Mayor Benjamin proclaims April 18 "Ms. Donella Wilson Day"
Imagine attending a book club meeting that was open to every member of the community.
That’s the idea behind One Book, One Columbia, a new program sponsored by the City of Columbia and the Richland County Public Library.
Community members of all ages and backgrounds attended Monday evening’s panel discussion of One Book, One Columbia’s first reading selection “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years” at the Booker T. Washington Auditorium. The event combined discussion of the book with a celebration of former students of Booker T. Washington High School. The auditorium where the event was held is the only remaining building of what was once a four-acre campus.
“Having Our Say” was published in 1993 and was written by one-time Columbia resident Amy Hill Hearth with Elizabeth Delany and Sarah Delany. The book is the story of two sisters who overcame race and gender obstacles to have successful careers and make history.
Bobby Donaldson, an associate professor in USC’s history department and faculty principal of Preston Residential College, welcomed the audience and also served as the moderator of the panel presentation. Donaldson opened by telling the audience that the event would be a “dialogue about who we are as a city, who we are as a university and who we are as a community.”
Helen Doerpinghaus, vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Studies at USC, also spoke at the event. She drew connections between the discussion about race in South Carolina and the work of recently deceased former USC President Andrew Sorensen.
“We want to celebrate you all and the stories you bring tonight,” Doerpinghaus said.
Donaldson said the panel could have featured academics and intellectuals from across the country but instead chose the “dream team of scholars and students” from right here at USC to lead the discussion.
The panel featured five members of the USC community: faculty members Qiana Whitted, Valinda Littlefield and Kimberly Simmons, education graduate student Paige Fennell and fourth-year political science and African American studies student Hakeem Jefferson.
The five panel members discussed a wide variety of issues mentioned in “Having Our Say,” ranging from longevity to education to race and gender.
Simmons, an associate professor of anthropology and African American studies, spoke about the Delany sisters’ positions in the community based on their careers.
“They knew members of the jazz scene, intellectuals (and) activists due to their professions,” Simmons said.
Simmons also discussed the societal pressure placed on women to get married in the 1880s and how that sentiment is still echoed in America today by many women. Simmons would like to see this change.
Fennell, who will begin her first year of teaching in August, spoke about the 21st century lessons that can be taken away from “Having Our Say.”
“This is a story of not just women but of Americans,” Fennell said. “They were proud to be Americans. They had the freedom to disagree but still be proud of the place we call home.”
Fennell talked about African-Americans being depicted as victims of slavery but said the Delany sisters did not see themselves in that light or let that stop them from succeeding.
“They did not let their circumstances determine their lives,” Fennell said.
After the panel discussion, Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin took the stage to deliver a proclamation making April 18, 2011, “Ms. Donella Wilson Day” in Columbia and presenting Wilson with a key to the city.
Wilson is 101 years old and the oldest known student of Booker T. Washington High School. Wilson has lived in Columbia her whole life. She attended Booker T. Washington from first grade through fifth grade and can still remember the names of all of her teachers at the school as she shared them with the audience.
“At Booker T. Washington, everything the teachers did was for the children,” Wilson said.
Fannie Phelps Adams was also in attendance at the event. Adams was born in Columbia and has always lived here. She attended Booker T. Washington from first grade through her graduation as an 11th grader. Adams went on to attend Allen University in Columbia and returned to teach in the same district where she received her education.
“I remained in the district for 40 years and 20 days,” Adams said.
She worked as a teacher, guidance counselor and assistant principal during that time. Adams was offered the job of principal but declined the offer because she was more focused on helping the children. She retired in 1979.
Adams and Wilson have been friends, and Adams is proud of the work Wilson has done.
“Ms. Wilson is something else, and to tell you the truth, I want to be just like her,” Adams said.
The Booker T. Washington Auditorium will be renovated within the next year and will serve as the location for next year’s One Book, One Columbia event.