, for two years, beginning in January 2004, discusses the circumstances that led to the founding of the breakaway congregation, Dor Tikvah (Generation of Hope), across the Ashley River from downtown Charleston. Before his term as president, he was on BSBI's board for ten years, during which time most of the congregation's members, whose average age was seventy, were happy with the status quo. Most members did not live within walking distance of the synagogue, which is located on the Charleston peninsula. While many drove to services on the Sabbath, getting to the synagogue was a hardship for young families who lived West of the Ashley and wanted to be strictly observant. Further complicating matters, a small contingent preferred to meet in the congregation's long-standing minyan house in the West Ashley subdivision of South Windermere. As president, Ben felt it was his "duty to make sure that anyone that wanted to practice strict Orthodoxy would be able to do that at BSBI." He also believed that Charleston's Orthodox Jews should be united under one roof and that the future of BSBI rested on the younger members. He describes the steps he took to push the congregation into making a decision about whether to move off the peninsula, and recalls the nature of the resistance he met from members who wished to stay in the downtown building. In 2004, the year Ben became president, Rabbi David Radinsky retired after thirty-four years at BSBI, and the congregation hired Rabbi Ari Sytner. Ben talks about how the new, very young rabbi meshed with members and performed his duties after dropping into a tense situation. Opposition efforts by members reluctant to move caused a delay in bringing the decision to a vote, which did not take place until 2006, just after Ben's two-year term as president ended. The interviewee provides details about the outcome of the first round of voting that failed to produce a majority and the second round of voting in which the group that wanted to stay on the peninsula prevailed. In 2006, the West Ashley Minyan (WAM) was formed. Worshipers met in homes initially, and then rented space on the Jewish Community Center campus on Wallenburg Boulevard in West Ashley. After four years, they hired Rabbi Michael Davies, and, in 2012, Dor Tikvah was incorporated. At the time of this interview, Chase, a member of the relatively new Modern Orthodox congregation, insists, "To this day, I still believe that the Orthodoxy in Charleston should be under one roof."
Paul Garfinkel, member and past president of the Orthodox Brith Sholom Beth Israel Synagogue (BSBI) in Charleston, South Carolina, talks about events leading to the formation of Congregation Dor Tikvah in 2012 by former members of BSBI. He notes that the idea of moving the synagogue out of the downtown area was a topic of discussion even before he took his first position on the BSBI board as recording secretary in 1973. Leaders of the synagogue on Rutledge Avenue resisted moving but did allow the establishment, in 1965, of the South Windermere Minyan House, in association with BSBI. The Minyan House, located in the South Windermere subdivision just across the Ashley River from downtown Charleston, was home to many Jewish Charlestonians who had moved off the peninsula to the suburbs in the 1950s. Decades later, a number of observant Jewish families had settled in the neighborhoods surrounding the Jewish Community Center (JCC), which in 1966 had relocated west of the Ashley—too far to walk to BSBI or the South Windermere Minyan House. Paul describes the efforts of Ben Chase, president of BSBI from 2004 to 2006, to lead the congregation in settling the question of whether to move. The vote, which took place right after Chase's term ended, found that a slim majority of congregants wished to stay downtown. Besides wanting to have a synagogue nearby, some members who lived near the JCC were dissatisfied with how the congregation was being run. They felt decisions were being made by a select few in leadership positions. In 2006, they formed the West Ashley Minyan (WAM). A few BSBI congregants tried to find a way for the WAM to become a second minyan associated with BSBI, but members of WAM found the conditions required by synagogue leaders too difficult to meet. Paul discusses reasons some BSBI members did not want to move the synagogue. One person, who lived a block from the downtown synagogue, was determined it would not move. He was "such a powerful force in the congregation that people did not want to go against him personally." Another strong factor has been sentimental attachment to the building itself. Paul remains a member of BSBI, remarking that he was "literally brought up in that building," and he thinks "it's important to keep the family tradition going." However, he points to the depletion of BSBI's financial resources. Although membership is declining, the congregation continues to spend large amounts of money to repair ongoing structural problems on the property. He believes a small city like Charleston will be unable to support two Orthodox synagogues and would like to see the congregations reunited. See transcript for a correction made by the interviewee during proofing.
Melissa Moore (they/them) grew up in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, and they earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology at the College of Charleston. In college, they got engaged with feminist and queer groups. When they were 22 years old, they joined the Alliance for Full Acceptance and were hired as its Assistant Director. Soon after, they joined SC Equality and were actively engaged in a campaign against the marriage amendment and other policies issues related to the LGBTQ+ community. Moore was approached by the board of We Are Family, an organization focused on LGBTQ+ and straight ally youth, and became its Executive Director. Moore takes pride in the organization's progress made under their tenure that includes opening the Close Case Thrift store and work to end homeliness in Charleston. Later Moore worked with Housing for All in Mt. Pleasant and at the time of the interview, they were WREN Lowcountry manager. In the interview, they reflect on their experience as a queer person growing up and living in South Carolina. They reflect on the progress made by the LGBTQ+ community as well as the limitations of their political demands when the demands do not include addressing poverty and access to housing and health care.
Alma Lopez and Mario Puga were born in Mexico. In this interview, they focus on their experiences as workers. Puga tells he started working at a young age with his father and asserts children mature quickly in Mexico. As a young man, he joined his brothers in Rhode Island, where he finished high school. When he returned to Mexico, he met Lopez. She worked in housekeeping. Later, both separately immigrated to the United States. Lopez was with her family in Johns Island and Puga joined her. There both worked in agriculture and progressively moved to less physically demanding jobs. Lopez learned English at Our Lady of Mercy and became active in the community. In 2015, she opened a cleaning business. In 2020, the COVID pandemic caused a severe decrease in revenue in her business. Seeking a way to support themselves during these trying times, they decided to dig into their cultural roots and sell food. They knew there was a need: Latino workers did not have a place to buy breakfast in the morning. Lopez and Puga discuss the nuances of the food truck business and assert that it is a very tiring activity. They state the biggest reward in this endeavor is to share their food with their clients and receive their appreciation.
Sandra Lee Kahn Rosenblum was born in 1935 in Charleston, South Carolina, the eldest of two children of Julius and Edna Goldberg Kahn, both of whom immigrated to the United States from Lithuania. She talks briefly about her parents' families and how Julius, who lived in Charleston, was introduced to Edna, a Baltimore, Maryland, resident. They married in 1934, and Edna moved to Charleston, where Julius, with his brother Robbie Kahn, was in the wholesale grocery business on East Bay Street. Sometime later, the siblings parted ways, each setting up his own shop on King street. Sandra remembers living in the Frewil Apartments on the corner of Smith and Vanderhorst streets, as a young child, followed by a move to Rutledge Avenue, near Bogard Street, a location she describes as "idyllic." When she was fifteen, the Kahns moved to a house at 45 Spring Street, where her father built a small store on the same lot. She says, the neighborhood was like a "slum," but they could no longer afford the rent for the apartment on Rutledge. "Ultimately, he (Julius) went belly up. . . . He was not a businessman." The Kahns were members of the Orthodox synagogue Beth Israel, but Sandra's mother sent her to Hebrew school at Brith Sholom, the older of the two Orthodox shuls in the city. Sandra was confirmed at Brith Sholom. She discusses with the interviewers Brith Sholom adopting the practice of confirmation for girls. Interviewer Dale Rosengarten notes that she was told by a Beaufort resident that their synagogue began offering confirmation to satisfy mothers who wanted a rite of passage for their daughters. Sandra states that, as a child, being Jewish was a significant part of her identity and the Jewish youth groups Young Judaea and Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA) were central to her life (she was an AZA Sweetheart). She responds to questions about Brith Sholom's junior congregation; recalls Seymour Barkowitz, her homeroom teacher in high school; and reports that she never experienced any overt antisemitism as a child. Interviewee provided comments and corrections to the transcript during proofing. See the follow-up (Mss. 1035-583) to this interview also conducted on September 28, 2021. For related oral histories, see interviews with Sandra's cousins Ellis Kahn in 1997 (Mss. 1035-142) and Jack Kahn in 1998 (Mss. 1035-182); and Sandra's husband, Raymond Rosenblum, and his siblings in 2008 (Mss. 1035-134).
In this second of three interviews, Benedict "Dick" Rosen continues a discussion about intermarriage. When he was growing up in Georgetown, South Carolina, his family was strongly tied to its Jewish identity. The Rosens were members of Beth Elohim in Georgetown, and Dick took Hebrew lessons from Rabbi Allan Tarshish of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim in Charleston. His family observed the holidays to some degree. Dick discusses why he doesn't go to synagogue services anymore, with the exception of Yom Kippur. He and his wife, Brenda, nevertheless donate to two synagogues: Beth Elohim in Georgetown, "for Mom and Dad," and Temple Emanu-El in Myrtle Beach. One gift went toward Emanu-El's Rosen Education Center, completed in 2002. Dick talks about meeting his wife, Brenda Wekstein, while he was attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They married in 1958 in Boston. Interviewer Dale Rosengarten mentions the role Sumter native Elizabeth Moses played in reviving the Georgetown congregation in 2004. Rosen outlines his career in engineering, starting at Sprague Electric in Massachusetts designing capacitors. Then he joined AVX, first in Massachusetts, then Myrtle Beach. Ultimately, he became CEO of AVX. Dick recalls his travels while in management at AVX. The company built factories all over the world and, when Kyocera bought AVX, he became their representative director. He mentions AVX CEO Marshall Butler and briefly describes the trichloroethylene lawsuits filed against the company. For a related interview, see Sylvan and Meyer Rosen, Mss. 1035-035.
Benedict "Dick" Rosen, in the third of three interviews, talks about his children, Andrew, Greg, and Heidi, and his grandchildren. He identifies primarily as a southerner, rather than a Jew. "That's because being Jewish has never made any difference in my life." And yet, interviewer Dale Rosengarten observes, he and his children married within the faith. He revisits the subject of growing up in Georgetown, South Carolina, noting that he did not experience any antisemitism. "I never had a feeling I was different than anybody else." The same has been true for him as an adult. Rosengarten speculates about the reasons why that may be so. Dick's recollection of segregation prompts a discussion of present-day issues of police brutality, black-on-black crime, mass shootings, gun control, and the death penalty. Dick and Dale share their personal views on Israel. Dick has no special affinity for Israel and doesn't see it as a Jewish homeland. "Being Jewish is not a nationality. It's a religion." Both Rosen and Rosengarten have served as trustees on the board of the Belle W. Baruch Foundation of Hobcaw Barony in Georgetown. Dale raises the question of how their Jewish identity might have been considered useful to the board's mission. Both touch on the effect the Holocaust has had on their lives. The transcript contains corrections made during proofing by Dick's son Andy. For a related interview, see Sylvan and Meyer Rosen, Mss. 1035-035.
Benedict "Dick" Rosen was born on April 20, 1936, in Columbia, South Carolina, the first of two children, to Erma Levkoff and Sylvan Rosen. Sylvan completed law school a month later, and the Rosens moved to Sylvan's hometown, Georgetown, South Carolina. In this interview, the first of three sessions, Dick talks about the different branches of his South Carolina Jewish family tree, including the Suraskys, the Weinbergs, the Schneiders, and the Lewenthals. He notes that he lacks information about the Rosens. Dick describes growing up in Georgetown. At that time, there were no other Jewish children to play with, and he didn't belong to any Jewish youth groups. As a young child, nothing he ate agreed with him, and he was not thriving. When the doctor told his mother that bacon was the solution, her mother, Jennie Surasky Levkoff, who kept a kosher kitchen, stepped in to help. Rosen married Brenda Wekstein of Massachusetts. He says all his kids have Jewish spouses, but his grandchildren are marrying outside the faith. Dick discusses his father's education, political career, and involvement in Jewish organizations. Sylvan Rosen opened a law practice in Georgetown, where he served as councilman and mayor. For a related interview, see Sylvan and Meyer Rosen, Mss. 1035-035.
Peter Rosenthal, who moved with his wife and children from South Africa to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1989, discusses the events that led to the formation of the West Ashley Minyan (WAM) and Congregation Dor Tikvah in Charleston. WAM formed in 2006 after several members of Charleston's Orthodox synagogue, Brith Sholom Beth Israel (BSBI), began meeting for Sabbath services in their homes. They were reluctant to return to BSBI after a contentious meeting during which a controversial vote determined the congregation would remain downtown instead of moving to a suburban location. Rosenthal outlines changes at BSBI and WAM that occurred in the years leading up to the founding of the Modern Orthodox Dor Tikvah in 2012 by members of WAM. He believes "that the trends that gave rise to WAM and Dor Tikvah arose from within, but also from outside . . . BSBI." He identifies key figures and events in WAM's formation and growth and Dor Tikvah's establishment. Interviewer and Charleston native Sandra Rosenblum notes that "the Jewish community of Charleston, at some point, became a big extended family." Rosenthal feels the intermingling of Jews of different traditions that she refers to is behind the origins of WAM. He describes WAM's founding as organic and spontaneous, fueled by young adults who wanted to be more observant.
George Hopkins was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1947. He is a College of Charleston professor emeritus. This interview focuses on his family background, his anti-war activism, and his academic career. Hopkins’ parents were WWII veterans. The family resided in mostly suburban, white Republican areas. He worked in a steel mill and attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. These life experiences expanded and changed his worldview. In his college years, Hopkins participated in the anti-Vietnam War movement and declared himself a conscientious objector. His activism continued in graduate school at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where he studied urban and labor history. There, Hopkins and other students supported the work of Fort Bragg’s GIs that opposed the war. In 1976, he moved to Charleston with a one-year contract that became a thirty-two-year teaching career. Hopkins talks about his teaching and his research and writing. Some of the works he focuses on are his dissertation on Miners for Democracy; his essay on Charleston and the metropolitan military complex included in Martial Metropolis, edited by Roger W. Lotchin, an article about historians’ interpretations of the Vietnam War, and others focused on pop culture.
Samuel Steinberg was born in 1936 in Charleston, South Carolina, the second of two children of Anita Hannah de Sola Williams and Leon Steinberg. Samuel's paternal grandfather, also named Samuel Steinberg, emigrated from Kobryn, Russia, in the late 1800s, following family to Augusta, Georgia. He moved to Charleston after marrying Anna Belle Kaminski and joined her family's scrap metal business. Samuel describes the business, Charleston Steel & Metal, still in existence at the time of this interview, in some detail, in particular how it changed after he joined his father and uncle in running it in 1961. Samuel shares with interviewer Dale Rosengarten the de Sola family tree, which dates back to the ninth century, and the two consider his Sephardic and Ashkenazic backgrounds. Samuel notes that "when my mother, who was a very observant Reform Jew, married my father, who was a . . . practicing Orthodox Jew, it was like oil and water." The family attended synagogue services in Charleston at both the Orthodox Brith Sholom and the Reform K.K. Beth Elohim. Steinberg and Rosengarten discuss Charleston's Uptown Jews and Downtown Jews, a distinction covered in Arthur Williams's book Tales of Charleston 1930s, and Samuel reflects on his father's views about being an American Jew. The interviewee added comments and corrections to the transcript during proofing. See Mss. 1035-594 for a second interview with Samuel Steinberg.
George Hopkins was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1947. He is a College of Charleston professor emeritus. This interview focuses on George Hopkins' long commitment to social justice and labor rights in Charleston. Initially, Hopkins' activism was mostly related to the College of Charleston and focused on racial issues and academic freedom. By the end of the seventies, he got involved with Carolina Alliance for Fair Employment (CAFE). Since then, he has been a member and has served as president of the organization. He remembers significant labor-related events such as the closing of the Navy Base in the nineties and the longshoremen protest in January 2000 that ended with the five men known as "The Charleston Five" arrested and charged with felonies. He also reflects on the crucial role the ILA 1422 and CAFE - now Charleston Alliance for Fair Employment - have played for Charleston's intersectional organizing and coalition development. Finally, Hopkins talks about his participation in other social justice endeavors in Charleston, such as the Quality Education Project and the Charleston Area Justice Ministry.
Kayla Gilchrist was born in 1988 in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Minnesota. After graduating from high school, she moved to Spain to attend the Universidad de San Luis to study Spanish and international relations. During her junior year, she lived in Cairo, Egypt. After graduation, she remained in Spain for another year and a half and then returned to the United States to attend graduate school at The Monterey Institute of International Studies in California. She graduated with a MA in International Policy Studies with a focus on conflict resolution and community development and a MA in Translation-Interpretation. Right after, she moved to Charleston, South Carolina to join Charleston Area Justice Ministry (CAJM) as an associate organizer. Gilchrist reflects on the life events that shaped her interest in organizing people and communities for social justice, including her experiences with school disparities as a child and living overseas. She describes her work with CAJM and Midland's Organized Response for Equity and Justice (MORE Justice). In 2020, she moved to Washington, D.C. and joined National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
Beverly Stark was born in Lansing, Michigan. She joined the Dominican Sisters of Adrian after completing her junior year in high school. Vatican II and the civil rights movement framed her formative years. Stark remembers an immersion experience working with farmworkers in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico that was key to her understanding of the capitalist economy and its consequences. In 1974, Stark and her friend Sister Mary Trzasko moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to work at the St. James Church outreach center. For the next ten years, they engaged in grassroots organizing. In 1985, Stark and Trzasko moved to Beaufort, South Carolina where they resided for thirty years. There, Stark worked with the Upward Bound Program with the Technical College of the Lowcountry, and Trzasko founded the after-school program Thumbs Up. After retirement, they moved to Charleston and became members of St. Patrick Church. They continued working in social justice and got involved with Charleston Area Justice Ministry and Charleston Alliance for Fair Employment. In 2019, Stark and her lifelong friend moved back to Adrian, Michigan.
Beth Schaffer grew up in Goose Creek, South Carolina, where she stills resides. She has worked in the food and beverage industry since she was in high school. In 2014, Schaffer met Emily Ricards, a Fight for $15 organizer, and participated in her first march. Since then, she has been an activist for workers’ rights. In the interview, she reflects on her involvement in the movement demanding better wages and a union as well as on the impact that COVID has in the organizing efforts.
Marcus McDonald was born in Silver Springs, Maryland, and grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. He moved to Charleston in 2014 to attend the College of Charleston, where he graduated with a degree in finances. McDonald is the founder of Adesso Entertainment. In 2020, after the killing of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd, he felt compelled to act and started organizing with Black Lives Matter. McDonald talks about the marches organized in downtown Charleston right after the video of George Floyd’s police killing was released and about the police repression that followed up. He discusses the challenges of being a new face in the Charleston organizing scene, the process of forming the Independent Charleston Black Lives Matter Chapter, and how he became identified as its leader. In the interview, McDonald reflects on teaching at Burke High, his work with the Eastside Community Development Corporation, and his participation in several local coalitions that focus on police brutality, racism, and gentrification.
Ruby Murray was born in Kingstree, South Carolina, and raised in St. Stephens, South Carolina. In the interview, she recalls her first day of employment at The Citadel’s Daniel Library on January 17, 1994, the same day Shannon Faulkner started taking full-time classes. Murray talks about her nuclear and extended family and remembers the construction of the Cooper River Rediversion Project and the impact it had on the community. She describes her experiences visiting Charleston as a child and later as a College of Charleston student in the mid-eighties. Murray reflects on her work at the Daniel Library and the changes she has witnessed over the years, including the Daniel Library and the Citadel's evolving relationships with the larger community. She defines her leadership style as “servant leadership” and stresses the importance of building relationships and genuinely caring for others.
Christina Butler is a historical preservationist, a professor at the College of Charleston, a horse-drawn carriage tour guide in Charleston, and an equine enthusiast. Growing up in Ohio, she spent considerable time around horses and stables. When she moved to Charleston at the age of 19, Butler recognized that becoming a tour guide would be the ideal opportunity to combine her love of history and her passion for horses. In this interview, Butler describes her background working with mules and draft horses and how she first became interested in these creatures. She also delves into Charleston's history regarding horses and the part they have played throughout the years. Butler also addresses the contentious issue of horse-drawn carriage trips, which many people feel are cruel and exploitative of the animals. She disagrees stating these horses have been bred to work, and asserting that they are treated with respect, and care. She hopes that by sharing accurate information and raising awareness about this issue, the city of Charleston will continue offering these tours that are worthwhile experiences for visitors.
Johnathan Lyon is a Dock Master at the Detyens Shipyard located in North Charleston, South Carolina. Lyon was born in 1958 in Awendaw, South Carolina, and has been employed at the shipyard since 1974 when he was 16 years old. With an extensive background working at Detyens, Lyon has witnessed the shipyard growth, has seen new safety measures put into place over the years, and has worked his way up in the ranks from his start in the carpenter shop to now as a Dock Master. Lyon provides a rundown of the day-to-day basis as a Dock Master and what some of these tasks might entail. He also discusses some of the challenges that are faced such as hurricanes and ship repairs. In addition to this, he praises his late mentor, Mr. Stewart, who taught him life lessons that he has remembered for years.
John Gardner was born in Hilton Head, SC, and raised in a tight-knit Black community in Beaufort, SC. In this second interview, Gardner recalls memories of the Penn Center, his father’s store, and describes his mother's community involvement. He also brings up his time at Morehouse University, including his memories of the jazz club Paschal's. After graduation in 1970, Gardner relocated to Rochester, NY. At the time of the interview, Gardner was a historical interpreter at McLeod Plantation and Historic Site on James Island in Charleston, South Carolina.
John Holenko is a musician from New Jersey with a master’s degree from the University of Southern California in classical guitar. In this interview, Holenko explores how his interest in music began, his journey of getting into gigging in Boston and California, and then eventually settling in Charleston, South Carolina. He now owns his own studio, Hungry Monk, where he gives music lessons to others. The name of his studio has its own story of how it came to be, as Holenko encountered actual Tibetan monks in a café that inspired the name. He also lists some of the places he has performed himself, including an Early Music Festival in Germany. Furthermore, Holenko touches on how COVID-19 affected his business, his personal music influences, and even provides some advice for those that are interested in getting into music.
Joshua Parks was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. He attended Howard University in Washington, DC and worked at the Sankofa Bookstore owned by filmmakers Haile Gerina and Shirikiana Aina Gerina. While in college, he was the chair of the NAACP college chapter and engaged in community organizing with Pan-African Community Action (PACA). His traveles to Cuba, Haiti, and South Africa contributed significantly to his political education. After graduation, he returned to Florida and worked as a teacher for two years. In 2019, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina to attend graduate school. He became involved in local organizing and was one of the founding members of the Lowcountry Action Committee. He reflects about the work Lowcountry Action Committee had done in collaboration with Eastside Community Development Corporation focusing on mutual aid, food distribution, and education. The Lowcountry Action Committee is also among the founding organization of the People's Budget Coalition and frequently partners with the Center for Heirs Property in educational programs for community members affected by development and gentrification.
Interview with Marcus McDonald, who is the activist leader of Charleston Black Lives Matter and a local substitute teacher. He shares his experience moving from Columbia to Charleston for college as a young, black male. He learned the power words and communication hold at a young age, as both of his parents were deaf and he would often have to speak up for them. Mr. McDonald gives insight on how racial tensions shaped his education at the College of Charleston and how these circumstances led to his passion for advocacy and equity. He details the roadblocks to equity, as well as the ways he has used his personal power to help community members surmount them. In a seminal period of Charleston's history, Mr. McDonald hopes to see the various centers of the Eastside prosper, and cautions the rapid gentrification of the area.
Fernando Soto was born in 1984 in San Pedro de las Colonias, Coahuila, Mexico. When he was seven years old, his family immigrated to the United States. Soto remembers growing up on Johns Island, South Carolina, and reflects on how this small rural community has changed over time. He attended Spring Hill College in Alabama and earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Soto talks about his decision to follow this professional path and states his family background informs his interest and passion for the field. He asserts he is not an activist but a journalist reporting on issues relevant to the Latino community. He talks about the Charleston Immigrant Coalition (CIC), explaining its beginnings and the issues it championed, particularly the end of the 287(g) program in Charleston County. Soto addresses the impact of COVID 19 in the Latino community and the disparities in access to care, stressing these same Latinos who are ignored by the government are the essential workers that keep the city alive and thriving. Finally, he reflects on the multilayered and complex scenarios Latinos face when they decide to leave home and cross the border.
This interview with Nick Rubin focuses on his political work with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). An organizer in leftist spaces for most of his adult life, Rubin got engaged with Charleston DSA in 2017. The organization became an official chapter in 2018 and was incorporated as a non-profit 501(c) 4 in 2021. Rubin reflects on the challenges and opportunities involved with forming the chapter. He talks about the many issues Charleston DSA members have been part of included the end of the 287(g) agreement between the Charleston Sheriff Office and ICE, the campaign for Medicaid for All, and the Bernie Sanders campaign. He states Charleston DSA members are active on many issues including environmental, housing, and labor rights among others. He is optimistic about the organization's potential to continue growing in South Carolina.
Diana Salazar Guzman was born in 1964 in Homestead, Florida. In this interview, she reflects on her Chicana identity and her family roots. Salazar Guzman remembers her role in leading the 2006 immigrant-rights march in Charleston and the challenges she confronted. She talks about her continued community work and the changes she has observed with the growing presence of the Latino community in South Carolina.
Interview with Eduardo (Ed) Curry, who lives in the Eastside neighborhood and is the Central Manager of the St. Julian Devine Community Center. As a third-generation Charlestonian, Mr. Curry reflects on his roots in Charleston. He details how his passion for education and criminal justice was largely shaped by the experiences of his father, an attorney and former police officer. Mr. Curry gives an in-depth overview of his work at the St. Julian Devine, a central hub within the Eastside community, where he has facilitated after-school and summer care programs, coordinated enrichment programs for adults, and expanded educational opportunities for the children he serves. In the near future, Mr. Curry wants to transform St. Julian Devine to a cultural arts center. He expresses that he wants to empower the people of his community through education to ensure that their roots are emboldened in Charleston. Mr. Curry offers his perspective on diversity, as his family is multi-racial, and wants to ensure that children of all backgrounds are offered the same chances to express themselves through his community center.
Eric Esquivel was born in 1975 in Danville, Pennsylvania. His father was from Colombia, and his mother was from New Jersey. In the mid-eighties, his family moved to Hilton Head, South Carolina. He remembers how as a child he noticed the exuberant landscape and the racial diversity in his school. He grew up as a mainstream American child who was aware of his Latino roots because his family traveled frequently to Colombia. Esquivel attended Hampden-Sydney College and majored in Spanish. After college, he taught Spanish in Hilton Head and then, moved to Austin, Texas to work with Dell. In 1998, Esquivel and his two siblings created La Isla Magazine, which was launched in November 1999. Esquivel reflects on Hilton Head's demographics and the key role the Latino community has played in region’s economy. He remembers the origin of the Lowcountry Immigrant Coalition, and states it was formed in response to a Beaufort County's attempt to implement the Legal Employment ordinance, which encouraged citizens to report to the authorities people they suspected were undocumented. The business community, dependent on the immigrant labor rallied against it. Over the years, the coalition has kept working on many issues, among them, supporting DACA recipients, advocating against the "show me your papers" laws, providing counseling to immigrants and offering citizenship seminars. Finally, Esquivel reflects on the effects of President Trump’s race rhetoric in the local community relationships and immigrants’ fears.
Brandon Chapman was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1993. After graduating from the College of Charleston, he joined Charleston Area Justice Ministry (CAJM) as an associate organizer in January 2017. He worked with the organization for three years coordinating the demand for affordable housing in Charleston. In the interview, Chapman reflects on growing up in the Lowcountry, developing an interest in social justice, and the work and challenges involved in organizing and building people’s power in Charleston. He remembers the resistance CAJM faced when demanding a Charleston Police Department racial bias audit. Finally, he talks about his decision to move to Washington, DC and his job at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Harry B. "Chip" Limehouse III was born in 1962 in Charleston, South Carolina. His family has a long history in politics, and he grew up attending electoral campaign events. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science at USC. In the interview, Limehouse remembers his close relationship with Senator Strom Thurmond, tells about his experiences working with him in Washington DC as a high school and college student, and states he was one of the most influential people in his political career. In 1994, he won his first election to the South Carolina House of Representatives where he served for over twenty years. Limehouse takes pride in his work as an elected official and the legislation he helped pass, particularly the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure. He talks about the Tea Party's beginnings and its impact on the Republican Party. He states he participated in the Tea Party events and supported its ideas but disagreed with its electoral strategy. Finally, Limehouse reflects on the present and future of the Republican Party.
Fred Lincoln is a resident of the Jack Primus community in Cainhoy, South Carolina. He lives on the land owned and passed down by his formerly slaved ancestors. Lincoln discusses the protest organized by John "Sammy" Sanders to save the Meeting Tree in Daniel Island that got the attention of the local media but received limited support from the local Black community. He affirms the most pressing issue is protecting Black residents’ property rights. Lincoln has been a member of the Wando-Huger, Community Development Corporation since 1992. This organization has worked since its inception to ensure black residents receive adequate compensation when development is unavoidable. Lincoln takes pride in their work with Charleston County to zone 150 acres for affordable homes, as well as, stopping the Port Authority’s plan to open railroad and truck access through their community. He affirms that their ability to show up as an organized community with deep roots in the region earned them the political support they needed to succeed. Finally, Lincoln states they are currently working with the Department of Health and Environmental Control to bring city water and sewer services to the community.
Karla Martinez was born in 1981 in Zacatecoluca, El Salvador. Escaping the civil war, her family went to Mexico, stayed there undocumented for several years, and then crossed the border into the United States. Martinez grew up in Los Angeles, California. She remembers her life in Mexico and Los Angeles and shares her struggles as an undocumented student aspiring to attend college. Martinez attended UCLA and focused on economics and Latin American studies. Then, she attended law school at the University of Iowa. After graduation, she moved to Florida, where she practiced farmworker law. In 2016, Martinez relocated to Charleston, South Carolina, and joined South Carolina Legal Services and a few years later, the Charleston County Public Defender’s Office. Martinez talks about how she became involved with Charleston Immigrant Coalition (CIC). She reflects on the importance of ending the 287(g) program in Charleston County and the role the CIC had in the process. Finally, she reflects on the changes she would like to see including the law enforcement agencies providing appropriate cultural and linguistic services and South Carolina becoming more accepting of the Latino community.
Thomas A. Dixon (b. September 1952) grew up in the projects in Chicago and was educated in the Catholic faith. Thinking priesthood could be his calling, Dixon attended Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary. There, he was part of the United Black Seminarians and became interested in the civil rights movement. He loved music and was a member of a performing trio. During his teen years, he started abusing alcohol and drugs. In 1982, he joined the Navy hoping the structured environment would help him to overcome his addictions and improve his life. Dixon talks in length about the variety of experiences he had while serving, included his two years onboard the USS Mahan. He continued struggling with addictions that prevented him from having the successful career he had envisioned. When he got discharged, Dixon joined his family in Charleston, South Carolina. At the end of the interview, Dixon remembers his parents and siblings and expresses gratitude for his present life, particularly his relationship with his wife and adult children.
In this interview, Thomas A. Dixon (b. September 1952) focuses on the first years of his community and political work in Charleston, South Carolina. As an ex-felon, he encountered many barriers to find employment and assert his rights as a worker. Dixon reflects on his life experiences and how they informed his activism. He states why he joined organizations that focused on decreasing recidivism, addressing gun violence, and promoting workers' rights. He explains why he left the pulpit to take his social work activism to the streets. He talks about his church ministry and his work with South Carolina Crime Reduction, Brady United Against Gun Violence, The Coalition to Take Back Our Community, and CAFE.
Interview with Edward (Ed) Jones, an Eastside community advocate and city employee. As a leader, coach, and lifetime resident of the Eastside, Jones has helped shape the Eastside's youth and community for much of his life. He describes his childhood experiences moving to various locations in the Eastside and his working experience as an all-around sports coach, general contractor, mentor, organizer, and, currently, a community resource specialist for the City of Charleston. Jones never saw himself serving the community for as long as and in the manner that he does today, but after nearly three decades of work and a lifetime of experiences, he's continued to show up. He touches on the inequities and changes he's seen within his locale, including those in the public housing realm, recreation, and issues of policing and safety. In addition to his day-time job, Coach Jones is also the founder of the Concerned Citizens of the Peninsula/Lowcountry, or CCPLC, a grassroots organization with the intention of helping kids and communities in the Eastside and greater Charleston area. Jones makes it clear that all he does and wants to do is inspired by his own experiences, especially those growing up and living within the Eastside. He has a vision of a healthy and vibrant community that supports itself, works together, and offers all children the same opportunities regardless of family, race, or class.
In this interview, Thomas A. Dixon (b. September 1952) reflects on his community and political involvement in the aftermath of the killing of Walter Scott and the Mother Emanuel massacre. He talks about how he learned about each event and his role in a community looking for answers and justice. Dixon reflects on the impact of these events, the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the need for local police reform. He remembers his decision to enter politics and talks about his campaigns in 2016 for Senate against Tim Scott and in 2020 for Mayor of North Charleston against Keith Summey. Dixon describes the challenges he faced, the lack of support from the Democrat Party, and the lessons he learned. At the end of the interview, he states his family's respect and support are what he treasures the most.
In this interview, Thomas A. Dixon recounts his life in Charleston after his military discharge. He arrived in town at the end of 1988. Soon after, he had an accident that left him with a broken leg and twenty thousand dollars in medical debt. Dixon remembers the events that landed him in prison for three years and describes his life in jail, prison, and the pre-release center. He explains that during this time, his faith was decisive for his transformation and sense of purpose. Dixon states his life experiences including his upbringing in Chicago, his addictions, his job history, and his family problems, gave him a firsthand understanding of the needs and hopes of people struggling in our society. That personal understanding informs his community and political work. He ends the interview with a word of advice: "Don’t let others define your future or your purpose by their opinion of you because people don't know the whole story. Only you know the whole story and take that whole story, embrace that whole story, and begin to work for the betterment of others. And I guess that would be the final thing that I would say to anyone is to understand that every life, every person that's born, we're not, we were not born for ourselves. We were born to serve others, to be a blessing to others. That's why God's, God's got a sense of humor."
Michael Novielli was born in 1964 in New York. In 2020, he relocated to Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, attracted by the beauty of the region and the prospects to live in a conservative state. In the interview, he talks about his work and experience as a businessperson and the reasons why he felt compelled to be part of the Tea Party movement. He reflects on the challenges the Tea Party confronted to accomplish its goals. Currently, Novelli is a member of Friends of Liberty, a group that seeks to defend the USA Constitution, fight for election integrity, and support conservative people in local elections.
Nina Cano Richards was born in 1988 in La Paz, Bolivia. When she was nine years old, her family came to the USA looking for the American Dream. In the interview, Cano Richards remembers her childhood in Bolivia and her experiences as a child of immigrants learning to adjust and thrive in Charleston. She remembers her early interest in becoming an immigration lawyer, and the challenges she faced as a first-generation college student. Cano Richards talks about Charleston Immigrant Coalition (CIC) and the work it has been doing since 2019. She reflects on CIC's leading role in the process that ended the 287(g) program in Charleston County and tells about other CIC's efforts, such as providing immigration legal information and facilitating community access to services during the pandemic.
John Wright grew up in Mt Pleasant, South Carolina. His family roots are in two African American settlement communities, Philips and Hamlin. At seventeen, he joined the US Army, and after retirement in 2013, he returned home. He reflects on coming back to a dramatically changed area and understanding the benefits and challenges development has brought to the Black communities in that area. He states that the lack of fair representation for the black communities prompted him to organize an effort to advocate single-member voting districts for the town government. Wright takes pride in demanding a change in the language to name the Black communities as settlement communities. He is one of the founder members and current president of the African American Settlement Communities Historic Commission. The commission, active since 2015, comprises seven communities represented by their respective presidents. Local, state, and federal agencies frequently consult and collaborate with the commission. Wright affirms his tenure’s brainchild is the preservation and relocation of a school built in 1904, the Long Point Road School House.
Lynne Moldenhauer was born in St. Claire, Michigan in 1952. After high school, she joined the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and earned a bachelor's degree in religious studies at Marygrove College. Moldenhauer moved to South Carolina and progressively became more aware of her sexuality. She left the religious community and went to work for the SC Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services until she retired in 2010. While living in Columbia, she joined the efforts of the Gay and Lesbian Business Guild and later became one of the founding members of the Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA) in Charleston. In the interview, Moldenhauer talks about the multiple actions the Alliance promoted to improve the life of the South Carolina LGBTQ+ people. Some of them included changing the community attitudes, and others aimed to help its members to learn to love themselves. After forty years living in South Carolina, she moved back to Michigan and re-entered her old congregation. Moldenhauer concludes the interview by stating: "AFFA was the birthplace of a lot, and it gave birth to a stronger, better me, more honest me and I think that would be a true story from just about everyone that encountered and engaged with AFFA."
Carolina Angel Mascarin was born in Bogota, Colombia in 1979. She studied journalism at Los Libertadores University. After graduation, Mascarin moved to New Hampshire to continue her studies. Six months later, she relocated to Charleston, South Carolina to work with Azteca America TV. Working in this Hispanic media outlet, she met her husband. The economic crisis of 2008 affected the TV Channel, and she lost her job. She joined the staff of Trident Urban League and started a photography and videography business with her father. In the interview, Mascarin talks about her experiences growing up in Colombia, the challenges of balancing work and motherhood, and how COVID has impacted her family and her business. She also reflects on her identity as an immigrant and her love for her motherland and the USA.
Circular Congregation Church senior pastor Jeremy Rutledge was born in Honolulu, HI, in 1971. When he was five years old, his family moved back to Houston, TX. Rutledge attended Bailey University and then Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, VI. After graduation, he returned to Houston and worked in chaplaincy for three years and the following ten as the pastor of a progressive church. In 2012, Rutledge moved with his wife and son to Charleston and became the Circular Church pastor. He recalls that by then, Charleston Area Justice Ministry was taking shape, and the country was shocked by the killing of Trayvon Martin. Rutledge talks about CAJM's organizing model, how white and black congregations came together to build power, and the learning curve necessary for local white progressives to demand accountability to public officials. He remembers the criticism that arose when CAJM demanded action from the Charleston School District Superintendent Nancy McGinley and later when asked for a Charleston Police Department and North Charleston Police Department racial bias audit. Finally, he reflects on the meaningful relationships that have been forge over the years among individuals and congregations thanks to the social justice work.
Raynique Syas was born in Los Angeles, CA, in 1985. She is a Charleston Area Justice Ministry organizer. She remembers growing up in Watts in a typical urban area of the city impacted by poverty, drugs, and violence. There, she also experienced a profound sense of community and the support of her family strong women. Syas states that it was much later in life that she understood the systemic injustices that plagued her community and affirms it was this awareness that fuels her activism. Syas moved to Charleston looking for better opportunities for her three children but was unprepared for the cultural differences and the racism she encountered in South Carolina. Finally, she talks about why she joined Charleston Area Justice Ministry (CAJM), first as a member and team leader and later as an organizer. She reflects on one of the biggest CAJM efforts, the racial audit of Charleston and North Charleston police departments, and how COVID impacted organizing work.
Whitemarsh Smith III, Charleston native, Citadel alum, and long-time president of the Charleston Branch Pilot’s Association, has an extensive history in the waters of Charleston. In this interview, Smith dives into his experience as a Charleston pilot and provides details of various historical events he has witnessed. As a young man, Smith chose to take the college route and apply to The Citadel rather than head to Vietnam during the war. He graduated from The Citadel in 1966. He recounts his encounters at The Citadel and discusses his time following graduation being in the National Guard, where he witnessed a hospital strike here in Charleston in 1969. Smith details the challenges which came along with his apprenticeship during the process of becoming a Charleston pilot, as they spent the majority of their time on a boat. He gives listeners insight into the day-to-day operations as a Charleston pilot on a cargo ship as well as some of his own unique experiences. This includes experiencing DEA raids of foreign cargo ships, weathering hurricane Hugo, the recovery of the Hunley, and others. At the time of the interview, Smith was 77 years old and was planning his retirement.
Taylor Allred was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He was inspired to join Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) by the Bernie Sanders’ campaign of 2016. In 2018, he joined the Charleston group and was a co-facilitator in applying for the chapter status. He has held several offices, including the chair of the eco-socialist group. Allred states that Charleston DSA members are key players in several relevant regional political issues. Among them challenging the 287(g) agreement between the Charleston Sheriff Office and ICE, Medicaid for all, the relief effort in response to COVID, the Mutual Aid Fund, and housing and environmental justice. He reflects on the impact DSA members are having in the PRO Act campaign. Finally, he discusses the future of DSA and socialist organizing in the South.
Wendy Dallas Damron was born in 1973 in Detroit, Michigan. In 2013, Damron, her husband, and her two children moved to the South Carolina Lowcountry attracted by the area's beauty, warm temperatures, and conservative politics. In the interview, Damron defines herself as Reagan's conservative, talks about her initial enthusiasm with the Tea Party, and remembers her frustration when she realized the movement was unable to change the federal government. She understood the importance of focusing her activism and efforts on local and state government issues. In 2016, Damron attended a Heritage Foundation event and learned about the Convention of the States Project. Since then, she has been working to have it signed in South Carolina becoming the Coastal Region’s captain and legislative liaison. Damron is also a board member of the Palmetto Promise Institute, a South Carolina conservative think tank.
Nick Rubin was born in Anderson, South Carolina, and moved to Charleston, South Carolina in 2005 to attend the College of Charleston. This interview focuses on his political work, particularly his experiences with Occupy Charleston in 2012. Rubin remembers his early experiences with politics opposing the war in Iraq while in high school and later in college with Food Not Bombs. He talks in detail about the Occupy Charleston actions: the 99 hours occupation at Brittlebank Park, the disruption of the campaign events of Michelle Bachmann at the York Town and Rick Santorum at The Citadel, the marches in downtown Charleston, and the occupation of Marion Square that ended with police repression and detention of the activists. Finally, Rubin reflects on the limitations of Occupy's strategies and the legacy of the movement to the current Charleston political landscape.
Corey Clayton is a College of Charleston graduate, University of Alabama Birmingham graduate, and a member of Omega PSI Phi Fraternity, Inc., who at the time of the interview worked for Brownstone Construction Group building the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina. His interest in engineering goes back to the summers working for his grandfather and his father, both of whom were general contractors. Additionally, he always had an interest in history. When he learned that the International African American Museum was going to be built, he knew he had to be a part of that process and decided to work for Brownstone Construction Group, a Black owned company, as a Quality Control Manager. In the interview, Clayton remembers the college professors that guided him and provided readings that allowed him to understand better his history. Finally, he reflects on the museum's relevance to the region and the deep personal significance of playing a part in its coming to fruition.
John Gardner was born in Hilton Head, SC (South Carolina), and raised in a tight-knit Black community in Beaufort, SC. In this interview, Gardner recalls his early years when his father owned a grocery store, and his mother was a schoolteacher and were both active community members. As a teenager, Gardner participated in seminars and training sessions at the Penn Center. Later he attended an NAACP Youth Council Seminar where he met Vernon Jordan. Gardner moved to Atlanta, Georgia to attend Morehouse College, where he continued his involvement with the civil rights movement. He graduated in 1968 and went to work in corporate America. In the interview, he reflects on his experiences and the value of history lessons in the present days. Gardner was a historical interpreter at McLeod Plantation and Historic Site on James Island in Charleston, South Carolina.
Treva Williams was born in Lyons, Kansas. She was the lead organizer of the Charleston Area Justice Ministry (CAJM), a faith-based community organizing group, from 2012-2022. In this interview recorded right after the end of her tenure with the organization, Williams remembers and reflects on the life experiences that shaped her leadership values and vision. The interview's first part delves on Williams’ experiences from childhood to her moving to Charleston. The second part focuses on Williams’ involvement with CAJM. Williams grew up in a conservative Christian family. She has a twin sister and a younger brother. When she was a child, her family relocated for health and economic reasons to Tucson, Arizona. Later they moved to California, where her father went to the seminary and became a pastor. Williams reflects on the importance of these early years that brought to her life a diversity that was absent in her native Kansas. The family returned to Kansas in time for her middle school years. Then, sports became a central part of the Williams sisters’ life. They played basketball, volleyball, and track and kept playing through high school. Williams attended Sterling College and received scholarships for sports, music, and theater. She married when she was twenty years old, and her first child was born the next year. After having her second child, Williams and her husband decided he would stay at home with the kids, and she would be the breadwinner. She joined a Presbyterian Church in Fort Scott, Kansas as youth minister. She stayed in the job for nine years. These years were transformational and shaped her understanding of the world and the role of faith in it. She realized the church was mostly focusing on helping people instead of on changing the structures that oppressed them. She decided to shift her focus and change jobs. She applied to join DART (Direct Action and Research Training) and soon she became the lead organizer for the social justice ministry that was forming in Charleston, SC (South Carolina). Williams remembers the day of her interview and her first impressions in Charleston. Talks about the challenges and thrills of organizing CAJM and building power. She names the organizers that were part of the process and discusses the need for a better model to support and retain these crucial social justice workers. She remembers some critical moments in CAJM’s history such as the first massive and successful Nehemiah Action, the controversy with Major Riley related to jobs with the city of Charleston, and the lengthy process to secure policing racial bias audits in Charleston and North Charleston, among others. Williams also reflects on missed opportunities, regrets, and lessons learned. Finally, she takes pride in CAJM's lasting contributions to building a more just and loving community in Charleston.
Doris Sander Lancaster was born in a house on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, in 1928, and ever since has spent most of her life on the island. In this interview she recounts memories of childhood growing up including games, crabbing, and playing on the beach. She tells of the house near Station 24 where she and other family members grew up "fatherless." Doris details much of the relationships between the civilian population and Fort Moultrie Military Reservation. She recalls the initial reaction to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She and other island girls then were recruited by the USO to dance with the ever-increasing number of servicemen in the area who were headed for the war. She tells of her emotional reaction to the newsreels showing the horrors of combat. Doris met her future husband, Bob, when he was stationed at the fort. They were married in 1948 and spent most of their married life on the island. A great deal of Doris's narrative surrounds the relationship with Stella Maris Catholic Church, the events that took place and the personalities involved. The interview ends with Doris Lancaster's reactions to the many changes that have occurred on Sullivan's Island over the 94 years of her life.
