Grayson, William JohnGrayson is best remembered for his proslavery verse, The Hireling and the Slave (1854), a rejoinder (structured in heroic couplets) to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s depiction of slavery in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Great MigrationDuring the 1910s and 1920s, hundreds of thousands of African Americans left the South for the great urban centers of the Northeast and Midwest. Spurred by declining opportunities at home, this internal migration of African Americans in the United States, dubbed the “Great Migration” by historians, significantly altered the racial makeup of the South Carolina population.
GreeksThe formation of permanent settlements resulted in the establishment of Greek Orthodox churches in the state’s major cities and towns. The church became the center of Greek cultural and religious life for the immigrants as well as for successive generations.
Green, JonathanBest known for depicting the people and landscape of the lowcountry, Green refers to memories of local African American traditions, as well as tales and stories told by members of his extended family and friends. The artist’s paintings reflect an authentic historical understanding of lowcountry culture.
Greener, Richard TheodoreIn 1870 Greener graduated with honors, earning the distinction of being the first African American to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard.
Greenville The fourth largest city in South Carolina, Greenville traces its origins to 1797 when Lemuel Alston, the largest landowner in Greenville County, laid out the “Greenville C. H. Village of Pleasantburg” on either side of Pearis’s wagon road on the east bank of the Reedy River.
Greenville CountyThe antebellum economy was agricultural, based initially on wheat and corn and a few mills and foundries. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, dozens of textile factories sprang up in Greenville County. Small farmers and sharecroppers migrated to mill villages and the county found itself at the center of a booming textile industry.
Gregg, MaxcyGregg's scholarly interests included botany, ornithology, and astronomy. In 1847 he was appointed major in Milledge L. Bonham’s regiment of volunteers for the Mexican War, but this unit failed to reach Mexico in time to participate in any major battles. He was a member of the Southern Rights Convention of 1852, and in the late 1850s he advocated reopening the African slave trade.
Gressette CommitteeThe Gressette Committee remained dormant until 1954, when the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that segregation was unconstitutional. Gressette made the committee’s position on desegregation clear when he declared, “We shall recommend to the Governor and General Assembly continued resistance by every lawful means.”
Gressette, Lawrence MarionGressette earned special notoriety for his role in the debate over school desegregation. From 1951 to 1966, Gressette chaired a special legislative committee that led legal efforts to avoid desegregation in South Carolina. His influence on this committee was so strong that it came to be called the “Gressette Committee.”
Grimké, Archibald HenryFrom 1903 to 1919, he served as president of the American Negro Academy, the leading intellectual organization for African Americans. After 1913 he devoted himself to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), serving until 1923 on its national board. Through 1924 he also served as president of the District of Columbia branch, becoming a key figure in the NAACP’s efforts to oppose racial discrimination at the federal level.
Grimké, Sarah Moore and Angelina Emily GrimkéWith familial ties to many of the lowcountry elite, the Grimké family was among the upper echelon of antebellum Charleston society. However, Sarah and Angelina rejected a privileged lifestyle rooted in a slave economy and became nationally known abolitionists no longer welcome in South Carolina.
Grosvenor, VertamaeA woman with varied interests, Grosvenor is best known as a writer and culinary anthropologist. During her travels abroad, she became interested in the African diaspora and how African foods and recipes traveled and changed as a result of it.
Guignard, Jane BruceObstetrics and pediatrics became the cornerstone of Guignard’s fifty-year medical career. Guignard became an instrumental force in the development of adequate obstetrical facilities at Columbia Hospital. She also established a training program for black midwives.
GullahThe term “Gullah,” or “Geechee,” describes a unique group of African Americans descended from enslaved Africans who settled in the Sea Islands and lowcountry of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina.
Hallelujah Singers, TheOrganized as a vocal ensemble by Marlena Smalls in 1990 and based in Beaufort, the group promotes Gullah culture through song, story, dance, and dramatic performance.
HamburgThe town of Hamburg was one of South Carolina’s primary interior markets during much of the antebellum era.
Hamburg MassacreThe massacre put into perspective numerous features of post–Civil War South Carolina, including the tensions between—and the growing militancy of— local whites and African Americans.
Hancock, Gordon BlaineIn 1912 Hancock became the principal of Seneca Institute, a private coeducational school for African Americans in Oconee County. Stressing vocational education, this facility was modeled closely after Booker T. Washington’s Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
Harleston, Edwin AugustusHarleston was a founding member of the Charleston chapter of the NAACP in 1917 and served as its first president; by the 1920s he had also established a solid reputation as a portrait artist.