Telling the full story of African American Heritage in South Carolina
The WeGOJA Foundation (formerly the South Carolina African American Heritage Foundation) works to document and promote African American heritage sites in South Carolina, like Zion Baptist Church in Columbia (pictured above, the 1929 congregation.) Supporting state historical markers, listings on the National Register of Historic Places, teacher’s guides and the Green Book of South Carolina, WeGOJA collaborates with civic, government and business leaders to Preserve Our Places in History.
The next quarterly meeting of the WeGOJA Foundation Board of Directors will be held virtually in Mid January 2025. For more information, contact Executive Director Dawn Dawson-House at WeGOJAexecdir@gmail.com.
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Happening Now!
WeGOJA Launches Oral History Project for Historic African American Church
The WeGOJA Foundation has received $25,000 in grant funding and support to capture the memories of people in Cordesville, South Carolina, who are associated with historic Taveau Church. The oral history project will take place in the late summer through fall of 2024, and complements a full-scale restoration of the 19th-century church led by Preservation South Carolina.
Professional Development Series available for SC Educators
The WeGOJA Foundation is offering an arts-focused Professional Development series for 8th grade civics and history teachers this winter/spring. Called The Confluence, the project helps educators discover under-told African American history in South Carolina and immerse their students through an art activity. Interested teachers can find more and register at link below.
This program is made possible with a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Community Listening Sessions Scheduled Across the State
The WeGOJA Foundation has scheduled listening sessions to gather input on preservation needs as it develops its statewide preservation toolkit. Members of these communities are invited to meet with Region Ambassadors and WeGOJA personnel to discuss what it takes to meet their preservation goals.
To find a listening session in your region, visit the Preservation Toolkit webpage.
WeGOJA Adds Team for Preservation Toolkit
The WeGOJA Foundation has hired a Project Leader and an Administrator to develop and deliver a Preservation Toolkit to help people meet their preservation goals. Funded by a major grant from the Mellon Foundation, the Toolkit will be a single online resource that can be used by property owners, preservationists and others as they search for solutions in the complex process of preservation.
WeGOJA receives Mellon Foundation Grant to Develop Preservation Toolkit
The WeGOJA Foundation has received a $750,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to grow its organizational capacity and to develop resources to help property owners and communities meet their preservation goals.
New film infuses Art and History into a curriculum-based lesson
The film “South Carolina African American History Through Our Eyes,” is an arts-infused lesson on African American history, told through a student’s discovery. The student, Marcus, an athlete, learns more about the depth and complexity of history as he reconciles his passion for the visual arts with everyday life. With the help of his teacher, Ms. Barnes, he learns, among many examples, that Edwin Augustus Harleston was a famous visual artist from Charleston who was a mentee of W.E.B. Dubois as he attended Clark University in Atlanta, and came back home to serve as the first president of the Charleston NAACP. The 24-minute film covers other undertold legacies and triumphs of the past.
The film is part of a project funded by the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
South Carolina Releases Civil Rights Podcast Series
In collaboration with the WeGOJA Foundation, Discover South Carolina and the U.S. Civil Rights Trail have launched a podcast series on South Carolina’s role in the civil rights movement, and the places you can visit to engage with some of this history.
Called “A Legacy of Courage,” the three episodes outline events that helped push the nation into a civil rights crisis, and eventually led to the true movement in the mid- to late 20th century. It also points to historic sites, museums, markers, and other places where this history is interpreted and ready for visitors. Listen here.
Dawn Staley, Kevin Johnson Win WeGOJA Awards
Two-time national champion coach Dawn Staley and State Senator Kevin L. Johnson are among 10 who will be recognized at the annual Cultural and Historic Preservation Conference (April 20-21 in Columbia, SC) for outstanding advocacy and promotion of historic preservation and social justice.
Registration is still open for the conference. See more at press release below.
Hard Copy Green Book of South Carolina Available!
The Green Book of South Carolina is a first-of-its-kind travel guide to the most tourist-friendly African American historic sites in the state. The publication is available on Amazon!
Founding Members of SCAAHC Given Humanities Awards
Jannie Harriot, Chairperson of the SC African American Heritage Commission and former Executive Director of the WeGOJA Foundation, and Michael Allen, a long-serving member of the Commission and noted historian in Charleston, were named as recipients of the 2021 Governor’s Award for the Humanities by SC Humanities. Read more at press release below.
WeGOJA Foundation Launches Family Reunion Toolkit
The WeGOJA Foundation launched the South Carolina Family Reunion Toolkit. The website encourages planners to reconnect with family and rediscover heritage by incorporating visits to African American historic sites in their next reunion.
Donate to the WeGOJA Foundation!
Take Action! Help us continue to support the African American Heritage Commission in their mission to identify, document and share African American history in South Carolina. Whether it’s installing new historic markers, documenting extant Green Book sites like Ruth’s Beauty Parlor pictured at right, or any of our other initiatives, the projects are critical, and possible with your donation.
Connect with the history around you.
“We, today, stand on the shoulders of our predecessors who have gone before us.
We, as their successors, must catch the torch of freedom and liberty passed on to us by our ancestors. We cannot lose in this battle.”
- Benjamin Mays
Visit the Benjamin E. Mays’ birthplace located in Greenwood, SC.
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