Tag Archives: Modjeska Simkins School for Human Rights

Want to up your activist game? Apply for the spring session of the Modjeska Simkins School

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The public is invited to apply for the spring session of the Modjeska Simkins School for Human Rights, which begins March 18 and runs through June 24. The school, a project of the SC Progressive Network, was launched in 2015 as a leadership institute for activists to learn a people’s history of South Carolina, hone their organizing skills, and help grow a movement for social justice in the Palmetto State. This will be the school’s fourth session.

“The school is exceeding even our most hopeful expectations,” said Network Director Brett Bursey. “The students have been deeply engaged in class discussions, and graduates have gone on to do impressive things, from serving on the boards of nonprofits, to researching and crafting a campaign to end gerrymandering in South Carolina, to starting a podcast for young activists, to staging tours of the State House grounds and offering a more honest historical narrative about who the monuments memorialize, and when and why they were erected.”

One of the creators of the monument tours is USC’s Student Services Manager Dr. Sarah Keeling, who attended the Modjeska School in 2017. An activist with the Columbia group Standing Up For Racial Justice, Keeling said, “At the Modjeska School, I learned South Carolina history that I was never taught in school and how that history impacts the lives of South Carolinians today. The school gave me a solid foundation from which to build my organizing skills.”

Kyle Criminger, a graduate of the school’s inaugural class in 2015, now serves as a Network co-chair and is the lead organizer for the organization’s Fair Maps campaign to allow citizens rather than politicians to draw district maps. “The Modjeska School took us on a haunted, enthralling trek through South Carolina’s stolen and denied history, giving me a long view and a wide perspective on the problems here,” Criminger said. “The ongoing practicum I am working on with fellow graduates allows us to carry out a shared commitment to the values and principles that South Carolinians like Modjeska Simkins herself have held and lived by. That’s why I say that the School is a complete program and national model for community organizing.”

Graduates Daniel Deweese and Wayne Borders cofounded the New Legacy Project, the Network’s youth coordinating body, which meets twice a month in Columbia.
The school has attracted students of all ages, backgrounds, and interests. The youngest was Rose, the 10-year-old daughter of Graham Duncan, a historian at USC’s Caroliniana Library and Modjeska School faculty member, who helped run PowerPoint presentations. The oldest was 85-year-old Mary Bolden, a former Army officer and Vietnam War veteran.
Classes are held 6-8pm on alternate Monday evenings at the Network’s building at 2015 Marion St., downtown Columbia. The session also includes Sunday Socials, guest lectures on various historical and political topics that are free and open to the public.

Students of all ages, backgrounds, and interests are welcome to attend the Modjeska School. They must fill out an application, complete a brief telephone interview, and commit to attending all classes – barring emergencies or illness. This is a course for serious students, and includes lengthy reading assignments. The deadline to apply is March 1. Some scholarships are available.

Classes are held 6:30-8:30pm on alternate Monday evenings at the Network’s building at 2015 Marion St., downtown Columbia. Tuition is $210, which includes class materials and a copy of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. The session also includes Sunday Socials, guest lectures on various historical and political topics that are free and open to the public.

Anyone interested in attending is asked to call the Network’s office at 803-808-3384 for an application. Visit the web site for the class schedule, more about the school, and a list of faculty and advisors.

The graduating class of 2017

SC Progressive Network launches Modjeska Simkins School for Human Rights

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To preserve the fighting spirit of Modjeska Monteith Simkins, the SC Progressive Network is establishing a school to teach a new generation of activists the skills to be effective leaders in their communities and in their government.

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Modjeska was the larger-than-life matriarch of South Carolina’s progressive movement. She spent her long life (1899-1992) acting on her belief that civil rights were just part of a larger human rights struggle. She was ahead of her time, often the only black woman at the table, and was never shy about speaking her mind.

The Modjeska Simkins School for Human Rights will be based in the home she lived in for 60 years, where she entertained friends such as Thurgood Marshall and others not welcome in the white-only motels of the day. The home, at 2025 Marion St. in downtown Columbia, now serves as the Network’s office and meeting space.

A generous grant from the Richland County Conservation Commission is being used as seed money. An advisory committee has been meeting to outline a curriculum, to oversee the research and production of course materials, and to map out a funding plan to sustain the project.

The school will launch on Dec. 5, on what would have been Ms. Simkins’ 114th birthday. Mark your calendars and plan to join us for a big party. The Network has celebrated Modjeska’s birthday for many years, but this one promises to be truly special. See photos from last year’s gathering, and the year before.

To follow the school’s progress, join us on Facebook. Donations for the project are always welcome, as are your ideas. Contact the Network at 803-808-3384 or network@scpronet.com.