Despite the fact that Article X of the South Carolina Constitution of 1868 provided for a uniform system of free public schools, the struggle to obtain equitable education that began during the period of enslavement continued through Reconstruction and into the twentieth century civil rights era. Resources to support education for persons of color often came from community organizations, churches, and private funds.
The Shaw Memorial School was established in 1865 by descendants of Colonial Robert Gould Shaw and supported entirely by private subsidies until 1874 when it was subsumed by the Board of School Commissioners of Charleston.
Courtesy of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture