In this pioneering study of the long and arduous struggle for civil rights in South Carolina, longtime journalist Claudia Smith Brinson details the lynchings, beatings, bombings, cross burnings, death threats, arson, and venomous hatred that black South Carolinians endured—as well as those who risked their lives for equality.



Through extensive research and interviews with more than 150 civil rights activists, Brinson chronicles twenty pivotal years of petitioning, preaching, picketing, boycotting, marching, and holding sit-ins.



These firsthand accounts include those of the unsung petitioners who risked their lives by supporting Summerton's Briggs v. Elliot; and the black female employees and leaders who defied a governor and his armed troops during the 1969 hospital strike in Charleston.



Brinson also highlights contributions made by remarkable but lesser-known activists, including Thomas W. Gaither, Congress of Racial Equality field secretary and scout for the Freedom Rides; and Mary Moultrie, grassroots leader of the 1969 hospital workers' strike.



Although significant racial disparities remain, the sacrifices of these brave men and women produced real progress—and hope for the future.