USCB Institute for the Study of the Reconstruction Era Hosts Third Annual Spring Symposium: “Her Mark”
Nearly 200 participants gathered at the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Center for the Arts on April 25-26, 2025, to take part in the Third Annual Spring Symposium hosted by USCB’s Institute for the Study of the Reconstruction Era (ISRE). This year’s theme, “Her Mark: Women’s Voices During Reconstruction,” focused on the essential yet often underrepresented contributions of women during the Reconstruction Era—especially those connected to the 1st South Carolina Volunteers of African Descent, later designated the 33rd United States Colored Troops.
Sponsored by USC’s McCausland College of Arts & Sciences, the two-day event featured 12 dynamic presentations by scholars, community leaders, and descendants of U.S. Colored Troops. Speakers and exhibits explored the contributions of women including Susie King Taylor, Laura Towne, Esther Hill Hawks, and Charlotte Forten Grimké in their pioneering roles in medicine, education, and activism during a critical moment in American history.
Keynote speaker Dr. Hermina Glass-Hill, executive director of the Susie King Taylor Women’s Institute in Georgia, opened the symposium with a stirring talk titled “My Unbounded Joy”: Susie King Taylor and the War of Jubilee. Her address brought to life the early experiences of Taylor, a twelve-year-old Savannah girl turned Civil War nurse and memoirist, reminding attendees of the personal resilience and historical significance of African American women during and after the war.
Among the many highlights was a panel titled “Honoring the Service of the Men & Women of the 1st SC Volunteers of African Descent,” featuring Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ben Hodges, LTC Rory McGovern of West Point, USC doctoral candidate Jennifer Marler, and Dr. Najmah Thomas of USCB. Dr. Thomas also delivered a presentation on “As We Remember: A History of the Woman’s Relief Corps in Beaufort, SC,” a compelling look at a historic local women’s organization.
Student involvement was another cornerstone of the event. USCB students in Dr. James Shinn’s Atlantic Slavery & Antislavery course presented original research on U.S. Colored Troop pension records, and Studio Art majors in Joanna Angell’s printmaking courses exhibited etchings inspired by Sea Island history and the symposium theme. Madison Freyer’s map-inspired prints and Alexus Williams’s piece titled “I Was Busy”—a tribute to Susie King Taylor—drew significant praise at the Friday evening reception.
The symposium's breakout discussions featured community leaders from the Penn Center, Mather School, Robert Smalls Leadership Academy, and national partners including the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and West Point military academy. Dr. Robert Adams, Bradley Tarrance, and Mather School alumna Alvesta Roberson served on the educational panel “From the Port Royal Experiment to Present.”
Throughout the event, attendees explored curated displays from the Beaufort County Library’s Beaufort District Collection, USCB Library, USC Press, and the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park. Descendants of Sgt. Julius Shemetella—Jane Ball Groom and her daughters Lianndra and Julia—were featured speakers, sharing family stories that connected the past to the present.
The Robert Smalls Leadership Academy Choir, under the direction of Andrea Jones, performed on the event's opening night. The audience enjoyed the voices of local 4th through 8th graders who recently starred at the Beaufort County School District's Black History Conference.
Dr. Valinda Littlefield, Rhonda Carey, and Elizabeth Laney—ISRE’s dedicated staff—coordinated the event with help from numerous partners. The symposium was made possible by the McCausland Innovation Fund, the Ernest A. Finney Cultural Arts Center, the Lincolnville Preservation & Historical Society, Dick and Sharon Stewart, and USCB.
As Dr. Glass-Hill reminded the audience: “To breathe democracy into spaces means honoring the unheard.” This year’s symposium lifted up the voices of Reconstruction-era women—those who taught, nursed, resisted and remembered.
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CW 05/10/25