I purchased the South Carolina African American History calendar which was produced by AT&T, Dominion Energy, South Carolina ETV, University of South Carolina, and WIS News. I wanted to highlight the month of September which features Gloria Blackwell Rackley. She was born in 1927 in Little Rock, South Carolina which is in Dillon County. Gloria earned her bachelor’s degree at Claflin College, which is now Claflin University, her master’s at South Carolina State College, now South Carolina State University, and her doctorate from Emory University. She initially became involved in the civil rights movement in Orangeburg. By 1961, she was a NAACP local leader and was targeted, along with her husband, for their stand on civil rights.

Gloria filed Rackley v. Tri-County Hospital with her lawyer, Matthew Perry, after being arrested for sitting in the whites only waiting area seeking care for her daughter’s injured finger. Her lawyer went on to be a United States District Judge and an icon in South Carolina legal history. The lawsuit succeeded in integrating hospitals. Courageous people like the Rackley’s are the reason why we have progressed to where we are today. However, there is much more work that can be done to advance race relations for all people.