From the Nominator

"This story focuses on Roy Jones, executive director of Clemson University's Call Me MISTER, and his efforts to uncover and bring to light the history of the civil rights movement, specifically in South Carolina, as well as identifying the major players in this movement. This work is tied to Clemson University's larger efforts to archive and preserve documents and artifacts from this era.  

The resulting story is impactful because it reveals just how committed Jones and MISTER are in their mission to use history and historical context to inform the preparation of diverse educators in South Carolina and beyond. MISTER was created more than 20 years ago to increase the pool of Black male educators in the teaching profession.  

The story also reveals a timeline of South Carolina events that led to the Briggs v. Elliott court case, which was one of the cases that was combined to form the Brown v. the Board of Education court case that ended school segregation.  

Many do not realize that the Briggs case actually preceded the Brown case by several years. The story reveals that the civil rights movement arguably started in South Carolina, just as it shows how much of civil rights history has been summarized and misunderstood in the decades since. Even more tragic is the fact that many residents of the towns covered in the story are not even aware of their history or the significance of former residents and family members still living in these areas."

From the Judges

The quality and depth of the writing is truly impressive. It's clear that a lot of hard work went into crafting this excellent piece. The story itself is amazing and compelling, and the writer's ability to convey its emotional impact really shines through.