Current Conference
"Education and Reconstruction"
SHOES in Columbia, South Carolina!
March 14-16, 2024
What role did education play in Reconstruction? And what role did the Reconstruction policies play in educational opportunity? What is the legacy of education practices during Reconstruction?
The theme for SHOES 2024 is “Education and Reconstruction.” Columbia is the ideal host for this focus. The University of South Carolina was the only public institution in the South to integrate during this era. In 1873 the first Black student, Henry Hayne, enrolled and the first Black professor, Richard T. Greener, was hired (2023 marks the sesquicentennial of the Reconstruction-era university). This lasted until 1877 when the University was closed for three years by the state. It would not admit Black students again until 1963.
Columbia is home to two Reconstruction-era HBCUs: Allen University and Benedict College, both founded in 1870. Allen was founded as Payne Institute (and later renamed) by ministers of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Benedict was founded by American Baptist Home Mission Society. They were founded to provide education to freedmen and former slaves and to train teachers.
The Museum of the Reconstruction Era at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home, the only museum of its kind, is near all three institutions in downtown Columbia.
The conference is co-hosted by the University of South Carolina and Allen University and also sponsored by Historic Columbia.
Click here for the full Conference Program (and here for a text-only version).
Looking for restaurant recommendations? Here's a list of places near Allen and USC. And if you're looking for local stuff to do, check out this thread in the SHOES FB group.
Schedule At-a-Glance:
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Richard T. Greener Lecture and Keynote Address for SHOES Conference with Barbara Phillips, "Ripen the Time for a Third Reconstruction." Special guest poet Nikky Finney will do a reading. Chappelle Auditorium, Allen University, 5:00 p.m.
Friday, March 15, 2024
Sessions at Allen University, 8:30 - 5:00 p.m.
Reception at the Museum of Reconstruction, 5:00 p.m. (hosted by Historic Columbia)
Saturday, March 16, 2024
Sessions at the South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, 8:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.
Registration
There is no fee to attend but registration is required. Please register here by Monday, March 11th. (Late registrations are accepted but there may not be a printed name badge.)
Conference Hotel
A conference rate is available at the Hilton Garden Inn from March 14-16, 2024. Click here or call 1-800-HILTONS (code: "SHOE") to make a reservation. The room rate is $159.00 per night (plus applicable taxes and fees). Daily parking is $13.00 per day. The hotel is located at 1200 Pickens Street, Columbia, SC 29201. This is conveniently located in the middle of the conference sites – less than a mile to Allen University, less than half a mile to the Museum of Reconstruction, and about half a mile to the South Caroliniana Library at USC.
If the conference rate is no longer available, you can book a room there at the regular rate or consider other nearby hotels. The Graduate and the Courtyard are both on USC's campus and there are several others nearby.
SHOES Program 2024.pdfThe Southern History of Education Society is grateful to the following for their sponsorship of this year's conference:
University of South Carolina: Office of Access and Opportunity, College of Education & Museum of Education, History Center, and the South Caroliniana Library.
Additional support from the Center for Civil Rights History and Research and School of Law.
Visit the SHOES Facebook page. Email SHOES with any questions.
Are you interested in hosting SHOES? Click here for more information.