(Columbia, SC) – The South Carolina African American Heritage Commission has opened an exhibit to display some of the expressions they’ve received in 2020 and 2021 about the impact of the Coronavirus. Titled “Black Carolinians Speak: Portraits of a Pandemic,” the exhibit showcases paintings, drawings, interviews and other expressions collected from African Americans for South Carolina’s permanent archival record.
“We spent the past year talking to South Carolinians about the Coronavirus and how this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic disrupted their lives, jobs, families and future,” said Jannie Harriot, SCAAHC Chairwoman. “What we gathered were hours of interviews, visual and performing art, and poetry – from doctors, students, medical professionals, pastors, first responders and others – all defining how the virus impacted them.”
The exhibit is installed at the South Carolina Archives and History Center at 8301 Parklane Road in Columbia, and open to the public through Friday, Sept. 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day (except SUNDAYS.)
In August, SCAAHC will host public programming around the state to discuss the Coronavirus impact. Dates and locations are to be determined.
Additionally, the Black Carolinians Speak program is expanding into North Carolina this year and will produce a virtual exhibit of both states’ submissions in the spring of 2022.
The Black Carolinians Speak: Portraits of a Pandemic project was funded by the 1772 Foundation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and SC Humanities, and received support from the SC Department of Archives and History, Claflin University and Benedict College.
