The John Henry McCray Project
Photo courtesy of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
About
The John Henry McCray Project is dedicated to helping commemorate the substantial contributions that newspaper publisher and political activist John Henry McCray made to the Civil Rights movement in South Carolina and beyond during the mid-20th century.
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This project is being conducted by faculty and student researchers at Allen University in Columbia, SC who are engaged in a 4-year research project (2020-2024) focused on developing educational programming and interpretive materials that raise awareness about the significant impact McCray's life and work had on the development of the Civil Rights movement in South Carolina and beyond.
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This research is supported through a grant from the African American Civil Rights History Grant program sponsored by the National Parks Service, Department of the Interior.
Photo courtesy of South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Photo courtesy of Cecil J. Williams
One of the most important campaigns that McCray covered in his paper and helped the NAACP organize in SC was the Briggs v. Elliott trial, the first of five cases attacking the constitutionality of segregated schooling that were eventually tried by the US Supreme Court in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling of 1954.
On April 19 & 20, 2023, Allen University staged several performances of The People of Clarendon County, a play about the origins of the Briggs v. Elliott case written by Ossie Davis. The play was performed in historic Chappelle Auditorium, where an NAACP meeting that helped inspire this groundbreaking civil rights lawsuit was held in June of 1947.
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The play was performed with a new cast in the spring of 2024 with performances again at Chappelle Auditorium and at Scotts Branch Middle High School, the school district where the lawsuit was initially filed.
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Play cast with Clarendon Middle High Principal
SC Black Press Institute Symposium
The SC Black Press Institute Symposium was held on March 31, 2022 in Allen University's historic Chappelle Auditorium. The program explored the key role that newspapers such as The Lighthouse & Informer played in the development of the Civil Rights movement in the mid-twentieth century. The event brought together students, scholars, politicians, journalists, and other media professionals to discuss the significance of an ever-evolving media landscape for civil rights struggles of the past and present.
Featured speakers include CNN analyst and former SC State House Representative Bakari Sellers; photographer and SC civil rights pioneer Cecil Williams; SC State House Representative and publisher Wendy Brawley; Black press scholar Sid Bedingfield; Free Times columnist Preach Jacobs; photojournalist Crush Rush; and political activist and influencer Mika Gadsden.
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Plenary speaker Cecil J. Williams, civil rights photographer and activist
Plenary speaker Dr. Sid Bedingfield, author of Newspaper Wars: Civil Rights and White Resistance in South Carolina
SCPA Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
John Henry McCray was posthumously inducted into the SC Press Association Hall of Fame in the spring of 2021. The SCPA invited Allen University faculty and students engaged in working on the John Henry McCray Project to accept the award on his behalf.
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Learn more about the award at the SCPA website.
L to R: Jen Madden, SCPA executive co-director; Autumn Phillips, Post and Courier editor in chief; Kevin Trumpeter, John McCray Project director; Danae Simmons and Shadell Frasier, Allen University student researchers
Photo: McCray with award, courtesy of Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Willie Tolbert and the McCray Libel Trial
The end of The Lighthouse & Informer's run as the premier Black news publication in South Carolina was hastened by a criminal libel suit brought against McCray in 1950.
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McCray was charged after publishing the testimony of Willie Tolbert, who had recently been convicted of sexually assaulting a white woman in Greenwood, SC. Tolbert claimed the relationship was consensual and that he was warned by the Sheriff not to testify in court.
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The alleged victim of the assault was the daughter of the County Solicitor who helped prosecute the assault case and filed the charges against McCray following Tolbert's execution.
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McCray was eventually sentenced to serve 3 months on a chain-gang in Newberry, SC. The financial strain of the prolonged legal action against McCray contributed to the insolvency of his newspaper, which ceased publication in 1954.
Faculty and students researched archival and online news sources to learn more about this story, which made national headlines at the time and served as a pivotal event in McCray's career.
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The results of this research were presented at the 2023 Association for the Study of African-American Life and History (ASALH) Conference.
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“God is with me. I want all of you all to meet me in heaven.”
-Tolbert's last words prior to his execution
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Waverly Historic District
Civil Rights History
Virtual Tour
McCray's Lighthouse Publishing Company was located in the Waverly community of Columbia, SC. With two historically Black colleges, a hospital, theater, and numerous other Black-owned businesses, the neighborhood was home to many of Columbia's African-American professionals and civic leaders. Take the virtual tour to learn more.
McCray Learning Resources
Biographical Info on John H. McCray
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​Digital Archives
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Videos
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Plenary Lecture by Photojournalist and Civil Rights activist Cecil Williams, SC Black Press Institute Symposium, 31 March 2022 at Allen University's Chappelle Auditorium
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Plenary Lecture by Dr. Sid Bedingfield on John Henry McCray, SC Black Press Institute Symposium, 31 March 2022 at Allen University's Chappelle Auditorium
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SC Black Press Institute Symposium, 31 March 2022 at Allen University's Chappelle Auditorium
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Hardship at the Harvest, a PBS documentary by Steve Crump focusing on the reprisals faced by the people of Clarendon County during and after the Briggs v. Elliott lawsuit
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The People of Clarendon County, a performance at Allen University's Chappelle Auditorium of Ossie Davis' play about the origins of the Briggs v. Elliott lawsuit
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Oral History Interview with Cecil J. Williams discussing his experiences working with McCray, June 12, 2024
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Quest for Civil Rights: John H. McCray, an interview with John McCray conducted in 1979 by Dr. Grace McFadden of the University of South Carolina
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John H. McCray: Voting and Political Action, transcript of a speech delivered by John McCray at a civil rights history conference in 1982
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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources
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Lesson Plan on African American Voting Rights and the Civil Rights Movement in SC - this lesson plan provides a variety of primary sources and assignment ideas to help students learn 1.) how the Reconstruction Amendments to the Constitution, which were designed to protect the citizenship rights of formerly enslaved people, were intentionally undermined by SC State law and 2.) how McCray and other Civil Rights activists of the 1940s successfully resisted these attempt to suppress Black voting rights and political participation
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Lesson Plan on the Blinding of Isaac Woodard - this lesson plan focuses on the 1946 blinding of Isaac Woodard, an African-American World War II veteran, by a South Carolina police chief. Students explore how this incident of racial violence gained national attention through media coverage and influenced public attitudes and government policy. The lesson uses a variety of primary sources, including radio broadcasts, newspaper articles, and executive orders, to help students understand the impact of this event on the early Civil Rights Movement and federal policy.
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Lesson Plan on Briggs v. Elliott - these PowerPoint slides were used to provide historical information to elementary school students prior to attending performances of The People of Clarendon County at Allen University in April 2024 and can be adapted to teach students at all levels about this groundbreaking Civil Rights case in South Carolina that helped overturn "separate but equal"
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SC Civil Rights History Timeline - a list of key events and dates for Civil Rights actions that John McCray was involved in during his time in South Carolina as publisher of The Lighthouse and Informer
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SC Civil Rights History Bibliography - a list of scholarly sources focusing on John Henry McCray and the Civil Rights campaigns he helped promote in South Carolina between 1940 and 1955
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Contact Us!
Kevin Trumpeter, PhD
Dean of Arts and Humanities
Allen University
1530 Harden Street
Columbia, SC 29204
803-255-4782