Update about ASALH National Dues

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Greetings Branch Member, 

As you are aware, ASALH is providing an incentive to those who join or renew by December 31, 2022.  Advance notices like this one have been sent to branch members to ensure all can take advantage of the benefit of paying the 2022 dues rate for 2023. 

All branches are asked to contact former members, new members, and those who are not current members of your branch to share this offer with them. Use this incentive in the correspondence that you are using during the renewal period that began on October 1. 

The new dues rates has been posted to the website for your reference. Dues paid through the website will be processed at the 2022 rate through December 31, 2022. If your branch collects national dues, please submit your payment to them as soon as possible.  Branches have been requested to submit the payment for all members taking advantage of this incentive by December 19.  Consider gifting a membership to a family member or friend. Share information about ASALH membership as you network with during the holiday season. 

Here is the JOIN page on the ASALH website. Membership benefits, mail in membership enrollment forms and the link to purchase membership online can be found here. 

The vision that Dr. Woodson had for our association in 1915 is as important now as it was then. Too many people do not know our rich history and its importance in shaping our communities and positively impacting our youth. Although through his efforts there is more information available, our role in being leaders in teaching and training remains important.  Your membership in the ASALH family ensures that the work to promote, research, preserve, interpret and disseminate information about Black life, history and culture to the global community will continue.

2022 Annual Charleston Area Branch ASALH Dr. Carter G. Woodson Birthday Celebration Dec. 10th at 1pm EST

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You are invited to join us to celebrate the 147th birthday of Dr Carter G Woodson – “The Father of Black History.” The celebration will include tributes to the life and legacy of Dr. Woodson, a Remembrance Committee Recognition, and a panel discussion on Black Health, Wellness and Resistance: Remembering the 1969 Hospital Strike.

Date/Time

Saturday, December 10, 2022, 1-3 pm

Location

Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, College of Charleston, 125 Bull St, Charleston SC 29401

In-Person RSVP

Attend Virtually

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://cofc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMpdeuurD0oH93SVDXnZj2V0VcBh1OW2Nad

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We will also be streaming the program on the Avery Research Center YouTube Channel

Panelists

  • Dr. Thaddeus J. Bell, Founder, Closing the Gap in Healthcare
  • Margaret Seidler, The Accidental Historian
  • Donald West, Branch Historian, Charleston Area Branch of ASALH

Sponsor(s)

Charleston Area Branch of ASALH, Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture

The Life and Lore of Sterling A. Brown: Celebrating Poetry, Prose, and Music

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A virtual symposium at Williams College, October 19-21, 2022

The Life and Lore of Sterling A. Brown: Celebrating Poetry, Prose, and Music, will be happening next week, October 20-21, 2022. Keynote speakers will be Dr. Imani Perry and Dr. Paula Giddings. There will also be panel sessions, music performances, a table read from the play “Brown, Sterling” by Vantile E. Harris, and a closing with the Cornelius Eady Trio band. Find out more information about the lineup and to register click here: https://specialcollections.williams.edu/sab/.

Prof. Sterling A. Brown (‘22) was a scholar, educator, poet, critic, and jazz and blues aficionado. Considered the “Dean of African-American Literature,” Sterling A. Brown was foundational in framing the African-American literary tradition, its advancement as a field of scholarly study, and for creating and inspiring discourse around folklore as a Black aesthetic. This symposium is two-fold, as it will mark the much anticipated opening of the Sterling A. Brown papers as well as celebrate his centennial graduation from Williams College. The symposium will engage local communities,  writers,  scholars, and performing artists for a multidisciplinary conversation on Sterling A. Brown and African-American cultural production. 

Serve your community. Become a poll worker.

Posted on by anhaykal

Our democracy depends on hundreds of thousands of ordinary people who act as poll workers to make sure elections run smoothly and everyone’s vote is counted. But during the pandemic, we’re facing an unprecedented shortage of poll workers that could mean closed polling places and long delays during the November election.

Thus, we urge folk to visit Power the Polls, an initiative to recruit poll workers. Sign up to Power the Polls today, to help make sure we have a safe, fair, efficient election for all voters.

Join a film screening of Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are) at Charleston County Public Library hosted by Learn from History

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Join for a screening and discussion of the 2021 documentary ‘Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are)!

Urgent and complex, Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are) travels across the United States, exploring how Americans tell the story of their Civil War. Filmed from the last year of Obama’s presidency through the present, it interweaves insightful scenes and touching interviews filmed North and South, painting a uniquely crafted, multi-faceted portrait of the American psyche and the deep roots of its turbulent times. With delicacy and strength, subtlety and determination, Civil War lays bare a nation in denial, haunted by an embittered past and the stories it refuses to tell.

Time and Date

Tuesday, October 25 at 5:30 – 7:30pm EDT

Location

Charleston County Public Library – Otranto Road Library in the Otranto – Community Room

2261 Otranto Rd, North Charleston, SC 29406

Register Here

Trailer

Come to our 2022 ASALH Founder’s Day Celebration and Membership Meeting

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We are honored to invite you to attend our upcoming Founder’s Day and Membership Meeting. The meeting will take place in person at the College of Charleston West Edge, Room 206 with an option to join using the zoom link below. To help us accommodate your participation, we kindly ask you to RSVP using this link:  https://i.invitd.us/p-OQdzMCjoxL

Meeting URL:https://cofc.zoom.us/j/8910318406?from=addon
Meeting ID:891 031 8406

AfroSouth Film Festival coming to Charleston, November 4-6, 2022

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“The AfroSouth Film Festival is a new festival in historic Charleston, South Carolina. This unique festival focuses on filmmakers, their creative spirit and their sources of inspiration around the lowcountry. AfroSouth extends beyond screenings to theaters with interactive panels, workshops, youth programs, music and networking opportunities.”

The Festival takes great pride in going the extra mile to provide Festival Sponsors one-of-a- kind opportunities to personalize and “own” a key element of the Festival while celebrating true southern culture, in the elegant branding environment that is Charleston, SC.

​The Festival is infused with the creative spirit and multi-ethnic culture of the town that is reflected in its stunning architecture, robust fine and folk arts scene, Gullah and Low Country, cuisine and the essence of Southern hospitality.

We focus on filmmakers and experience their work through personal points of inspiration. The AfroSouth Film Festival extends beyond screenings in theaters to panels, workshops, youth programs, music and opportunities for meeting and sharing ideas.

Get Your Tickets Today!!

Lowcountry Mental Health Summit on May 21, 2022

Posted on by anhaykal

This summit is a great opportunity to learn more about mental health and how it impacts our community. You’ll have the chance to explore different approaches to counseling and learn about resources that are available to you.

We hope that you will join us at the summit, on May 21st, 2022, at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church. 7396 Rivers Ave, North Charleston, SC 29406 from 9am-5pm, as we work together to improve mental health in our community. It’s going to be a great event, and we look forward to seeing you there!

Register today!

Website

About Summit

The Lowcountry Mental Health Summit presented by the Parent Leader Network of the Charleston Area
Urban League in partnership with the Project Prevent Program of the Department of Alternative
Programs and Services of the Charleston County will be held on May 21st, 2022, at Mount Moriah
Missionary Baptist Church-7396 Rivers Ave, North Charleston, SC 29406 from 9am- 5pm.

In 2021, Parent Leader Network (PLN) members decided that the mental health of Black students within
the Lowcountry was a priority that needed to be addressed. However, many parents recognized that
there were knowledge gaps regarding protocols for attending to mental health concerns within their
schools. The PLN agreed that a mental health summit was needed because “we don’t know what we
don’t know”. The purpose of the Summit is to create a conducive space for discussing and learning
about mental health and how it impacts Lowcountry families, exploring best practices in mental health
approaches for school-based systems, and gaining access to culturally appropriate school-based and
community-based counseling resources.

The summit is free to Lowcountry residents and will feature a hybrid engagement platform with sessions
occurring in person and virtually. There will be a dynamic keynote speaker, breakout sessions for adults
and children (6th grade and up) with Behavioral Health experts, Practitioners, and School
Administrators. Exhibitors will be on site and free boxed lunches will be provided.

Session Topics Include:

  • Social and Emotional Learning
  • Second Step
  • Positive Interventions and Support
  • Mental Health Resources
  • Restorative Practices

Free childcare services will be provided for children in Kindgergarten-5th grade.
Vendor tables are still available for community resources that would like to participate

Press Release for 2022 Middle Passage Remembrance Program

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“All those Africans in the briny deep. All those people who said ‘no’ and jumped ship. All those people who tried to figure a way to steer, to navigate amongst the sharks. We don’t call upon that power… upon those spirits. We don’t celebrate those ancestors. We don’t have a marker, an expression, a song that we use to acknowledge them. We have nothing to indicate that those are our people and they mattered … we don’t tap into the ancestral presence in the waters.”

––Toni Cade Bambara (1987)

“Spirit of the Dead, rise up and claim your story.”

––From the film Sankofa (1993)

On Saturday, June 11, 2022, The Charleston Branch ASALH Remembrance Committee will host the 25th Annual Remembrance Program on Sullivan’s Island, SC from 9:00am – 1:00pm.

The annual commemoration, held the second Saturday of every June, provides an opportunity for members of African Diaspora communities to collectively remember the countless Africans — men, women, and children — who were kidnapped, sold, shipped and died along the route from Africa to the Americas. We believe that by remembering, we honor and restore the humanity of those nameless, faceless Africans. We continue the process of healing from the fear, pain, guilt and shame of the experience that continues to traumatize the African descended community today. After all, if we don’t remember them, who will?!

We also honor and commemorate those who survived the Transatlantic trafficking of African people and we stand upon their strength, courage and determination to overcome obstacles of enormous magnitude.

The program begins promptly at 9:15am in the Fort Moultrie Auditorium with greetings from ASALH Remembrance Committee Coordinator Regina Williams. Donald West (History & Humanities Department, Trident Technical College, No. Charleston, SC) will speak on the “Middle Passage, Myths and Realities.” The program includes a drum procession to the Beach and back to the “Bench by the Road” for remarks by Charleston ASALH President Jerome Harris, Marcus McDonald (Charleston Black Lives Matter) and from other community members.

At 12:00pm EST, the Libation Ceremony conducted by Yoruba Priestess OsunWonuola EfunLayo, will be held in conjunction with various locations, including: Brooklyn, NY; Washington, DC; Georgetown, SC; Hampton, VA; New Orleans, LA; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland, CA; Montgomery, AL; Miami, FL; Detroit, MI. Tributes are also held internationally in locations in West Africa, The Caribbean and South and Central America.

The program and gathering is free and open to the public; all who wish to attend are welcome. Attendees are encouraged to bring fresh flowers as an offering and to be dressed in white.

For those unable to attend a scheduled Remembrance/Tribute to the Ancestors program, we encourage you to gather with friends and family and reflect upon the occasion.

  • For additional information, visit Charleston Middle Passage Remembrance on Facebook.
  • Sponsored by Charleston Branch ASALH Remembrance Committee – Website: www.chsasalh.com & The National Parks Service – Fort Moultrie.
  • The Charleston Remembrance Program is a member of the International Coalition to Commemorate the African Ancestors of the Middle Passage (ICCAAMP). Website: www.remembertheancestors.com

25th Year of the Charleston Middle Passage Remembrance Ceremony

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Date: June 11, 2022

Time: 9AM

Where: Fort Moultrie, Sullivan’s Island (1214 Middle St, Sullivan’s Island, SC 29482)

Who: Everyone, Program is open to the Public

About Ceremony

REMEMBRANCE COMMEMORATION 2022

Charleston, South Carolina

On Saturday June 11, 2022 from 9:00am – 1:00pm EST, the Charleston Area Branch Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) Remembrance Committee hosts REMEMBRANCE COMMEMORATION 2022

The Libation Ceremony at 12:00 Noon EST, officiated by Yoruba Priestess OsunWonuola EfunLayo pays homage to African Ancestors.

The annual commemoration provides an opportunity for members of the African-descended community to collectively remember the millions of Africans — men, women, and children, who were sold, kidnapped, shipped away from their homeland, and who died along the route from Africa to the Americas. By remembering, we honor and restore the humanity of the nameless faceless Ancestors, disrupt the collective amnesia, and continue the process of healing from the fear, pain, guilt and shame of the experience that continues to traumatize the African descended community. Additionally, we seek the restoration of cultural identity, dignity and pride.

REMEMBRANCE programs (aka Tribute to the Ancestors) are conducted in various National and International locations. All people of African heritage are strongly encouraged participate. For information visit our Facebook page.

IF WE DON’T REMEMBER AND HONOR THEM – WHO WILL!

25th year y’all!!! It began as and remains a dynamic community collective sharing in REMEMBRANCE, COMMEMORATION, TRIBUTE, HEALING.

To prepare for this year’s program we encourage you to check out these resources

Resources

National Parks Service

This first one is regarding the “African Passages” exhibition at the National Parks Service: Fort Moultrie.  The Avery Research Center and the The Charleston REMEMBRANCE Committee as a unit was happy to offer support to this NPS-Fort Moultrie’s permanent exhibition honoring the Lowcountry African presence and story. The Charleston Remembrance Committee is acknowledged: (paragraph 2, last sentence)

And most certainly the ritual at the opening of the exhibition followed our format –>Drumming & Libation. (last paragraph)

Charleston Middle Passage Remembrance (YouTube Channel)

  • Access the interviews that were conducted in 2020 and 2021.
  • 2021 Virtual Remembrance Program.
    • Included are the portions recorded at the Avery Research Center with Dr. Tamara Butler; Charleston Branch ASALH President, Mr. Jerome Harris; Charleston Branch ASALH/Remembrance Committee Representatives Ms. Regina Williams, Ms. Dena Davis.
    • Included is memorable footage of Dr. Ade Ofunniyin (RIP), Dr. Myrtle Glascoe (RIP), Mr. James Campbell (RIP), Julie Saunders Monroe (RIP), Hardy Babatu Robinson (RIP), the Libation Ceremony conducted by Iya Osunwonuola (aka Mama Pearl) — and so much more!
    • This video compilation was put together by Charleston Remembrance’s videographer/documentarian Brenda Peart.  It was widely shared & viewed locally, nationally, internationally.
  • This is a dynamic interview with Charleston born Doktor Khozmiq.
    • Doktor Khozmiq was born in Charleston, SC and resides in Columbia, SC, is an experienced practitioner in the African Diasporic tradition known as African American Folk Magic – Conjure, Hoodoo and Rootwork. His practice, Cosmic Alchemy, offers a platform to heal, teach, and empower using the spiritual technology of the Ancestors.
    • Interview conducted by Jonathan Richardson w/assistance from Quanza Washington, Talim Lessane, Deborah Wright. Filmed by Brenda Peart.

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