Those Who Have Must Turn Around And Give: Celebrating 40 Years of Preserving Black History

The College of Charleston’s Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture proudly presents Those Who Have Must Turn Around and Give: Celebrating 40 Years of Preserving Black History and Education, a three-day symposium, June 9-11, 2026, honoring our past and looking toward new ways to preserve the legacy of African Americans in the Lowcountry. Bringing together educators, archivists, historians, students, community scholars, and cultural workers, the symposium explores the critical intersections of Black education, archives, and community engagement. Centering Black voices, pedagogies, and memory work, the convening examines how education and archives function as tools of empowerment, resistance, and reimagination. The symposium title honors the words of Dr. Myrtle Glascoe, the Avery Research Center’s first executive director, whose leadership established the Center’s commitment to community archiving, preservation, and public scholarship. As the Avery Research Center marks its 41st anniversary and the Avery Normal Institute approaches its 161st year, this gathering reflects on legacy while imagining liberatory futures.