Columbia Civil Rights Exhibit Now Open in Richland Library

A new exhibit telling the story of the Civil Rights Movement in Columbia is now on display at the Richland Library. 

Freedom and Justice: Cecil Williams Captures the Columbia Civil Rights Struggle can be seen in the library's gallery on the Garden Level from now until September. 

Read the full release below:

Richland Library and Columbia SC 63 invite visitors to view the Freedom and Justice: Cecil Williams Captures the Columbia Civil Rights Struggle exhibit, now open at Richland Library Main.

Made possible through a partnership between Richland Library, Columbia SC 63 and the University of South Carolina’s Moving Images Research Collections, Freedom and Justice tells the stories of those who risked everything to break through racial barriers in Columbia. South Carolina students, attorneys and civil rights groups organized sit-ins, marches, pickets, protests and legal battles in order to end segregation and economic disparities, and gain social justice and equal access to quality education. The exhibit includes video footage and news coverage from the time period.

Williams, an Orangeburg resident, is a celebrated photographer who began documenting the civil rights movement as a teen. As a participant and witness throughout the movement, Williams captured striking images of the struggle for fundamental human rights in Columbia. His work has been published in several books and shown in galleries around the country. 

The free exhibit is on display now through September in the Gallery at Richland Library Main, 1431 Assembly Street, on the Garden Level. Freedom and Justice is part of the yearlong Columbia SC 63 initiative, a partnership of the City of Columbia, Columbia Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, Historic Columbia Foundation and the University of South Carolina.

To learn more about Cecil Williams, visit http://cecilwilliams.com.