FEBRUARY 11, 2020 – FORT MILL SCHOOL DISTRICT AND FORT MILL HISTORY MUSEUM PRESS RELEASE
MARCH 9, 2020 - TOWN OF FORT MILL ISSUES PROCLAMATION - As part of the series of events celebrating the South Carolina Department of Archives and History’s (SCDAH) award of an historical marker at the site of the former George Fish School, the Fort Mill Town Council, under the leadership of Mayor Guynn Savage, issued an official proclamation acknowledging the historical significance of this event:
“NOW, THEREFORE BE IT PROCLAIMED, that the Town of Fort Mill recognizes the George Fish School and its legacy as an important part of Fort Mill’s history.”
- Guynn Savage
Mayor, Town of Fort Mill
Official Recognition of George Fish School as South Carolina Historical Marker
Official Video of proclamation reading (YouTube)
SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2020 – PANEL DISCUSSION AND BOOK SIGNING
3 pm – 5 pm
Fort Mill School District Building C
2233 Deerfield Drive
Fort Mill, SC 29715 *Click here for map
Moderated by Ms. Ann Evans, Archivist & Curator for the Springs Close Family Archives at the White Homestead, event will include a welcome from Dr. David R. Ward, Chairman of the Fort Mill History Museum Board of Directors, and feature:
Professor M. Washington-Cabiness Abuwi, M.A., M.Ed., senior great-grandson of Booker T. Washington and author of Booker T. Washington For A New America: Are We There Yet?
Ms. Stephanie Deutsch, author of You Need a Schoolhouse: Booker T. Washington, Julius Rosenwald, and the Building of Schools for the Segregated South (Northwestern Publishing, 2011).
Ms. J. Haley Grant, Assistant Curator at the Savannah River Archaeological Research Program, a cultural resources management program located on the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina.
Books will be available for purchasing and signing by authors.
Refreshments served. Space limited.
RSVP at info@fmhm.org
MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020 – GEORGE FISH SCHOOL PROGRAM
10:00 am
Fort Mill School District Building C
2233 Deerfield Drive
Fort Mill, SC 29715 *Click here for map
Moderated by Dr. Constance E. Dunlap, an alumna of the George Fish School, this program will review the history of the collaboration between Dr. Booker T. Washington, President of Tuskegee Institute, and Mr. Julius Rosenwald, philanthropist and president of Sears, Roebuck & Company, and the establishment and naming of the George Fish School. Speakers include:
Professor M. Washington-Cabiness Abuwi, M.A., M.Ed., senior great-grandson of Booker T. Washington and author of Booker T. Washington For A New America: Are We There Yet?
Mr. Gilbert Scott Bell, great-grand nephew of George Fish and resident of Fort Mill.
Ms. Stephanie Deutsch, author of You Need a Schoolhouse: Booker T. Washington, Julius Rosenwald, and the Building of Schools for the Segregated South (Northwestern Publishing, 2011).
Dr. Constance E. Dunlap, Alumna, George Fish School 1964-67, physician, medical educator, and health equity advocate
Dr. Chuck Epps, Superintendent, Fort Mill School District
Mr. Danny Funderburk, Member, Fort Mill History Museum Board of Directors, former Mayor, Town of Fort Mill
Ms. Cora Dunlap Lyles, Alumna, George Fish School 1965-67, Member, Fort Mill History Museum Board of Directors
Mr. Rufus “Rudy” Sanders, Graduate, George Fish School Class of 1963, Architect, George Fish School Historic Alumni Monument, Founding Member and Former Chairman, Fort Mill History Museum
Ms. Guynn Savage, Mayor, Fort Mill South Carolina
Ms. Rebecca Studer, Senior, Nation Ford High School Class of 2020
MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020 – RIBBON CUTTING & UNVEILING OF HISTORICAL MARKER
12:00 Noon
401 Steele Street
Fort Mill, SC 29715 *Click here for map
Moderated by Dr. Chuck Epps, Superintendent of the Fort Mill School District, the official sponsor of the George Fish School Historical Marker, event will feature remarks by:
Dr. Chuck Epps, Superintendent, Fort Mill School District
Ms. Elizabeth Patterson White, Valedictorian, George Fish School Class of 1959, Secretary, George Fish School Alumni Committee, 2006-2007
Mr. John L. Sanders III, Graduate, George Fish School Class of 1964, President, George Fish School Alumni Committee, 2006-2007
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Booker T. Washington https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington
Fort Mill History Museum https://fmhm.org/about
Fort Mill School District https://www.fortmillschools.org/about_us
George Fish https://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/article12186305.html
George Fish School https://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/community/fort-mill-times/article95770617.html
Julius Rosenwald https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Rosenwald
Rosenwald Fund https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenwald_Fund
Town of Fort Mill https://fortmillsc.gov/
South Carolina Department of Archives and History (SCDAH) https://scdah.sc.gov/
The Fort Mill School District and the Fort Mill History Museum, cosponsors, welcome the public to share in and witness this exciting historic event. For more information, contact the Fort Mill History Museum at 803.802.3646 or email: info@fmhm.org
Fort Mill School District - fortmillschools.org Fort Mill History Museum - fmhm.org
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