South Carolina H 4096: Christopher and Miles Waddell Memorial Intersection

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4096 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 26, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4096

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A house RESOLUTION

TO HONOR THE 
CONTRIBUTIONS OF PHOTOGRAPHER CECIL J. WILLIAMS OF ORANGEBURG COUNTY FOR 
CAPTURING THE IMAGES OF SOUTH CAROLINIANS WHO WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN THE CIVIL 
RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND FOR PRESERVING THAT HISTORY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

Whereas, the House of 
Representatives is honored to recognize Cecil J. Williams of Orangeburg County who, 
through his photography, has paid tribute to the many heroes of South 
Carolina's Civil Rights Movement. Born in 1937, Cecil Williams discovered his passion 
as a nine-year-old boy when his older brother, Al, gave him a hand-me-down 
camera, a Kodak Baby Brownie; and

Whereas, shortly 
thereafter, the family bathtub was serving as the developing tank for his 
photographs, and by the age of twelve, he was earning money as a wedding 
photographer. "Born smart," as his cousin Maudelle put it, he soon pivoted and 
embarked on a career of showcasing the Civil Rights Movement as it unfolded in 
the Palmetto State, his work first appearing in Jet Magazine, the Pittsburgh 
Courier, the Baltimore Afro American, and other Black publications, and later 
in national news outlets; and

Whereas, years before 
the landmark U.S. Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision that ended 
public school segregation, a young Cecil Williams was chronicling the courage 
of Clarendon County area residents who wanted their children to have the same educational 
resources as any other child in the State, including with images of Reverend 
J.A. DeLaine, Levi Pearson, and Eliza and Harry Briggs, among others. Later, he 
would photograph Thurgood Marshall, attorney for the plaintiffs, on numerous 
occasions, before and after the Supreme Court decision; and

Whereas, even before social 
changes were ushered in, he captured the images of civil rights pioneers whose 
efforts set the stage for integration, such as the picture of Raymond Weston 
and Lloyd Williams on the steps of the University of South Carolina's main 
administrative building just after being turned away for applying for admission. 
Later, he would photograph Henrie Monteith, one of the first three African 
Americans to be admitted to USC in 1963, the first time since Reconstruction; 
and

Whereas, always bearing 
witness to the courageous, extraordinary acts of ordinary individuals, Cecil 
Williams has painted a vibrant portrait through his photographs of those who 
spoke truth to power by advocating for their civil rights, including images of the 
"selective buying" campaign by SC State and Claflin students to boycott 
merchants who opposed school integration (1956); the Elloree 21 teachers who 
sacrificed their livelihoods for the right to be members of the NAACP (1956); the 
students behind the fence at the Orangeburg county jail after their arrest for 
marching and demonstrating (1960); the student lunch counter sit-ins of the 
1960s; the attempted integration of an Orangeburg bowling alley that ended in 
violence and the killing of three students by law enforcement (1968); and the 
Charleston hospital strike where more than sixty African American healthcare 
workers walked off the job to protest discriminatory employment practices 
(1969); and

Whereas, by being 
present and recording history, Cecil Williams has ensured that the 
contributions of fellow South Carolinians to the Civil Rights Movement are not 
lost to history. Through his camera lenses, their stories have been told. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House 
of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, honor 
the contributions of photographer Cecil J. Williams of Orangeburg County for 
capturing the images of South Carolinians who were instrumental in the Civil Rights 
Movement and for preserving that history for future generations.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution 
be presented to Cecil J. Williams.

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This web page was last updated on February 26, 2025 at 11:06 AM