The Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture is celebrating both a 30th and a 150th anniversary this year.
Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture.
The American Missionary Association established the center in 1865 as Charleston’s first free secondary school for African Americans. Initially named after abolitionist Lewis Tappan, the school was named the Avery Normal Institute in 1868, when its building was completed thanks largely to Reverend Charles Avery of Pittsburgh.
Operating as a private institution for Charleston’s most prominent black families until 1947, when it became a public city school, the Avery Normal Institute closed just months before the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954. But that wasn’t the end.
Avery students pose in theater costumes circa 1915.
The Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture was established at the College of Charleston in 1985 as an education and research hub for the preservation of the history, traditions and culture of African Americans and their place within the American narrative.
To commemorate these significant anniversaries, the Avery Research Center will host a reception on Oct. 31, 2015, that is free and open to the public. This event will include remarks from: Patricia Lessane, executive director of the Avery Research Center; Bernard Powers, professor in the Department of History at the College of Charleston; and The Honorable Lucille Whipper, Avery Institute Alumna, former South Carolina state representative, and former president of the Avery Institute Board.
See a list of upcoming programs at Avery.
See a slideshow of Avery students in the early 20th century:
