John Kennedy, director of Spoleto's Music in Time concert series, talks about the origins and influences of the festivals more avante-garde musical offerings. Spoleto Festival USA 2017 is May 26 – June 11 in Charleston, SC. Visit the website for more information. Watch some...

Ann Pamela Cunningham (1816-1868) was a South Carolinian from Laurens County who led the effort to restore and preserve Mount Vernon, George Washington’s ancestral home in Virginia. She served as First Regent of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union.

Short biography of indigo planter and colonial entrepreneur Eliza Lucas Pinckney, another example of the enormous contribution the Pinckney family of South Carolina has made to the history of our state.

A pioneer in grassroots citizenship education, Septima Clark was called the ‘‘Mother of the Civil Rights Movement’’ by Martin Luther King. Clark was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1898, daughter of a laundrywoman and a former slave. She became a teacher on Johns...

5-minute biography of the life of American Civil War era diarist Mary Chestnut. Through the use of available archival materials, scholar interviews, and historical illustrations this program details the events surrounding Chestnut’s life and her contributions to South...

Frances Ravenel Smythe Edmunds achieved national recognition as an advocate for historic preservation. She graduated from the College of Charleston in 1939. In 1947, she founded the Historic Charleston Foundation and served as Director. In 1971, she received the Louise...

Inducted into the South Carolina Hall Of Fame, Charles Bolden, Jr. flew on four historic Space Shuttle missions in the 1980's and 90's, and became the first African-American to lead NASA as NASA Administrator.

Inducted into the South Carolina Hall Of Fame, Ronald McNair was the second African-American to go into space, and was part of the STS-51L crew that died when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off in 1986.

Marian Wright Edelman is founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund, the nation’s strongest advocacy group for children and families. Born in 1939 in Bennettsville, South Carolina, she attended Spelman College and Yale Law School. In the sixties, she was active in...

A Charleston native, Philip Simmons (1912-2009) was famous for his decorative ironwork pieces, which are featured throughout Charleston and in various other parts of the world. When he began his career, blacksmiths in Charleston made everyday household objects, such as...

Donald Stuart Russell (1906-1998) was a protégé of former Secretary of State James F. Byrnes. Russell was Governor of South Carolina from 1963-1965 and a U.S. Senator. He also served as President of the University of South Carolina. The Donald S. Russell Papers are...

James Francis Byrnes (1882-1972) was born in Charleston and served in all three branches of the federal government. He was known as Franklin Roosevelt’s “Assistant President.” Byrnes was active in South Carolina’s state government as well.