The Modern State (1970-Present)

She embraced community activism with the same zeal she had demonstrated in teaching, continuing to show former students and others that supporting and improving one’s community is essential for progress and success

Allen’s poetry combines contemporary philosophical concerns with a format more aligned with earlier poetic styles.

Allison received mainstream recognition with her first novel, Bastard Out of Carolina (1992), which in 1996 was adapted to a film directed by Anjelica Huston.

Anderson’s eclectic repertoire and engaging personality brought him national attention during the folk music revival of the early 1960s.

One of several southern journalists whose “liberal” views on desegregation and civil rights attracted national attention and local scorn, Ashmore won a Pulitzer Prize for his editorials opposing Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus’s attempt to stop the integration of Little Rock’s Central High School in 1957.

Atwater gained his reputation as a shrewd yet negative campaigner willing to use almost any tactic to get his candidate elected.

Catawba women have made pottery for hundreds of years, and archaeologists credit them with sustaining the tribe through this traditional pottery, which is the oldest art form still produced in South Carolina.

During her accomplished career as a children’s librarian with the New York Public Library, Baker received the first Dutton-Macrae Award in 1953 for advanced study of library work with children. In 1980 Baker joined the University of South Carolina (USC) and became “Storyteller-in-Residence.” This position was created for Baker, and her goals were to teach others how to create enthusiasm in children about stories and reading.

Baldwin's first novel, The Hard to Catch Mercy (1993), was universally well received, winning the Lillian Smith Award for Fiction and becoming a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. He has also published four nonfiction books with the photographer Jane Iseley about historic Charleston and the plantations of the lowcountry. He has published two oral history reports featuring Mrs. Emily Whaley (1913–1998), grande dame of Charleston society, and her recollections of her garden, cuisine, recipes, and entertaining.

Beginning in 1926, Banov served as the public health officer for both the county and the city of Charleston. He combined the two departments in 1936 and remained as director until his retirement in 1962. Despite South Carolina’s small public health allocations, Banov attracted the attention of peers throughout the country and both federal and private funding sources because of his efficiency and diligence.

Barrett wrote the scripts for some of Hollywood’s most successful film and television productions. Among his most popular films were The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Green Berets, and Smoky and the Bandit. His screenplay for the comedy The Cheyenne Social Club won a Writers Guild of America award in 1970. One of his most enduring works has been the film Shenandoah, whose star, James Stewart, became a good friend.

In 1961 Bass moved back to Columbia, working for the Columbia Record before moving to the State as part of their governmental affairs staff. While in that position, Bass became interested in the changing politics of the South in connection with the civil rights movement, a major theme in his writing.

Bass gained his greatest professional fame as one of the nation’s leading scholars of the American Revolution in South Carolina.

Bates had a desire to dance that persisted despite the loss of his leg. So, fitted with an artificial wooden limb—or “peg”—he adapted tap dancing steps to his own specifications.

One of his first actions as mayor was the appointment of a study group to investigate the improvement of air service for the area. As a result, the Richland-Lexington Airport District began operating the Columbia Metropolitan Airport in 1962.

In later years a tamer version of the music grew in popularity as it became associated with the popular shag, now the state’s official dance.

In the fall of 1991, Beasley switched to the Republican Party because he felt that “the Democratic Party was moving so far to the left” and “that Republican philosophy and Republican policies were more in line with what is good for America over the long term.”

Benjamin successfully won a special election to become mayor of Columbia in 2010, becoming the first African American ever to hold that position.

Benton will be remembered for some of the songs he wrote and for his stylish delivery. Opinions differ about the lush strings that often accompanied him—roughly the R&B equivalent of the “Nashville Sound”—but his rich, gospel-inflected baritone recalled predecessors such as Billy Eckstine and set the stage for the explosion of “soul music” in the 1960s.

Bernardin was a popular bishop, renowned for administrative skill and respected for his work to benefit children, the elderly, the poor, and the sick.