November 16, 2025
Avery Research Center Marks 160 Years Of Preserving Black History In South Carolina’s Lowcountry
The research center hosts an extensive collection of archives surrounding Black Lowcountry culture.
The Avery Research Center, focused on Black life in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, has reached a milestone.
Around 160 years ago, the Avery Normal Institute was founded to educate formerly enslaved Black people in the Lowcountry region, a coastal area in the southeastern United States, to Black people there learn new careers and livelihoods post-slavery.
Later, it educated the children of formerly enslaved people as a traditional private school. Now a part of the College of Charleston, it was officially renamed the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston. It serves as a holding place for many of the archives surrounding this lesser-known part of history. Those seeking to reconnect with their familial or cultural heritage tied to Lowcountry often look to the Avery Research Center.
“Whenever you come into the Avery, we’re always going to tell you welcome home. No matter who you are. Because you will be able to find yourself. You’ll be able to find your family. You’ll be able to find anything within our building,” said Daron Lee Calhoun II, a leading figure at the center, to WCSC.
Parts of its initial schooling house remain intact, including the pillars that helped its foundation stand. Built by the community of formerly enslaved Black people it once served, the fingerprints of these builders are also visible.
Many come not only to discover more about African American history, but to reconnect with their own. With its extensive archives, visitors can discover their own family records if they are tied to this land.
Its vast collection of documents has inspired the travels of many scholars, including famed writer and scholar W.E.B. Du Bois and civil rights activist Septima Clark, an alumnus of the original school. Clark kept some timeless artifacts at the institution, including handwritten papers and a personal note from Langston Hughes.
“We are not gatekeepers of history, but we are here to share the history with the world,” Calhoun said.
To mark its generational legacy of preserving Black life in the Lowcountry, the Avery Research Center will host a 2025 Avery Family Reunion. The communal celebration, which will take place Nov. 16, includes live music and traditional storytelling.
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