Charleston Currents – 2018

Archive for January, 2018

MYSTERY PHOTO: Big gun

Contributing photographer Michael Kaynard of Charleston sent along this photo of a big, old gun that’s located somewhere in South Carolina. But where? Have you seen it? Send your best guess – plus your name and hometown – to editor@charlestoncurrents.com. In the subject line, write: “Mystery Photo guess.”

Last issue’s mystery: The Jan. 16 mystery, “Cloudy bridge,” is a photo of Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala. It may be, as sleuth George Graf wrote, the most famous bridge in the nation’s civil rights struggle.

by Michael Kaynard · 01/22/2018 · Comments are Disabled · Mystery Photo, Photos

HISTORY: Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge

S.C. Encyclopedia | Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1932 as a wintering ground for migratory waterfowl. Located in Charleston County and stretching for twenty-two miles along the coast between Charleston and the Santee River delta, Cape Romain is a rich natural resource. In its shallow bays, tides combine the life-giving nourishment of the ocean with the nutrient-laden freshwaters of rivers to make one of the most productive environments on earth. Plants and animals from the land, rivers, and ocean are all present at Cape Romain, and all are dependent on the delicate balance of the marshlands.

by Charleston Currents · 01/22/2018 · Comments are Disabled · Features, S.C. Encyclopedia

CALENDAR, Jan. 16+: On breaking barriers, restaurants, comedy and jazz

Staff reports | Former S.C. Rep. Lucille Whipper of Mount Pleasant and Charleston business leader Linda Ketner, two recent recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Charleston NAACP, will share their experiences breaking barriers in South Carolina at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church in a forum that starts 6 p.m. Jan. 23. The talk will be moderated by Patricia Williams Lessane, a cultural anthropologist and the executive director of the Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston. Several other community events also are listed on the calendar. Click headline for more.

by Andy Brack · 01/16/2018 · Comments are Disabled · calendar

FOCUS: How Martin Luther King can inspire your career

By Ben Fanning, contributing editor | Did you know that Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was originally titled, “Normalcy, Never Again.”? In fact, the first drafts of his speech never included the phrase “I have a dream”?

Turns out the entire “I have a dream” part of the speech was improvised. That’s right…improvised in front of 200,000 people when a supporter yelled out: “Tell them about the dream, Martin!”

He was inspired in that moment and just shared with them what he’d be dreaming about for his generation and generations yet to come. It was a beautiful demonstration of how powerful a dream can be.

by Ben Fanning · 01/16/2018 · Comments are Disabled · Careers, Focus, Views

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering a speech.

BRACK: How South Carolina influenced King

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | With the Martin Luther King holiday still fresh in our minds, it’s a good time to look at how South Carolina influenced King – and how he influenced the Palmetto State.

Many people don’t realize South Carolina provided sanctuary for King and his supporters. He used Penn Center on St. Helena Island as a retreat to think and compose. While state officials in many parts of the South interfered with King, his South Carolina base for reflection helped usher in the civil rights movement.

by Andy Brack · 01/16/2018 · 1 comment · Andy Brack, Views

GOOD NEWS: Chamber offers legislative priorities

Staff reports | The 2018 legislative agenda for the Charleston Metro Chamber includes 15 priorities split between priority issues and competitiveness issues.

Anticipating a session focused on our state’s energy and state pension issues, the Chamber restructured this year’s state agenda into priority issues and competitiveness issues.

The agenda features 11 priority issues that the Chamber’s advocacy team will actively work to pass this year. There are an additional four competitiveness issues which may take longer to accomplish, but are priorities that are vitally important to the business community.

by Charleston Currents · 01/16/2018 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, News briefs

MYSTERY PHOTO: Cloudy bridge

Here’s a bridge outside of South Carolina that you might recognize. But where is it? Send your best guess – plus your name and hometown – to editor@charlestoncurrents.com. In the subject line, write: “Mystery Photo guess.”

by Andy Brack · 01/16/2018 · Comments are Disabled · Mystery Photo, Photos

HISTORY: Citizens’ councils in South Carolina

S.C. Encyclopedia | Founded in 1954 in Indianola, Mississippi, Citizens’ Councils quickly spread across the South. The organizations promoted membership as a “respectable” way for disgruntled segregationists to protest civil rights activism. The councils distributed pro-segregation propaganda and attempted to protect the legality of racial segregation throughout the South. They publicly renounced violence but encouraged organized economic pressure against African Americans and whites who were sympathetic to the black freedom struggle.

by Charleston Currents · 01/16/2018 · Comments are Disabled · Features, S.C. Encyclopedia

This young woman is a drummer and singer in a band that plays Afro-Cuban music at an art studio in El Callejon de Hamel in Havana.

CALENDAR, Jan. 8+: Restaurant week, author talk, music, more

Cuba photo exhibit: Through Jan. 31/ Charleston County Public Library, Calhoun St., Charleston. Charleston Currents’ editor and publisher Andy Brack offers photographic insights into Cuba from a 2015 visit to the country. An exhibition is on display in the Saul Alexander Gallery. Free.

Restaurant Week: Jan. 10-21 in Charleston area restaurants. Charleston diners will be able to enjoy special food and drinks from renowned chefs at dozens of local eateries during the latest installment of Charleston Restaurant Week. More than 100 restaurants are expected to participate. For a list, click here.

Tata talk: Noon, Jan. 10, High Cotton restaurant, East Bay St., Charleston. Retired Brigadier Gen. A.J. Tata will profile his latest military thriller, Direct Fire, at this Blue Bicycle Books Charleston Author Series Luncheon. Tickets are $31 for the luncheon and $58 for the luncheon and signed copy of the book. More info.

by Charleston Currents · 01/08/2018 · Comments are Disabled · calendar

Enjoying the view. Photo by Islandscape Landscaping via WestOf.

FOCUS: First the snow, now the thaw

Staff reports | With most people across the Lowcountry homebound because of the Great Charleston Snow of 2018, we solicited photos via Facebook from people around the area and were flabbergasted to receive more than 60 photos from 40 people.

What’s amazing in looking through these photos is how you can see the storm and its impact through lots of different eyes. You can find your favorite by going through the links above. In addition to the photo above, here are five of our favorites…

OUR FAVORITES
PHOTOS: The Great Charleston Snow of 2018
MORE PIX of the Great Charleston Snow of 2018