Charleston Currents #13.48 | Oct. 18, 2021
GOOD MORNING, MORNING GLORY. The rich purple of these morning glories along the West Ashley Greenway enlivened the landscape over the weekend. See something you think our readers would enjoy? Snap a shot and send it along. Photo by Andy Brack.
FOCUS: Sanders-Clyde students are first in state to get group’s glasses
COMMENTARY, Brack: Vague school disciplinary law rightly blocked, but ruling appealed
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: SC Clips
NEWS BRIEFS: Portrait of Civil War hero now out of closet and on Senate wall
FEEDBACK: Send us your letters
MYSTERY PHOTO: Lots of vegetables in this image
CALENDAR: Holiday Festival of Lights returns in November
Sanders-Clyde students are 1st in state to get group’s glasses
Students received free glasses from a California nonprofit. Photos provided.
Staff reports | More than 80 students at Sanders-Clyde Elementary School in Charleston are the first in South Carolina to get new prescription glasses thanks to a nonprofit called Vision to Learn, according to the Charleston County School District. The organization offers screenings, exams, and glasses to children in need in Title 1 schools at no charge to the students or their families.
“The younger ones wanted to pick out glasses in their favorite color and the older students were excited to actually be able to see,” said Allison Wukovits, nurse liaison for the school district. “We’re confident that we’re going to see improved behavior and grades as a result of this program. You can’t learn if you can’t see.”
Of the students screened, about one in three needed an exam and 80 percent of those students needed glasses, the district said.
“Since launching our South Carolina program at Sanders-Clyde Elementary, Vision To Learn has seen firsthand the extreme need for our program in Charleston,” said Roberto Hernandez, program manager of Vision to Learn Charleston. “Over a third of students did not pass a vision screening, and the vast majority of these students have never had an eye examination — even some fourth or fifth graders who’ve needed glasses for years — underlining the lack of access to basic vision care.
“Charleston County is not alone in this. We estimate 150,000 South Carolina kids go to school every day unable to see clearly. Our goal in future years is to grow the program’s reach so that students across the state can get the glasses they need to succeed in school and a connection to a local eye doctor for follow-up care.”
Blackford at right.
Long-time Charleston resident and retired banker Henry Blackford came across a PBS documentary news program about the Vision to Learn nonprofit and after partnering with MUSC Health, MUSC Children’s Health and the Medical University’s Storm Eye Institute, he brought the program to the state. He now serves as the primary fundraiser to make the program possible.
“When I watched the news segment, Vision To Learn struck a nerve with me,” he said. “I got in touch with the founder to learn more, visited their program in Charlotte and came back determined. The event at Sanders-Clyde is our first dispensing event and we’re excited to expand the program.”
Blackford said he has worn glasses his entire life and doesn’t know what he would have done without vision assistance.
“You can’t expect children to do well if they have uncorrected vision issues,” said Blackford.
- Have a comment? Send to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com.
Vague school disciplinary law blocked, but ruling appealed
By Andy Brack, editor and publisher | A school-to-prison pipeline emboldened by what’s been called a vague disorderly conduct law is closed for now, but the state attorney general wants it back. Instead of appealing a law that has wrongly criminalized student behavior for too long, S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson should let schools follow normal disciplinary protocols to do their jobs and stop wasting time in federal courts.
In a 39-page ruling, Senior U.S. District Judge Margaret B. Seymour of Columbia on Oct. 8 issued an order to keep the state permanently from enforcing a law that allowed students to be charged criminally for what the ACLU of South Carolina says can be normal adolescent behaviors “including cursing or undefined ‘disorder’ or ‘boisterousness’ behavior at school.” The judge also ruled the state couldn’t keep records of students charged under the law or an earlier version of it that was on the books for years.
“The court recognized that broadly criminalizing students as a means to manage their behavior is not only bad policy, [but] it also violates their constitutional rights,” said Sarah Hinger, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program in a press statement. “The court has sent a clear message: Rather than funnel children into the school-to-prison pipeline over minor rule-breaking and protected First amendment activities, schools must recognize and protect students’ rights.” Another lawyer for the organization said it would continue fighting against “draconian school policing models” and push for evidence-based efforts to keep schools safe.
Between 2015 and 2020, more than 5,000 South Carolina students were arrested for disorderly conduct. More than 70 percent of those arrests occurred at schools — and disproportionately among students of color and students with disabilities, the ACLU said.
“Black students across the state were more than six times as likely as white classmates to be targeted under the law and arrested for being ‘disorderly’ or ‘boisterous,’” the group said, adding that disabled students were also often charged instead of getting the support services they needed.
The case, originally filed in 2016, included a Columbia student who was arrested and taken to a detention center for crying out after a school resource officer picked up and threw a classmate to the ground. Other plaintiffs in Conway, Summerville and Travelers Rest later were added to the case.
Wilson’s office, which appealed the ruling to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 12, said it had no comment because the litigation was pending. But it argued to Seymour that nullifying the law would take away law enforcement tools at schools and “leave matters up to school disciplinary policy.”
Seymour disagreed. She ruled the law, which was passed by the legislature in 2018 to supersede another law on the books for generations, abridged fundamental rights held by students.
“These tools furthermore encourage, if not cause, arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement, as reflected by the undisputed record, because they provide law enforcement with no standard for application,” she wrote. “The record further demonstrates that the charge itself, even absent a conviction, carries long-lasting and deleterious effects.
“The state is capable of fashioning its law enforcement tools to address specifically for the school context what conduct it would criminalize and the standard by which the prohibition should be applied, and our Constitution requires no less.”
In other words, the state can’t just roust students for what may be considered regular student behavior to get troublemakers out of the way. There has to be a clear process to dispense discipline in schools.
South Carolinians should expect no less. Schools need to be safe, but schools also need to follow the freedoms protected in the Constitution. Let’s keep schools places of learning, not places where craven politicians try to score political points by filling schools with police as a way to throw red meat to their base.
Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Charleston Currents, and publisher of the Charleston City Paper. Have a comment? Send to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com.
SC Clips
Charleston Currents is brought to you weekly at no cost thanks to our underwriters. In the spotlight today is SC Clips, an affordable, daily information digest that provides you with the South Carolina news you need every business day. Subscribers receive a daily email news round-up before 10 a.m. that provides a link to each day’s edition of SC Clips.
Each issue (click for sample) provides a concise summary of dozens of the latest newspaper and television reports of news with statewide impact, politics, business and local stories. Readers also are linked to key opinions by South Carolina’s editorial writers.
- Learn more about this great news service that will save you time — which saves you money.
- To meet all of our underwriters, click here.
Portrait of Civil War hero out of closet and on Senate wall
A portrait of Swails is now in the Senate chamber. Photo provided.
By Herb Frazier | A portrait of a Black Reconstruction-era state senator and Civil War hero sat in a Statehouse closet for 13 years before finally being put on display Thursday in the Senate chamber without a public ceremony.
A new book by Charleston lawyer and historian Gordon Rhea is to be published next month by LSU Press.
From the blood-soaked sands of Morris Island during the Union Army’s assault on Fort Wagner near Charleston, Stephen Atkins Swails became the first black U.S. Army officer. Following the war, Swails gained prominence as a Williamsburg County businessman, newspaper editor and the first black man to serve as the Senate’s president pro tempore. He served in the state Senate from 1868 to 1878.
S.C. Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington, this week told the Charleston City Paper that the portrait was hung in a private ceremony after the newspaper questioned where it was. Malloy said he spoke to Senate President Harvey S. Peeler, R-Cherokee, who he said “is a friend, and he is conscious of these issues.” He declined to detail his conversation with Peeler.
Meanwhile Thursday, the specter of race raised its head when S.C. Sen. Sandy Senn, R-Charleston, took the opportunity to comment on Swails’ fair complexion. In an email with a “what’s up” emoji that she sent to Senate Clerk Jeffrey Gossett and all of the state’s senators, she wrote: “That sure is the whitest-looking black guy I’ve ever seen.”
On Friday, Senn told the City Paper that she didn’t mean the comment as a slight to Swails, but she thought she was sent a picture of the wrong portrait.
“I think this whole thing got blown way out of proportion,” she said. “I didn’t ever, ever intend for any kind of slight to this man. I think some good is going to come out of this. More attention is going to be brought to his significant and extraordinary history. Nothing I said is derogatory toward him. The good news is even if it is going to be at my expense, this gentleman will get some overdue recognition.”
- Read the full story in our sister publication, the Charleston City Paper.
In other recent news:
Wiles
Wiles named distinguished alumnus. Charleston Stage founder Julian Wiles received one of eight Distinguished Alumni Awards from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during an Oct. 12 ceremony. Wiles, a Fort Motte native, received a master’s degree in fine arts in dramatic art from the university in 1978. According to the award, “Julian Wiles has had an extensive and meaningful career in theatre as a playwright, director, designer and advocate. In 1978 he founded Charleston Stage, which has grown into one of the region’s largest and most respected arts institutions and includes an education program that reaches over 25,000 young people annually. Over the course of his career, Mr. Wiles has designed, directed and produced over 300 plays and musicals for Charleston Stage. He has written 34 original plays, musicals and stage adaptations, and more than 100 productions of his published works have been performed across the country and internationally.”
State is 4th most vulnerable to climate change. South Carolina is considered the fourth most vulnerable state to climate change’s effects, according to a recent report from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The report also found that it is among the eight most unprepared states to deal with negative health effects associated with climate change. Read a story in sister publication Statehouse Report that highlights some legislators’ views on climate change. “Climate change supersedes partisanship,” she said.
Black history board members dismissed. Two veteran members of a state commission that promotes the preservation of Black history and culture said they were unexpectedly and unceremoniously “removed” from positions held since 1993, when state lawmakers created the S.C. African American Heritage Commission. A state official said there were more applicants this year than open seats. More: Charleston City Paper.
Police horse patrols could be coming back to Charleston. The sound of police horses clopping through downtown could return under a public-private partnership before members of Charleston City Council Tuesday. The ways and means committee will initially consider a proposed agreement between the Charleston Police Department (CPD) and the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) to outfit and train two horses and officers for one year to establish the new mounted patrol unit. More.
Palmetto Brewing has new owners. For the second time in three years, Palmetto Brewing is under new ownership. Catawba Valley Brewing Co. (CVBC), which owns N.C.-based Catawba Brewing, Palmetto and its Twisp seltzer offshoot, was dealt to Made By The Water, LLC, which also owns Oyster City Brewing Co., based in Apalachicola, Florida. Made By The Water also includes Wiregrass Equity Partners, a private equity group. More.
Civil rights groups sue McMaster, state lawmakers over redistricting. Two civil rights groups are suing South Carolina, saying state lawmakers are taking too long to draw new district maps. More: Associated Press, WCSC TV, The State, The Post and Courier.
S.C.’s abortion restrictions to go to U.S. appellate court. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has tentatively scheduled oral arguments for Dec. 6 in a lawsuit challenging South Carolina’s new abortion law, which took effect this year and bans abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected. Cardiac activity typically occurs six weeks into pregnancy. Since pregnancy is calculated from a person’s first day of her last period — not ovulation date — this means that many women may not know they are pregnant. More: AP News.
Biden wants wind farms along coasts, including S.C.’s. Under a plan announced by the Biden administration Wednesday, seven major offshore wind farms would be developed along the U.S. coasts, including in the Carolinas, an area between North Carolina and South Carolina called Carolina Long Bay. The lease sales will be held by 2025, under the plan, which seeks 30 gigawatts of power by 2030. That would power more than 10 million homes. More: AP News | The New York Times.
Retail imports drive banner September at port. South Carolina Ports had a record September for containers as Charleston’s port moved more than 200,000 twenty-foot equivalent containers. That was a 5 percent increase over the same month last year. For the year, the port handled 18 percent more containers than the same time last year, according to a news release.
- Want more headlines every business day that are like this? Visit our friends at SC Clips.
Send us your thoughts by email
We love hearing from readers. Comments are limited to 250 words or less. Please include your name and contact information. Send your letters to: editor@charlestoncurrents.com. | Read our feedback policy.
Lots of vegetables in this image
Here’s another tough mystery photo, but it might be something you’ve seen while driving around downtown Charleston. Send your best guess to editor@charlestoncurrents.com. And don’t forget to include your name and the town in which you live. And if you’ve got a clever mystery photo for our readers, send it to the same address (Try to stump us!)
Our previous Mystery Photo
Last week’s mystery, “This one might not be easy,” showed a dilapidated house on Henrietta Street just behind Emanuel AME Church. The photo obviously stumped some regular guessers, but several people got it right. Hats off to these eagle-eyed sleuths: Chris Brooks of Mount Pleasant; Joe Mendelsohn, Joan Green and Tom Scerbo, all of Charleston; and George Graf of Palmyra, Va. We also got correct answers from four others (Barry Shear, Charles Perry, Esther Jones and Carolyn), but didn’t have any other identifying information on where they live. (NOTE: Please include your hometown when you send in a guess so we can give you proper credit as a mystery sleuth!)
- Send us a mystery: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send it along to editor@charlestoncurrents.com.
Holiday Festival of Lights returns in November
Staff reports | The annual Holiday Festival of Lights kicks off this year with a two-day non-competitive fun run and walk on Nov. 10-11. After the run, the 32nd annual Holiday Festival of Lights will open in the James Island County Park Nov. 12 and run through Dec. 31. Visitors can drive through the impressive three-mile light spectacle with more than 750 illuminated displays.
Open nightly from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., the festival also includes other holiday activities like train rides, marshmallow roasting, a climbing wall and more. There also will be a Winter Wonderland, which features the area’s largest holiday sand sculpture made from more than 50 tons of sand. You and your family can also explore the shops, an enchanted walking trail and the amazing dancing light display.
Starting Nov. 19 through Dec. 23, you can take photos with Santa, who will greet guests in Santa’s Village. While here, take a spin on the old-fashioned carousel, roast up some marshmallows for s’mores and check out the greeting card designs submitted by students in the area as a part of the annual holiday art competition.
Tickets are priced based on “regular” and “peak” nights. It is recommended that visitors purchase tickets in advance online. Anyone interested in the fun run should register ahead of time at charlestoncountyparks.com by Nov. 10. Race fees are $12 per participant. It is recommended that participants purchase tickets early as they are expected to sell out quickly.
Also on the calendar:
Harvest Festival: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Oct. 23, Olde Village of North Charleston on East Montague Avenue near Park Circle. The 8th annual event will feature live music, an artist market, costume contests, trick-or-treat on the street, a pop-up pumpkin patch, children’s activities, and more. More.
October screams at the Terrace. Check out Horror weekends at the Terrace Theater on James Island: The theater will offer weekends featuring slasher, vampire, classic and comedy films. Coming double features: Blair Witch Project/Heredity (Oct. 22-24); and Texas Chainsaw Massacre/Halloween (Oct. 29-31).
Maintenance of Way exhibit: Through Oct. 30, Redux Contemporary Art Center, 1056 King St., Charleston. Redux and Tiger Strikes Asteroid Greenwill are presenting this exhibition of work by Hannah Barnes and Gyun Hur. They create work that considers place as a mental and physical construct built by layers of time, a collection of striations. Barnes and Gyun explore the idea of maintenance in their practices as a physical and emotional pursuit, connected both to one’s private self and a broader public society. Their work invites the viewer to share in the collective experience of being private selves in public spaces.
Reviving photos. Through Oct. 31, Charleston Museum, Meeting Street. The museum is exhibiting The Lowcountry in Living Color: Making Historical Photographs Come to Life as the latest offering in its Lowcountry Image Gallery. Colorizing black and white pictures allows viewers to see components that otherwise might be overlooked. Buy tickets.
Winter Wonderland exhibit. Nov. 1 to March 27, 2022, Lowcountry Image Gallery, The Charleston Museum, 360 Meeting St., Charleston. This exhibit showcases colorized photographs of remarkable snow days captured by residents of Charleston dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. More on tickets and hours.
Birds of Prey flight demonstrations: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Thursdays and Saturdays, Center for Birds of Prey, 4719 Highway 17. Awendaw. The center has reopened its doors to visitors after closing due to the COvID-19 pandemic, inviting people to once again come and explore the world of raptors through an outdoor program and flight demonstration. Tickets: . $20/adult; $15/children age 3-17.
Bird-watching at Caw Caw. Every Wednesday and Saturday — particularly through the end of February — you can see a plethora of birds at Caw Caw Interpretive Center in Ravenel as they make their way through the Lowcountry. The two-hour regular walks, which start at 8:30 a.m., are through distinct habitats that allow participants to view and discuss a variety of birds, butterflies, and other organisms. Registration is not required. Participants are encouraged to bring their own binoculars. A paid chaperone is required for participants ages 15 and under. Max. 10 participants. Fee: $9; free for Gold Pass holders. Open to all ages. More: Caw Caw Interpretive Center.
Farmers markets
Closing in October
North Charleston Farmers Market: 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., every Thursday, Felix Davis Community Circle in Park Circle. The market offers fresh, locally grown produce as well as arts-and-craft vendors, specialty foods and live music. More. Closes Oct. 28.
Moncks Corner Farmers Market: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., every Thursday, Market Pavilion at the Regional Recreation Complex, 418 E. Main St., Moncks Corner. More. Closes Oct. 28.
Closing in November
Summerville Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., every Saturday, First Citizens Bank parking lot near Town Hall, 200 S. Main Street, Summerville. More. Closes Nov. 20.
Charleston Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., every Saturday, Marion Square, 329 Meeting St., Charleston. More. Tentative closing Nov. 27. Holiday market to open temporarily in December.
Closing in December
Holy City Farmers Market: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., every Wednesday, Holy City Brewing, North Charleston. vendors rotate weekly to provide shoppers with a tiny but mighty shopping experience. vendors will be selling a range of products from specialty foods, home and body care to arts and crafts. More info. Closes Dec. 18 with holiday market.
Open year-round
West Ashley Farmers Market: 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., every Wednesday, Ackerman Park, 55 Sycamore Avenue, Charleston. More.
Sunday Brunch Farmers Market: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., every Sunday, Charleston Pour House, 1977 Maybank Highway, James Island. While the market is discouraging people from spending too much time hanging out during the market, everyone is invited to shop their local vendors. More info.
Sea Island Farmers Market: 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., every Saturday. Charleston Collegiate Campus, 2024 Academy Rd., Johns Island. More.
Goose Creek Farmers Market: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., every Saturday, 519 N. Goose Creek Blvd., Goose Creek. More.
- If you have any online events, drop us a line (editor@charlestoncurrents.com) and make sure to put “Online event” in the subject line. Similarly, if you’ve got cool ideas for stuff to do while in isolation at home, send them our way.
- ORDER NOW: Copies of our new book, 350 Facts About Charleston, are in Lowcountry-area bookstores now, but if you can’t swing by, you can order a copy online today.
We encourage you to FORWARD your issue of Charleston Currents to your friends and encourage them to subscribe. It’s got a great price, as you know: Free! And it includes cool stuff about the community that’s hard to find elsewhere. We hope they’ll enjoy our coverage.
- DONATE. Now also would be a great time to contribute as we deal with the crisis. In advance, thank you.
OUR UNDERWRITERS
Charleston Currents is an underwriter-supported weekly online journal of good news about the Charleston area and Lowcountry of South Carolina.
- Meet our underwriters
- To learn more about how your organization or business can benefit, click here to contact us. Or give us a holler on the phone at: 843.670.3996.
OUR TEAM
Charleston Currents offers insightful community comment and good news on events each week. It cuts through the information clutter to offer the best of what’s happening locally.
- Mailing address: P.O. Box 21942, Charleston, SC 29413.
- Phone: 843.670.3996
Charleston Currents is provided to you weekly by:
- Editor and publisher: Andy Brack, 843.670.3996
- Contributing editor, common good, Fred Palm
- Contributing editor, money: Kyra Morris
- Contributing editor, Palmetto Poem: Marjory Wentworth
- Contributing photographer: Rob Byko
- Charleston Currents also uses content from the outstanding staff at the Charleston City Paper, a sister publication.
SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE
Subscriptions to Charleston Currents are free.
- Click here to subscribe.
- Unsubscribe. We don’t want to lose you as a reader of Charleston Currents, but if you must unsubscribe, you will have to do it through the email edition you receive. Just go to the bottom of any of your weekly newsletters and click the “unsubscribe” function. If that doesn’t work, please send us an email with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject line.
- © 2008-2021, City Paper Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. Charleston Currents is published every Monday by City Paper Publishing LLC, P.O. Box 21942, Charleston, SC 29413.
We Can Do Better, South Carolina!
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Use our feed
Send us your comments
