‘Guardians of hidden history’: SC Civil Rights Museum nears move to new downtown Orangeburg facility

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (WIS) - The South Carolina Civil Rights Museum is moving closer to opening a new, larger home in downtown Orangeburg after a year-long delay.

The museum, founded by civil rights photographer Cecil J. Williams, is set to relocate to an 11,000-square-foot facility in the heart of the city as part of Orangeburg’s Railway Corner Redevelopment Project — an effort to revitalize what was once a hub of African American businesses.

Williams knows all too well the many faces of Black history and the vicious barriers of racism they had to overcome.

He spent 70 years photographing the civil rights movement, documenting figures including civil rights lawyer Thurgood Marshall and capturing moments from the Briggs v. Elliott case, a landmark lawsuit challenging segregation in public schools.

“Photography has a funny way of doing that,” Williams said, referring to how looking at his photos makes it seem like the events happened yesterday. “But it also speaks about the power and capacity that one photograph can tell a story.”

One of Williams’ most iconic photos is an image that came from a personal act of defiance. In the photo, an 18-year-old Williams is seen drinking from a water fountain designated for white people only.

“We were thirsty. We were defiant, and we left satisfied that we had drunk water on our way back to Orangeburg,” he said.

Thousands of Williams’ photographs, along with historical artifacts, are currently on display at the museum. The new facility is intended to expand that collection and reach.

“So much of South Carolina’s history has been hidden. It’s not in our history books. We don’t hear a lot of our elders talking about it, but we’re going to make sure, as the guardians of this history, that their stories are told,” Williams said. “We’re going to do it with artifacts, images, and documents, and tell those stories that again give them their deserved place in history.”

Williams said he plans to do a soft opening in May. He said the new museum is expected to open by the end of the year.

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