Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept-Oct 2018

51 www.VoteBestOfMP.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.ClemsonCarolinaTickets.com feature O n a particularly scorching day in August, with the heat index stretching to 105, President of the Snowden Community Civic Association Freddie Jenkins and I ride to a significant Mount Pleasant structure now hidden but not forgotten. Diners at the nearby Waffle House on Long Point Road wouldn’t necessarily know that just a stone’s throw away, on a grassy four-acre lot, stands the last remaining African- American schoolhouse East of the Cooper. Now overgrown with weeds and vines that wrap around boarded windows and peeling paint, this structure once was a thriving center of learning. It served the Snowden community prior to the monumental Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, which ruled racial segregation unconstitutional. “It’s very important to teach the younger generation about our culture,” said Jenkins. “They need to know where they come from to know where they are going.” With the help of ongoing funding, this historic BY KALENE MCCORT Photo by Jess Wood. Schoolhouse to Cultural Center Snowden Community Preserves a Historic Landmark Left to right: Pat Sullivan, Thomasena Stokes-Marshall and Freddie Jenkins in front of the last remaining African-American schoolhouse East of the Cooper.