South-Carolina
South Carolina to build first monument to an African American. Meet Robert Smalls
BEAUFORT, S.C. — South Carolina is preparing to put up its first individual statue for an African American on its Statehouse lawn, honoring a man who put on Confederate clothes in order to steal a slaveholder’s ship and sail his family and a dozen others to freedom during the Civil War.
But Robert Smalls isn’t just being honored for his audacious escape. He spent a decade in the U.S. House, helped rewrite South Carolina’s constitution to allow Black men equality after the Civil War and then put up a valiant but doomed fight when racists returned to power and eliminated nearly all of the gains Smalls fought for.
Rep. Jermaine Johnson can’t wait to bring his children to the Statehouse to finally see someone who is Black like them being honored.
“The man has done so many great things, it’s just a travesty he has not been honored until now. Heck, it’s also a travesty there isn’t some big Hollywood movie out there about his life,” said Johnson, a Democrat from a district just a few miles from the Statehouse.
The idea for a statue to Smalls has been percolating for years. But there was always quiet opposition preventing a bill from getting a hearing. That changed in 2024 as the proposal made it unanimously through the state House and Senate on the back of Republican Rep. Brandon Cox of Goose Creek.
“South Carolina is a great state. We’ve got a lot of history, good and bad. This is our good history,” Cox said.
The bill created a special committee that has until Jan. 15 to come up with a design, a location on the Statehouse lawn and the money to pay for whatever memorial they choose.
But supporters face a challenging question: What best honors Smalls?
If it’s just one statue, is it best to honor the steel-nerved ship pilot who waited for all the white crew to leave, then mimicked hand signals and whistle toots to get through Confederate checkpoints, while hoping Confederate soldiers didn’t notice a Black man under the hat in the pale moonlight in May 1862?
Or would a more fitting tribute to Smalls be to recognize the statesman who served in the South Carolina House and Senate and the U.S. House after the Civil War? Smalls bought his master’s house in Beaufort in part with money made for turning the Confederate ship over to Union forces, then allowed the man’s penniless wife to live there when she was widowed.
Or is the elder Smalls who fought for education for all and to keep the gains African Americans made during the Civil War the man most worth publicly memorializing? Smalls would see a new constitution in 1895 wipe out African Americans’ right to vote. He was fired from his federal customs collector job in 1913 when then President Woodrow Wilson purged a large number of Black men out of government jobs.
Or would it be best to combine them all in some way? That’s how Republican Rep. Chip Campsen, an occasional ship pilot himself, sees honoring one of his favorite South Carolinians.
“The best way to sum up Robert Smalls’ life is it was a fight for freedom as a slave, as a pilot and as a statesman,” Campsen said.
Then there is the matter of location. While South Carolina has a monument with multiple panels honoring the struggle of African Americans from their journey on slave ships through today, it doesn’t honor an individual Black man or women among the two dozen monuments scattered around the Statehouse.
At least six different monuments honor people like Dr. J. Marion Sims, who some consider the father of modern gynecology but who underpinned his research operating without anesthesia on enslaved women and girls. There are several honoring Confederates who fought to protect slavery in the state that started the Civil War and hangs a marble copy of the Articles of Secession in the lobby between its House and Senate chambers.
The dubious list includes “Pitchfork” Ben Tillman, a governor and U.S. senator who bragged about how he led groups of whites who killed Black men trying to vote during the election of 1876 which led to the end of Reconstruction, the return of all-white rule and the collapse of everything for which Smalls had worked. None of that is on the plaque for Tillman’s statue.
Some supporters have suggested Smalls’ statue could stand nearby and be taller and more prominent than Tillman’s to give Smalls a triumph some 130 years in the making.
Once design and location are determined, organizers hope raising the money gets easier with a concept in mind.
“We have to get the narrative right,” Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said. “This is going to tell a story. I think it is important that we tell that the right way to honor him and to honor south Carolina. I think it’s really cool.”
Robert Smalls was born in 1839 in Beaufort and died in 1915 in his hometown a free, but somewhat forgotten man who lived a life unimaginable to a woman holding her son born into slavery. Supporters now have a chance to make sure he never fades into obscurity.
“Robert Smalls writes a new future for this county that in the moment no one can see is happening,” said Chris Barr, the Chief of Interpretation for the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park in Beaufort as he stood beside the a bust of Smalls near his grave in his hometown.
Driving a Confederate boat to freedom is what captures the most attention in that remarkable life, Barr said.
“If you’re an enslaved person working on one of these boats around the Charleston Harbor like Robert Smalls, you’ve got the tools, you’ve got the talent, you’ve got the boat and you know how to drive it,” Barr said “And you can literally see freedom floating in the form of the United States Navy just a few miles offshore. All you need is an opportunity.”
PICKENS COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — A deputy with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office was arrested by the Easley Police Department over the past weekend on charges including driving under the influence, hit & run and possession with intent to distribute narcotics.
Sheriff Tommy Blankenship promptly terminated 44-year-old Joseph Russell Williamson’s employment after reviewing initial information from the arrest.
Blankenship addressed Pickens County citizens directly on social media regarding the incident, emphasizing his commitment to transparency. The sheriff said he personally went to the Easley Police Department on the night of the arrest to review charges and available evidence.
“Based on what I observed, I made the decision to terminate this deputy’s employment with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office that same evening,” Blankenship said.
The arrest began Saturday, May 2, when an Easley Police officer observed a Ford F-150 matching a description for a hit-and-run on SC-8 at Fleetwood Drive in Easley. Police began to investigate the vehicle and its occupant, later identified as Williamson.
During a search, officers realized Williamson was a Pickens County deputy and requested a supervisor to respond to the scene. Police then conducted a DUI investigation, during which multiple physiological signs of impairment were observed. Based on his observations and sobriety tests, it was determined that Williamson’s ability to operate a vehicle was impaired, and he was arrested for DUI.
After Williamson was transported to the police department, officers located controlled substances in Williamson’s truck. These substances were secured for testing.
Williamson was charged with DUI, hit and run of an attended vehicle with property damage, possession with intent to distribute Schedule II narcotics and possession with intent to distribute Schedule IV controlled substances.
Citations were also issued for driving offenses, police said.
Sheriff Blankenship emphasized the requirement for accountability within his office and mentioned he also requested the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) conduct an additional investigation to ensure thoroughness and a lack of bias.
Blankenship offered an apology to the Easley Police Department and the citizens of Pickens County, stating, “Situations like this damage the very trust that we work hard every day to build and I don’t take that lightly.”
Williamson was booked into the Pickens County Detention Center following his arrest.
He has since been released on a $23,517 bond.
Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks had a nice last seven days on the recruiting ground as they have landed three players and in the top five of some elite talent. Here’s everything you missed recruiting wise from last week and an updated look at the Gamecocks’ 2027 class.
Judah Lancaster, the team’s most recent commit, is a 6-foot-5 and 230+ pound tight end from Brentwood Academy in Brentwood, Tennessee. His weight and frame are the type of build power four teams covet. Having a great tight end can create mismatches for modern college football offenses. Should Lancaster become that level of player, future Gamecock quarterbacks should be excited for the weapon at their disposal.
South Carolina found its highest rated recruit of the 2027 class so far in the form of big 314 pound defensive lineman John Archer. The top ten player in the state of North Carolina is a “disruptive” interior force on a defensive line. Archer has the potential to be a star at the next level given the right situation. Should he reach his potential in Columbia, the Gamecocks would have a force along the interior of their defense that could help them with a playoff push.
DJ Huggins is a 5-foot-10 and 165 pound wide out from Kennesaw, Georgia. The Harrison High School star held offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Boston College, Georgia, and others before ultimately choosing South Carolina.
South Carolina’s 2027 Class
Archer, Huggins, and Lancaster join a class that features safety Jernard Albright, quarterback Jerry Meyer III, and offensive lineman Will Endicott. A class that was ranked outside the top 60 just a few days ago, is now squarely inside the top 40. Shane Beamer and his team aren’t nearly finished with this class and will be looking to find themselves once again inside the top 25 recruiting rankings when this cycle finishes.
The South Carolina coaching staff has their eyes set on a few key targets as the summer recruiting period picks up. Four-star running backs David “Tre” Segarra and Brayden Tyson, four-star safety Jayden Aparicio-Bailey, and four-star edge rusher James Pace III all listed the Gamecocks among their final five schools for this cycle.
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South-Carolina
Former South Carolina wing, Lexington native, lands at new program via transfer portal
Former Gamecock basketball wing Cam Scott has found a new home. Following a second offseason in which the Lexington, South Carolina native entered the transfer portal, the Temple Owls have announced that Scott has signed with the program.
A former five-star prospect (though he was a four-star by the time he signed), Scott’s South Carolina basketball career did not go the way many envisioned when he flipped from the Texas Longhorns in the class of 2024.
During his high school days, Scott was a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in the Palmetto State. He also set numerous records at Lexington High School. He signed with Texas before eventually winding up with the Gamecocks.
Scott then spent two years in garnet and black. As a freshman, he struggled mightily, averaging 2.5 points while shooting 27.8% from the field and 17.8% from 3-point range. After entering and withdrawing from the transfer portal, he returned to USC for a second season. However, Scott never played again, choosing to redshirt the 2025-2026 campaign.
Because of the redshirt, Scott will have three years left to play at Temple.
The Insiders Forum: Discuss South Carolina basketball!
Scott joins six former teammates in finding new homes via the transfer portal. All seven of South Carolina’s transfers this cycle have dropped down to mid-major programs.
Forward EJ Walker (Western Kentucky), forward Jordan Butler (Furman), forward Elijah Strong (St. Louis), post player Christ Essandoko (Bowling Green), guard Eli Ellis (Charlotte), and wing Abu Yarmah (Longwood) have all revealed commitments this transfer cycle.
Following another tough season in Columbia, South Carolina will have a very different roster next year. With five graduates and seven transfer portal defections (plus multiple staff changes), the Gamecocks nearly experienced complete turnover.
So far, six players have pledged their services to Lamont Paris’ team out of the transfer portal. Kory Mincy (George Mason), Camden Heide (Texas), Aleksas Bieliauskas (Wisconsin), Shane Blakeney (Drexel), Jakub Necas (Duquesne), and Davion Hannah (Alabama) have committed as of the time of this writing.
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