South Carolina S 294: Former Senator Robert Ford

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 294 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 30, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 294

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

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

A senate RESOLUTION

to recognize and commend former senator Robert Ford 
for decades of service to the citizens of Charleston County and the State of 
South Carolina.

Whereas, Robert Ford was 
born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on December 26, 1948, to parents who were 
leaders in the African American community; and

Whereas, he attended Wayne 
State University and Grambling State University. Deeply involved in the Civil 
Rights movement, he served on the staff of the Southern Christian Leadership 
Conference from 1966 to 1972 and worked for Martin Luther King Jr. as a member 
of an advance team of the 1968 Poor People's Campaign; and

Whereas, Senator Ford was 
elected to serve on the Charleston City Council, where he served from 1974 to 
1992. He was elected to serve in the South Carolina Senate on November 3, 1992, 
taking office in 1993 and serving until May 2013. In the Senate, he served on various 
committees during his tenure: Banking and Insurance; Corrections and Penology; 
General; Invitations; Judiciary; and Labor, Commerce and Industry. He was the 
ranking Democrat on several committees; and

Whereas, a member of the South 
Carolina Legislative Black Caucus, Senator Ford led the initiative to have the 
Confederate flag removed from the South Carolina State House, the last state 
capitol to display a Confederate battle flag. Following years of debate, the 
flag was moved to a nearby monument with the adoption of a compromise bill 
authored by Ford; and

Whereas, he was instrumental in 
securing an African American History Monument on the State House grounds, and 
he was responsible for the passage of a 1998 act that paired Martin Luther King 
Jr. Day with Confederate Memorial Day as paid holidays with the hope that the 
legislation would improve race relations in South Carolina; and

Whereas, the members of 
the South Carolina Senate are grateful for the years of service that Robert 
Ford provided to the citizens of Charleston County and the State of South 
Carolina. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate:

That the members of the South Carolina Senate, by this resolution, recognize and 
commend former Senator Robert Ford for decades of service to the citizens of 
Charleston County and the State of South Carolina.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution 
be presented to former Senator Robert Ford.

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This web page was last updated on January 30, 2025 at 11:23 AM