Narrative

On May 16, 2024, Shaheena Bennett was sworn in as the first Black female president of the South Carolina Bar Association. A month before, she and her colleague, Nekki Shutt, sat down with StoryCorps to talk about what led to that groundbreaking moment.

Beth DeHart and her son, Jonah DeHart-Thompson, have dedicated their lives to serving and improving South Carolina communities. From the moment Jonah was conceived in the hearts of his two mothers, it was their intention to show him he was not only special, but that every person was special and deserved to be loved and cared for, regardless of their background.

How different is life as a teenager from generation to generation? That’s what 15-year-old Daniel Brown sought to find out when he invited his grandfather, Steve Garris, to the StoryCorps studio to share what it was like growing up in a small southern town. Garris reflects on his youth, from misadventures to falling in love with the music that became the soundtrack to his life in Andrews, South Carolina.

Christine Currie and Jacelyn Arradaza met while working at the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs. In 2024, they sat down with StoryCorps to share some personal experiences that inspired them to bring a greater understanding of Asian history and culture into our nation’s schools.

Laura Tolliver Jefferson was a consequential figure among Columbia’s Little Camden, Arthurtown, and Taylors communities. During her lifetime, Jefferson was a strong advocate for literacy, civic engagement, and bringing essential systems like sidewalks, streetlights, water, and sewage access to her community. 

In 1967, Lee Cannon enlisted in the Air National Guard, where he served eight years as a navigator. In 2024, he sat down with his daughter, Leah, at StoryCorps to explain the unique nature of his job, and to fill in the gaps of a remarkable story he had once told her when she was a child.

The South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities first began as an idea by Virginia Uldrick, a well-known music teacher in Greenville, S.C. Educators Jennifer Thomas and Scott Gould recently joined StoryCorps to explain the mission of the school, and Uldrick’s standards of excellence for both her students and staff.

Able South Carolina's President & CEO Kimberly Tissot joins Vice President Mary Alex Kopp and Senior Director of Community Education, Dori Tempio, at StoryCorps to discuss their agency's core values and vision for true equity for people with disabilities.

According to the Urban Institute, nearly half of all families across the U.S. with children ages 3 and younger struggle to pay for diapers. Here in South Carolina, a young mom named Ayanna White found herself experiencing that struggle and wanted to find a way to not only help herself, but others as well who were in a similar situation.

Sarah Seegars was intrigued by a sentence in John Codega’s dating app bio: “I was detained in Russia one time.” On their first date, John shared the story of an incident that occurred overseas during the early part of his teaching career. Two years later, in 2024, the couple, who were then engaged to be married, sat down with StoryCorps so that John, a teacher in Columbia, could recount the story that captured Sarah’s heart.

While friends Chiara Cox and Elen Callahan did not grow up together, they share a similar journey. They were both born in the Philippines, but eventually moved to the United States. Although they sought to assimilate into their new American culture, they began to long for the people and traditions they had once known in their youth.

Mark and Virginia Pulver of Greenwood, S.C., have been together for over 50 years. During that time, their military and humanitarian work has taken them around the world. They sat down with StoryCorps in 2024 to discuss some of their adventures and the occasional cultural differences they would encounter, including at mealtime.

Amanda Hamilton is a South Carolina mom who invited her daughter, Eliza, to join her at StoryCorps in 2024 to ask her candid questions about her life and her experience with depression and anxiety. Hamilton is an employee of South Carolina ETV and SC Public Radio.

South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center’s founder Sue Berkowitz joins her friend and executive director Bridget Brown to share what launched her career path, and what continues to inspire her passionate work at the agency.

Claire Mattes and Sam Livoti met while working at the Anne Frank Center at the University of South Carolina. In 2024, the two sat down with StoryCorps to discuss the impact of the book The Diary of Anne Frank, and how the book can be a helpful starting point for learning about World War II and the Holocaust.

The original Columbia neighborhood of Wheeler Hill is now just a memory for those who once called the historically African American community “home.” That includes former resident Crissandra Elliott, whose childhood home was located at 215 Bull Street.

Cecil Williams is well-known as a chronicler of the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina. The photojournalist was born and raised in the town of Orangeburg where he still resides, as does the museum which he built. The South Carolina Civil Rights Museum is home to hundreds of photographs Williams captured that bore witness to the realities of striving for racial equality.

In the early 1950s, Holly Scott enrolled in the Columbia Hospital School of Nursing, which was first established in 1935 as the School of Nursing for Black Students. When it closed in 1965, the school had graduated a total of 401 nurses in its history, including Scott.

On August 28, 1963, an estimated 250,000 people made their way to Washington, D.C. to demand civil and economic rights for African Americans. In attendance at the March on Washington was Gloria Dreher Eaddy of Columbia, SC, who later became a friend and mentor to Dr. Bobby Donaldson, a professor at the University of South Carolina. They spoke with StoryCorps in 2024.

William Starrett has been dancing since he was a small child. His talent was recognized early, earning him the spotlight with prestigious dance companies such as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Eglevsky Ballet, and The Joffrey Ballet. Since settling in Columbia, SC, he know directs the South Carolina Ballet.

In 2024, Pam Sulton invited her friend, Yvonne Smith, to join her at StoryCorps to share what inspired her to become a doula and some of her experiences along the way, a conversation Sulton hopes to leave as a legacy for her family so that they may know how much she enjoyed helping bring new life into the world.

Sawyer Drayton was just two years old when he first met Charlotte, who is now his step-mom. Together, they’ve bonded over their many adventures. 

The summer after Peyton Wooldridge of Chester, S.C. graduated from Mary Baldwin University in 1968, two of her female classmates went to Vietnam to serve during the war. One of those classmates wrote to her, encouraging her to also come and serve, saying, “This will change your life.”

After three months of explosive ordnance and heavy equipment training by the U.S. Army, 18-year-old Roger Thompson arrived for duty in Vietnam in March of 1968. During his service, he witnessed firsthand the terrors of war, which inspired his lifetime mission of helping fellow veterans who struggle with both the physical and mental effects of combat.In 2021, Thompson and his friend, Kym Klapperich, both of Travelers Rest, sat down to discuss his experience with StoryCorps, a national initiative to record and collect stories of everyday people. This excerpt was selected and produced by Linda Nunez.

Upon graduating at age 17 in June of 1967, Michael Richardson pondered his future and longed for a career. In December of that year, he decided to enlist in the U.S. Army, where his training began in January 1968 at Fort Benning, Georgia. It was there that Richardson had his first experience working in snowy conditions.

Karen Kustafik is a City of Columbia Park Ranger. She and her friend, Margaret Clarkson, met and bonded over their love for Columbia’s natural resources, and in particular, its system of rivers, which flow through the heart of the city.

William Justice and Taylor Gilliam began their friendship in 2017 as client and attorney. Since his early childhood in West Columbia, Justice had experienced several arrests and incarcerations.

At the turn of the 20th century, the South Carolina State Farmers Market was simply known as “Columbia’s City Market,” located on Assembly Street. It was there that George Oswald and his family labored daily, arriving before the sun rose, then packing up well past sundown.

While friends Chiara Cox and Elen Callahan did not grow up together, they share a similar journey. They were both born in the Philippines, but eventually moved to the United States. Although they sought to assimilate into their new American culture, they began to long for the people and traditions they had once known in their youth.

When Harriet Hancock's middle child, Greg, came out to her as gay, she instantly accepted and supported him. But she learned that his friends who were gay had not received the same kind of acceptance as she had given her son.

After three months of explosive ordnance and heavy equipment training by the U.S. Army, 18-year-old Roger Thompson arrived for duty in Vietnam in March of 1968. During his service, he witnessed firsthand the terrors of war, which inspired his lifetime mission of helping fellow veterans who struggle with both the physical and mental effects of combat.

On August 28, 1963, an estimated 250,000 people made their way to Washington, D.C. to demand civil and economic rights for African Americans. In attendance at the March on Washington was Gloria Dreher Eaddy of Columbia, SC, who later became a friend and mentor to Dr. Bobby Donaldson, a professor at the University of South Carolina.

In the South Beltline and Gills Creek area of Columbia, many homes were extensively damaged by 2015’s historic “thousand-year flood.” Rachel Larratt, a survivor turned volunteer from that area, reflects on the water rising in her own home, as well as the deflated spirits of other survivors who continued to struggle to recover after the disaster.In 2016, Larratt reflected on the impact the flood had on her family. This interview was originally produced for Narrative by Olivia Aldridge.

In the neighborhoods surrounding Lake Katherine, one of the most heavily flooded areas in Columbia during October 2015’s historic “thousand-year flood,” locals went from house to house on Jon boats and pontoons to rescue neighbors trapped in their flooded homes. Marwan Marzagao was among those who teamed up with a small group of men to help save others from harm’s way. The following year, he reflected on this experience.. This interview was originally produced for Narrative by Olivia Aldridge.

Last week, Narrative focused on South Carolina students who survived 2015’s historic “thousand-year flood.” This week, the focus shifts to the other side of the classroom, through the eyes of two teachers.Elizabeth Webb and Louise Cruea survived South Carolina's flood before surviving a second massive flood in West Virginia the following summer. Their children, who were with them during both evacuations, have struggled with trauma from these disasters, like so many of the elementary-age children that Elizabeth and Louise teach.In 2016, they reflected on their experiences. This conversation was originally produced for Narrative by Olivia Aldridge.

This edition of Narrative continues our look back on the 10th anniversary of the historic “thousand-year” flood of October 2015, which devastated several communities across South Carolina.The following year, Columbia residents Davis and Maegan Latham shared their experience of being displaced after their family’s home was damaged by the massive floodwaters. The siblings struggled to keep up with the demands of high school while living in “less than ideal” circumstances.This conversation was originally produced for Narrative by Olivia Aldridge.You can find full transcripts here.

On this edition of Narrative, we mark the 10th anniversary of the historic “thousand-year” flood of October 2015, when relentless rainfall devastated communities across South Carolina.A year after the flood, Columbia resident Beki Gettys and her eleven-year-old son Eli sat down to talk about the morning they awoke to flood waters overtaking their neighborhood.They spoke with StoryCorps, a national initiative to record and collect stories of everyday people. This conversation was originally produced for Narrative by Laura Hunsberger.You can find full transcripts here.