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Check out our Constitution Day and REACH Act resources

12/14/2022
profile-icon John Barnett

In commemoration of Constitution Day (held this year on Saturday, September 17), we have created a library guide featuring foundational documents in American history and government.

This guide provides links to key documents including the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Federalist Papers, among many others. South Carolina Act 26 of 2021, better known as the REACH Act, requires undergraduate students to complete a three-credit course that involves reading these and other founding documents.

This guide also offers background information on the REACH Act, including related guidelines from the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE); resources documenting segregation, integration, the Civil Rights Movement, and other aspects of the African American Freedom Struggle; additional readings on Indigenous People's rights and justice; and a list of current USC Upstate courses that fulfill REACH Act requirements.

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Commemorating Constitution Day
09/19/2023
profile-icon John Barnett
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Constitution Day image featuring American flag and U.S. Capitol buildingIn the United States, Constitution Day (also known as Constitution and Citizenship Day) is observed annually on September 17. This marks the date that delegates to the Constitutional Convention held in Philadelphia in 1787 submitted their final version of the U.S. Constitution for signature.

To commemorate the momentous occasion, the Library is highlighting the resources available on the U.S. Constitution as well as other founding documents in American history and government. These include the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, the Emancipation Proclamation and other key works in the African American freedom struggle, and important documents on Indigenous Peoples' rights and justice.

Please check out our library guide to the Constitution and other founding documents. Here you'll also find information about South Carolina's REACH Act, legislation enacted in 2021 to ensure undergraduate education on America's constitutional heritage.

History / Political Science, African American Studies
April 17 JFA talk - The Dizzy Gillespie for President Movement - Dr. Gaffney
04/14/2023
profile-icon Virginia Cononie
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“'I'm Running for President Because We Need One': The Dizzy Gillespie for President Movement and the Black Freedom Struggle, 1963-1964” – a talk by Dr. Nicholas Gaffney

 Please join us on Monday, April 17, for an intriguing presentation and discussion, “'I'm Running for President Because We Need One': The Dizzy Gillespie for President Movement and the Black Freedom Struggle, 1963-1964,” with Nicholas Gaffney, Ph.D., Director of the Center for African American Studies (CAAS) at USC Upstate and Assistant Professor of History.

Growing out of his childhood experiences in Cheraw, South Carolina, Gillespie introduced a series of policy initiatives and potential political appointments that would transform the federal government into a vehicle that would position people of color within the United States and abroad to achieve economic and political self-determination. Gillespie performed the role of the candidate during live performances and interviews with the press to place his radical vision for America's future into circulation.

We look forward to seeing you at this and future JFA events. For more information about this event, please call the Library at (864) 503-5620.

African American Studies
Celebrating Black History Month
02/07/2023
profile-icon John Barnett
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Portrait of US Congressman John Lewis with the words "Good Trouble" appearing next to himUpdate: The posters will remain on view through the remainder of spring semester 2023.

The USC Upstate Library celebrates Black History Month 2023 with an exhibit of posters of highly regarded African American and Black historical figures, civil rights activists, and cultural leaders. These posters are on view from February 7 through early March on the 1st floor of the library near the PerkUp! coffeeshop/café.

Three of the posters commemorate "Black Resistance," this year's Black History Month theme as designated by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the organization that founded this annual celebration.  

Additional posters are reproductions of colorful portraits originally created by Mr. Johnson Paints. Arranged alphabetically from left to right on the café walls, the following portraits are featured:

  • Stacey Abrams, American politician, attorney, businesswoman, writer, and voting rights advocate
  • Muhammad Ali, heavyweight champion boxer and civil rights activist
  • Maya Angelou, poet, writer, performer, professor, and civil rights activist; author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat, graffiti artist and painter
  • Chadwick Boseman, actor and playwright, well-known for his role as Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; a native of Anderson, South Carolina
  • Ruby Bridges (as a child), civil rights activist and philanthropist, who at age 6 became one of the first Black children to integrate the New Orleans all-White public school system
  • Ketanji Brown Jackson, attorney and jurist, now serving as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court
  • Amanda Gorman, American poet and activist who became the first National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States in 2017; she presented her poem, "The Hill We Climb," at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden
  • Fannie Lou Hamer, voting, civil, and women's rights activist; in collaboration with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), she organized Mississippi's Freedom Summer
  • Katherine Johnson, mathematician for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) whose calculations of orbital mechanics are viewed as foundational to the success of the first and subsequent space flights by U.S. astronauts
  • Marsha P. Johnson, a key figure of the 1960s LGBTQ+ rights movement in the U.S., AIDS activist, and performer
  • Martin Luther King, Jr., minister and civil rights leader; winner of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for combating racism through nonviolent protest and civil disobedience
  • John Lewis, American civil rights leader and U.S. Congressman; he was one of 13 original Freedom Riders and served as Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
  • Barack Obama, attorney, U.S. Congressman, writer, and 44th President of the United States
  • Michelle Obama, attorney, writer, and former First Lady of the United States
  • Rosa Parks, long-time civil rights activist, well-known for her pivotal role in the 1955-56 Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott
  • Tupac Shakur, American rapper and actor

Who did we miss? Thousands! There are so many important people and events in Black and African American history and culture. These posters offer only a sampling of the rich tapestry of Black and African American resistance, persistence, and success.  

History / Political Science, African American Studies