A Look Back on Black History at the College of Charleston
We celebrate Black History Month by honoring the contributions of African American students, alumni and employees who have impacted CofC history.
In addition to commemorating Black History Month with a variety of campus events, the College of Charleston is celebrating the contributions and achievements of its African American students, faculty, staff and alumni, and their impact on the College.
Here are but a few of the African American trailblazers and institutions that have made not just Black history, but College of Charleston history, as well.
The Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture collects, preserves and promotes the unique history and culture of the African diaspora. The 125 Bull Street school was founded in 1865 as the Avery Normal Institute, which was Charleston’s first accredited secondary school for African Americans. The Avery is now a part of the College of Charleston.
The first Black tenure-track professor to join CofC was Owilender K. Grant. She became a faculty member in fall 1972 and taught in the Department of Mathematics.
Kameelah Martin joined the College in 2017 as the director of the African American Studies Program and went on to be named the dean of CofC’s Graduate School in 2021, making her the first Black female academic dean.
Kieron Van Wyk is CofC’s first Black golfer and the first Black golfer in the Colonial Athletic Association to win individual medalist honors.
In 1972, Lucille S. Whipper came to the College to direct its Head Start program and develop diversity programs. She was CofC’s first Black administrator. She later became the first Black woman from Charleston County to be elected to the S.C. Statehouse.
Eddie Ganaway ’71 was the first Black graduate of the College. He enrolled in 1967 as one of CofC’s first Black students. The College awarded him an honorary doctorate degree in 2007.
Civil rights leader Septima Poinsette Clark, known as Mother of the Civil Rights Movement, was born at 105 Wentworth Street, which is now part of the CofC campus. In 2018, CofC installed a historical marker in front of her birthplace, and in 2023 a new mural celebrating Clark’s power and wisdom titled “Saint Septima with Carolina Jasmine” was installed in the atrium of the Education Center’s Septima Clark Memorial Auditorium.
