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415:, president of Claflin University. In 2006, he was also the recipient of Claflin University's highest award, the Bythewood Award. The South Carolina African-American Heritage Commission gave him the 2006 "Preserving Our Place in History" Award. In 2016, the Commission presented him with the DeCosta Jr. Trailblazer Award. In 2017, Governor Henry McMaster awarded him the Order of the Palmetto.
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Although better known for photography, Williams' painting, art, graphics, and architectural renderings represent proficiency, especially among minimalists. Although at that time, because of his race, he was barred from attending
Clemson University in his state to study architecture, he drew plans for
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Ethel
Williams spent her whole life as a dedicated educator, teaching at the elementary, high school, and college level. Cecil L. Williams was a self-employed tailor, with an almost 80% white clientele. He did the alterations for downtown stores such as Belk-Hudson, Barshay Marcus Clothing Store, and
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As a
Claflin University student, Williams was named an honoree of both Outstanding Young Men of America and Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges & Universities. He was given the 1994 Freedom Fighter Award by the Orangeburg branch of the NAACP. Also in 1994, he received a commendation by
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would be at a downtown hotel at a press conference, and went there in hopes of capturing some images. He forgot his press pass, and the hotel security was about to kick him out of the room right as
Kennedy was about to come up to the podium. Kennedy told them not to kick him out, and ended up giving
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At the age of 9, Williams received a gift which changed the course of his life. His older brother had been given a camera by his mother, but he went on to be more interested in music and the saxophone, which ultimately led him to hand the camera down to
Williams. A Kodak Baby Brownie was the first
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to house hundreds of images and artifacts from the civil rights movement. The museum looks like an ultra-modern-day home which
Williams designed himself in 1983, 36 years before he made it into his own museum. The theme of the museum is "The South Carolina Events that Changed America". The museum
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where the U.S. Supreme Court titled the class action suit—Brown v. Board of
Education—a suit composed of 5 cases—finally gained some traction. He solicited the help of Dr. Thomas Mullikin—an attorney who practices law in Camden, South Carolina—to assist in filing a petition to the Supreme Court
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Williams lives in
Orangeburg, South Carolina. He is married to Barbara Johnson Williams, a retired educator. They met while Barbara was attending college, and he was the university photographer. Going through old photos, they discovered that when Barbara was in high school Williams had taken a
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His work has been exhibited at many institutions and museums, such as
Claflin University, University of South Carolina, Columbia Museum of Art, Clemson University, Columbia College, Furman University, Rice Museum in Georgetown, South Carolina State University, and Museum of the New South in
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Williams his personal address. For the next year, while campaigning all over the United States, Williams became a close acquaintance of
Kennedy, and one of his favorite photographers. Williams was one of the few in the press community to be allowed on Kennedy's private 10-seater jet.
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He began photographing people on Sundays when people were dressed at their finest. As he kept taking pictures, he began to realize that he could make money from this. He began earning a dollar or two by taking pictures of people in the local Edisto Gardens.
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contributor and photographer. He also tours the nation giving presentations at conferences, events and institutions about his work during the civil rights movement. He is a member of the American Society of Media Photographers.
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When Williams was 12, his mentor, E.C. Jones from Sumter, South Carolina, asked him to take photos of the churches of Clarendon County, which happened to hold the families of the DeLaine and the Pearson families from the
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In 2015, Williams invented the FilmToaster, a camera scanning platform and system that digitizes film negatives faster than other methods. In 2019–2020, in collaboration with the Barry and Peggy Goldwater Foundation,
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Williams helped his father with his business by delivering the clothes back to the stores when they were finished, and at the end of the week delivered the bills and collected money for his father's services.
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camera he would ever own, which he still has, and which still works. This was the start to a newfound passion, and he later used an extra bedroom in the family's house as a darkroom to develop negatives.
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caught wind of the movement growing in Orangeburg. They needed an onsite correspondent for constant updates, and someone to document the events. The only time Williams' work appeared on the cover of
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Williams owns a portrait studio, event, and wedding photography business based in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He serves as the director of Historic Preservation at Claflin University. He is a
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He was the third child of Ethel and Cecil L. Willams. His parents both have mixed African-American ancestry; his mother's side is half white, and his father's half Native American.
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features hundreds of his photographs documenting the civil rights movement for national publications. The museum focuses on history he has captured in South Carolina.
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His work has been published in hundreds of books, newspapers and television documentaries. His photography and art has been exhibited in galleries in the Southeast.
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Williams has photographed significant desegregation efforts in South Carolina since the 1950s. Some of his most notable pictures are of the activity during the
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asking to rename the Brown case to Bragg v. Elliott; the first of the cases and catalyst that inspired 4 other suits. A response has not yet been received.
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127:(born November 26, 1937) is an American photographer, publisher, author and inventor who is best known for his photographs documenting the
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233:. It was the first of five desegregation cases pushing to integrate public schools in the United States. The five cases combined into
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879:"2016 SCAAHC Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony Preserving Our Places in History Through Trial and Triumph AWARD WINNERS"
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Freedom and Justice: Four Decades of the Civil Rights Struggle as Seen by a Black Photographer of the Deep South
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Unforgettable All the Memories We Left Behind: The Art, Design, and Photography of Cecil Williams, 1950–2013
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304:'s desegregation of Clemson University in 1963, the 1969 Charleston hospital workers' strike, and the 1968
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He graduated from Claflin in 1960 with a bachelor's degree in art. He studied under painter and sculptor
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Out-of-the-Box in Dixie: Cecil Williams’ Photography of the South Carolina Events that Changed America
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363:. He was the second black person to do so in the state. He lost in a close race to Melvin Purvis.
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He began his career at an early age, photographing wedding and family parties. He studied art at
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Cecil J. Williams was born on November 26, 1937, and raised in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
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576:"A photo exhibit remembers Charleston Hospital Strike on the eve of its 50th anniversary"
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At the age of 14, Williams was one of 25 photographers around the world freelancing for
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In November 2023, Williams's dream of gaining attention to the hijacking of the name,
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Williams worked as the official photographer for the South Carolina branch of the
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As a young professional, he also contributed to other publications, including the
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Painter Showcase: A Gallery of Modern Portraiture, Beyond the Camera's Capability
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speaking at the protest during the 1969 Charleston hospital workers' strike.
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He holds membership with Delta Chi, the Orangeburg, South Carolina Boulé of
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the S.C. House of Representatives, introduced by Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter.
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Williams ran again as a candidate in the Democratic primary preceding the
634:"SC State's Miller F. Whittaker Library celebrates National Library Week"
517:"Civil rights photographer, Cecil Williams, to speak at Columbia College"
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co-written with two other authors, published by Arcadia Publishing (2002)
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several residences; one of which was featured in the June 1977 issue of
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shooting and killing three African American men and injuring 27 other
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were on exhibit. All the photos were printed by the FilmToaster.
711:"November 2007 South Carolina African American History Calendar"
275:, he was visiting relatives in New York City. He had read that
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magazine, and Scottsdale's Museum of the West, photographs by
802:. American Society of Media Photographers. Archived from
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will also double as the neighborhood community center.
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American Society of Media Photographers South Carolina
142:, while also being a photographer for the university.
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American photographer, publisher, author and inventor
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1996 United States Senate election in South Carolina
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1984 United States Senate election in South Carolina
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In January of 1960, during Williams' senior year at
411:He received the Presidential Citation in 1995 from
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796:"A Full Plate of Photography with a side of Toast"
497:List of photographers of the civil rights movement
886:South Carolina Department of Archives and History
657:"Orangeburg Massacre stirs debate 44 years later"
636:. South Carolina State University. April 13, 2009
564:Williams, Cecil. Personal interview. 5, May 2019.
396:Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum
150:Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum
718:South Carolina African American History Calendar
916:"Order of the Palmetto given to Cecil Williams"
774:"Cecil Williams featured speaker at conference"
186:At age 11, he photographed his first wedding.
606:"Meet Cecil - Cecil Williams Photography LLC"
442:Orangeburg 1968…: A Place and Time Remembered
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394:In the summer of 2019, Williams opened the
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386:picture of her, not knowing who she was.
382:, the oldest African-American fraternity.
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888:. State of South Carolina. Archived from
776:. The Times and Democrat. August 25, 2016
655:Eversley, Melanie (September 21, 2012).
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962:People from Orangeburg, South Carolina
720:. SC African American. Archived from
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460:Images of America - Clarendon County,
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370:. He lost to Elliott Springs Close.
355:Williams ran as a candidate in the
519:. Columbia College. Archived from
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914:Mack, John (December 12, 2017).
357:South Carolina Democratic Party
314:South Carolina State University
977:African-American photographers
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310:South Carolina Highway Patrol
748:"FilmToaster Scanner Review"
688:. Sandlapper Publishing, Inc
308:. The massacre involved the
236:Brown v. Board of Education
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686:Sandlapper Publishing, Inc
154:Orangeburg, South Carolina
64:Orangeburg, South Carolina
967:Claflin University alumni
859:. Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity
832:. Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity
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972:South Carolina Democrats
492:Oral History (June 2011)
171:Limehouse Men's Stores.
102:Barbara Johnson Williams
857:Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity
479:Out of the Box in Dixie
253:Baltimore Afro-American
952:American photographers
920:The Times and Democrat
853:"History of the Boulé"
37:Williams (right) with
851:Reed, Archon Rodney.
610:www.cecilwilliams.com
129:civil rights movement
895:on December 14, 2016
297:; "Space Age Home".
806:on October 28, 2016
727:on October 28, 2016
523:on October 28, 2016
473:Freedom and Justice
306:Orangeburg Massacre
300:He also documented
218:was his picture of
152:in his hometown of
746:Sienkiewicz, Joe.
351:Political activism
273:Claflin University
265:Pittsburgh Courier
244:Briggs v. Elliott,
220:Coretta Scott King
140:Claflin University
83:Claflin University
826:"Delta Chi Boulé"
403:Awards and honors
227:Briggs v. Elliott
193:Briggs v. Elliott
125:Cecil J. Williams
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57:November 26, 1937
25:Cecil J. Williams
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830:Sigma Pi Phi
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93:Photographer
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947:1937 births
925:January 24,
899:October 27,
863:October 26,
836:October 27,
810:October 26,
780:October 27,
758:October 27,
731:October 27,
692:October 27,
666:October 28,
640:October 27,
527:October 27,
327:Charlotte.
71:Nationality
941:Categories
752:Shutterbug
503:References
316:students.
210:magazine.
196:petition.
160:Early life
89:Occupation
53:1937-11-26
661:USA Today
231:Summerton
486:See also
229:case in
74:American
615:June 8,
585:June 8,
287:there.
107:Website
481:(2006)
475:(1996)
456:(2013)
450:(2016)
438:(2012)
432:(1995)
390:Museum
262:, and
200:Career
99:Spouse
41:, 2017
893:(PDF)
882:(PDF)
725:(PDF)
714:(PDF)
424:Books
321:NAACP
294:Ebony
927:2024
901:2016
865:2016
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617:2019
587:2019
529:2016
148:The
116:.com
47:Born
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216:JET
212:JET
207:JET
131:in
112:www
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