Free Heritage Days Symposium Explores the Revolutionary War Through the Eyes of Black and Indigenous South Carolinians
As South Carolina marks 250 years since the American Revolution, Historic Penn Center is asking a bigger question: whose stories have we been leaving out?
The 2026 Heritage Days Symposium, People, Places and Promises of the Revolutionary War in the Lowcountry and Beyond, takes place Thursday, November 12, 2026, from 9 AM to 3 PM in Frissell Hall on the campus of the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District on St. Helena Island. The event is free and open to everyone.
The Revolutionary War is usually taught as a story of patriots and redcoats, however the Penn Center Heritage Days symposium widens the lens.
What the symposium covers
Guest presenters, scholars, and South Carolina State Parks historic site interpreters will look at the American Revolution in South Carolina through the lives of enslaved, Indigenous, self-emancipated, and free Black people. Many of them joined both sides of the war, challenging the paradox of a fight for independence and freedom that did not include them.
Presenters will share research and interpretations that push past the traditional textbook version of the era. That includes the mass migration of people of African descent who left South Carolina, and the country, to build new lives as free people in Nova Scotia, Sierra Leone, and the Caribbean.
Presenters
Dr. Bernard Powers
Dr. Evan Nooe
Alysha Butler
Dr. Robert Adams
South Carolina State Parks Historic Site Interpretive Staff
How to attend
Seating is limited, so pre-registration is requested to secure your spot. Register here: bit.ly/4yE3xs9
Can't make it to St. Helena? The symposium will be livestreamed on Beaufort County TV.
The symposium is part of Beaufort County's 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution commemoration and kicks off Penn Center's 42nd Annual Heritage Days Celebration, November 12-14.
Questions about the symposium? Contact Penn Center at (843) 838-8566 or heritagefestival@penncenter.com.