SCOVG20 digital edition-1 - Flipbook - Page 48
FAMILY TRADITION
HISTORIC CHURCHES
BRING GENERATIONS TOGETHER
THE GREEN BOOK
OF SOUTH CAROLINA
From the 1930s to the 1960s, Victor Green, a
postal worker living in Harlem, NY, published
a travel guide that highlighted places safe for
African-Americans to visit by car. It included
By Kim Jamieson • Photos by Matthew Franklin Carter
listings of hotels, restaurants and attractions
that welcomed African-American tourists.
Today, The Green Book of South Carolina is
can remember hearing
From serving as meeting locations, grade schools, community centers and daycares,
the church has long been
interwoven into the fabric of
the African-American experience. The church is an
immovable, steadfast anchor
that for so long has been the
tangible stability many have
needed when the world outside its walls was filled with
hatred and hardships.
the faint sounds of
tambourines as I
walked hand-in-hand with
my grandmother up to her
small, 125-year-old church,
Antioch First Born Holiness.
Found at the end of a
long dirt road, the simple
brick building had chipped
red and white paint and
showed its age everywhere
I looked—the doors, the
shutters, the steps, the sign
out front. While we only
attended this church when
visiting Grammy Ethel, walking
in always mirrored walking into
our home church in Greenville.
The smiles, the hugs, the familial warmth—it was a welcoming
feeling I looked forward to and
loved.
The church, and everything it
represents, has long been a safe,
consistent, sacred place in the
African-American community.
More than a building and weekly
gathering spot, the church, for
46
“
The church, and
everything it represents,
has long been a safe,
consistent, sacred place
in the African-American
community.
”
many, was and remains today, a
home away from home. Or, even
more intrinsic, a way of life.
If asked of almost anyone
in the African-American
community in the South,
“Tell me about your childhood?,” their time at church is
bound to come up.
a mobile travel guide produced by the South
Carolina African-American Heritage Commission, spotlighting more than 300 cultural sites
across the state.
Among the historical sites, districts, cemeteries and schools mentioned in the Green
Book, find details on more than 100 South
Carolina churches. Discover congregations
that date back centuries and welcome visitors
today. Through the Green Book’s stories of
heritage and perseverance, find the shared links
that continue to connect communities.
PLAN A TOUR OF HISTORIC
CHURCHES AT GreenBookOfSC.com
Sunday school lessons, colorful hats and immaculate clothes,
church-league basketball, church
picnics, church fans, bible drill,
hand bells, choir, Christmas programs, revivals, baptisms, fellowship hall dinners...the church is
and will continue to be the central
lifeblood for African-American
communities.
DiscoverSouthCarolina.com
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