Martin Luther King, Jr.

On August 28, 1963, an estimated 250,000 people made their way to Washington, D.C. to demand civil and economic rights for African Americans. In attendance at the March on Washington was Gloria Dreher Eaddy of Columbia, SC, who later became a friend and mentor to Dr. Bobby Donaldson, a professor at the University of South Carolina.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for January 20, 2026: we hear from some potential 2028 Democratic presidential hopefuls; we remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; we also have major campaign trail updates; and more!

Hundreds braved the cold in Charleston to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And many say, his message of peace, love and unity is especially needed today.

On August 28, 1963, an estimated 250,000 people made their way to Washington, D.C. to demand civil and economic rights for African Americans. In attendance at the March on Washington was Gloria Dreher Eaddy of Columbia, SC, who later became a friend and mentor to Dr. Bobby Donaldson, a professor at the University of South Carolina.

The University of South Carolina's Moving Image Research Collections is home to one of the largest motion picture archives in the United States, and it's located right here in S.C.

“God has wrought many things out of oppression,” begins Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous essay occasioned by the first Berlin Jazz Festival in 1964. “He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create—and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy.”

Jan. 20, 2025

Jan. 17, 2025

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at the S.C. NAACP's King Day at the Dome event in Columbia, S.C. on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.

It was unclear nearly three years ago what would happen to a cache of civil rights-era items with a Charleston provenance.The collection included the original tape of a Martin Luther King Jr. speech delivered July 30, 1967, at Charleston County Hall, as well as a recording surreptitiously made of a Ku Klux Klan rally the night before King's appearance.It also contained audio of Ralph Abernathy's lengthy speech of April 1, 1969, delivered during the Charleston Hospital Workers Strike.The collection went to auction in 2019 and sold in New York City for $55,000 plus a 25-percent buyer's premium.Now it's back in Charleston, part of the holdings of the College of Charleston's Avery Research Center thanks to a donation from the Merrill C. Berman Collection.