The Avery Research Center at the College of Charleston is celebrating its 25th anniversary on April 14th at 6:30 p.m. in the McKinley Washington Auditorium at the Avery Research Center.
The evening’s program, “A Thousand Miles for Freedom: A Celebration of 25 Years of the Avery Research Center and a Vision for the Future”, will showcase the Center’s most recent acquisition, an 1860 first edition copy of the poignant slave narrative, Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom: The Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery. Contents from the Center’s collections including slave-era photographs and correspondences, particularly those of the Craft and Crum families, will also be exhibited. Richard J.M. Blackett, Andrew Jackson Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, world-renowned slave narratives scholar, and expert on the Craft family, will be the keynote speaker.
For the last 25 years, the Avery Research Center has collected art and archival materials that document the history, traditions and legacies of African Americans and their influence on American society and culture, as well as their place within the American narrative. With a repository of primary and secondary source material of nearly 4,000 holdings, the Center supports scholarship, research and presentations by scholars, students, and public historians.
The only research center of its kind in the Southeast, the Avery Research Center continues to advance the goals and mission of the College of Charleston while sustaining the remarkable legacy of the original Avery Normal Institute as a vital community center and essential source of information pertaining to the African-American experience.
Nearly 3,000 patrons visit Avery annually with teachers and students from across the U.S. and abroad arriving regularly for tours, workshops and summer history camps. Additionally, partnerships with Charleston Public Schools, Berkeley Public Schools, the City of Charleston’s MOJA Arts Festival and other community groups extend Avery’s reach into local communities.
Today, the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.
The modern day rebirth of Avery began in 1985 with the establishment of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston. Below is a timeline of its major milestones over the past 25 years:
1970s – Dr. Margaretta Childs and Mrs. Lucille Whipper launch a campaign to save the Avery Normal Institute building from conversion to apartments.
1979 – The Avery Institute forms and presents its first exhibition, “Black Charleston in Slavery and Freedom: A Pictorial History from Colonial Time to Present”
1980 – Avery Institute of Afro-American History and Culture (AIAAHC) is chartered as a non-profit organization.
1985 – College of Charleston and the Institute sign a Memorandum of Understanding and Avery hires its first director, Dr. Myrtle Glascoe.
1987/88 – State Legislature approves $950,000 toward the purchase and renovation of Avery Normal Institute building, followed by an additional $500,000.
1990 – Avery Research Center opens at 125 Bull Street.
1994 – Ford Foundation awards a $200,000 Challenge grant for completion of 125 Bull Street.
1994 – Avery Research Center names Marvin Dulaney as director.
1998 – Cox Family contributes $103,000 to establish the Benjamin and Jeanette Cox exhibit hall.
2001 – 2nd phase of building renovation commences. Avery dedicates McKinley Washington Auditorium.
2001 – Avery names Karen Chandler as director.
2004 – Avery names Marvin Dulaney as executive director.
2005 – Avery completes third and final phase of building renovations and re-dedicates the McKinley Washington auditorium.
2008 – Marvin Dulaney steps down as executive director.
2008 – Avery names Ms. Georgette Mayo as interim director.
2010 – Avery names Patricia Williams Lessane as executive director.
2010 – Avery acquires 1860 edition of Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom.
2011 – Avery kicks off Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom campaign.
