Day 19: Charleston, SC - Johns Island, SC

Miles today: 50
Miles total: 3450


After spending the morning in Charleston, we drove to Johns Island with Prof. Millicent Brown. Septima Clark and Esau Jenkins worked tirelessly for decades conducting citizenship schools on the sea islands. Both frequently went to Highlander for training and to train others, and it was through this education that many African Americans on the island learned to read and how to register to vote. We stopped by Moving Star Hall (a small building used as one of the citizenship school locations) and Esau Jenkins' grave site.

Millicent was one of the first African Americans to attend a formerly all-white school in the city of Charleston. Her father worked as the head of South Carolina NAACP, and in tenth grade, she and one other Black student prepared to enter the local white high school. Millicent talked about her experiences during those three years of high school, and she is currently working on a project called "Somebody Had To Do It" - with Connie Curry who we met in Atlanta - which will locate and connect the first African American students to attend formerly all-white schools across the U.S.