GROW has never been as packed as it was on the evening of Dec. 5, on the occasion of Modjeska Monteith Simkins’ 125th birthday. One can only imagine what she might have thought of the gathering. This much we can guess: she would have approved of the fact that the event was free. She once groused about a fundraiser being held in her name, saying she wouldn’t pay the ticket price to attend.

As it does every year, the SC Progressive Network threw a party to remember the human rights activist who continues to inform and inspire our work. This year was special in that it fell on the night GROW holds its first-Thursday jazz workshop. The GROW house band was joined by the USC Congaree New Horizons jazz improv group for a great night of live music.

Dr. Robert Greene, lead instructor for the Modjeska Simkins School, reminded us how important it is to remember not just the bad actors in SC history, but also the people such as Ms. Simkins who fought back against stiff odds.

“If you live in South Carolina, you not only live in a state influenced by John C. Calhoun, or Ben Tillman, or James Byrnes. You are also living in a state impacted by the rebels in Stono, by Robert Smalls, Septima Clark and Modjeska Simkins.”

You can listen to Dr. Greene’s full remarks, and those of former SC Rep. James Felder and Network Executive Director Brett Bursey, in this video.

It was an evening full of fellowship and hope, just what the doctor ordered in these troubled times.

See our photo album HERE.