On Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 5:30, the Middleton Place Foundation will host Just Sharing: Building Community through Stories of Our Past, a partnership project of South Carolina Humanities, Clemson University, and the University of South Carolina.

The aim of this community-centered project is to foster fellowship and create empathy through conversations about our shared past, present, and future.

This unique event will feature presentations from three historians who will share stories regarding the impacts of hate on society with the aim of facilitating discussion and giving attendees the opportunity to listen to and learn from one another. Our speakers will be Otis W. Pickett, Ph.D., of Clemson University; Christian Anderson, Ph.D., of the University of South Carolina; and Bernard Powers, Ph.D., is the founding director of the College of Charleston’s Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston.

The moderator for this panel will be Victoria A. Smalls, a Gullah Geechee native and dedicated servant leader from St. Helena Island, SC, who also currently holds the role of President & CEO at Smalls Cultural Resources.

Light refreshments will be served before the historians’ presentations, and after the program, participants will be invited to share their own thoughts, experiences, and observations.

Just Sharing is a series of panel discussions in eleven communities across South Carolina funded by the National Endowment for Humanities Initiative “United We Stand: Connecting through Culture.” The in-person format will share difficult stories from the past regarding the impact of hate on society with the aim of inspiring community members to work toward shared goals.