ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium at South Carolina State University hosted the Sankofa African American Traveling Museum.
This exhibit has art, photographs, and artifacts from the 1860s to the present that show African Americans' history and their journey to and in the United States.
Director Franklin Pressley with the university's Office of Student Life and Leadership said arranging the exhibit to visit was important.
"It's important for our students to understand the rich heritage that we and they walk through Black history every day by going to an HBCU," said Pressley. "However, they need to understand the sacrifices and the determination that our ancestors had."
Angela Jennings has showcased her pieces throughout the country for over 29 years.
"I make sure we travel because that's about the only way to get the information to our students and communities," said Jennings. "They're very few African American museums in the South."
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Jennings said the history of African Americans matters.
"We matter, and we have always mattered, and that our history started in Africa, and we were a learned people before coming to the United States," said Jennings.
Brianna Whitehead, a student at South Carolina State, said having the museum on campus was impactful.
"We learn about these things, yeah, but it's not something that we think about every day," said Whitehead. "So seeing it, especially during Black History Month, to like seeing some of the items that were used like the shackles, the whips, even seeing some pictures of actual lynchings, it was kind of eye-opening."
Kimora Aiken said this exhibit is an inspiration to students like her.
"I just think that it's really, really important for us to know our culture and for us to keep learning more and more about our culture," said Aiken. "And how we were brought here, how far we have come because going to an HBCU has really instilled in me how much I really need to know more about myself and how being a Black woman in America used to be harder than what it is now, and we just need to keep remembering that to keep going."
The Sankofa African American Museum's next stop will be in Rock Hill on Friday.