Jun 17, 2025
by Catherine Williams
On June 17th, 2025, at the St. George Rosenwald School, speakers Dawn Dawson-House, Timika Wilson, Dr. Valinda Littlefield, Holley Owings, Tripp Muldrow, Zach Bjur, and Rick Huffman presented the South Carolina Rosenwald Schools State Historic Planning Trail Study final report. The presentation was attended by community members, Rosenwald School representatives, legislative members, and project team members. The St. George Rosenwald School was a gracious host, providing the attendees with a brunch spread and lunch. Dawn Dawson-House, Executive Director of the WeGOJA Foundation, and Zach Bjur, Land, Water, Ocean Project Manager for the Conservation Voters of South Carolina, began the presentation with an overview of the Planning Trail Study and the roles WeGOJA and CVSC played in leading the project. Timika Wilson, WeGOJA Foundation Project Leader, followed with the RSTS team introductions, a description of the steps taken to begin this study, and the committee members crucial to the success of this project. After the initial overview, Holley Owings, head of the design team, gave an overview of what occurred during the site analysis, branding, and final reporting phases that Earth Design, Inc. lead. Tripp Muldrow, representing the planning firm Arnett Muldrow, spoke on the branding created for the new state trail. After the design details were discussed, oral historian, Dr. Valinda Littlefield, presented her work in the six Rosenwald School communities. Dr. Littlefield, along with a team of associates, conducted numerous oral interviews with community members that attended the Rosenwald Schools chosen for the study. With the interviews she collected, she compiled a series of videos aimed at preserving the histories of these schools, the people that attended them, and the societies they were located in. To close out the presentation, the next steps of the study were discussed. These include ongoing exhibition and curriculum development, legislative engagement, and oral history transcription. Rick Huffman, founder of Earth Design, closed the presentation with words of thanks for all the support the RSTS team received during the study. The day concluded with a Q&A period, where audience members were encouraged to ask questions about the planning study.
