Interested in a Guided Tour?
Please book a tour with us for our Main Street Civil Rights Walking tour by reaching out to our office. We strive to use Main St. as our classroom as we work to raise awareness and understanding of a truly pivotal chapter in American history.
Together, we will explore the remarkable accounts of strength, determination, and sacrifice that define how and why “Our Story Matters” – historically and for the future – to South Carolina and to our nation.
Our Story Matters
Columbia’s Main Street was the stage for a number of defining moments during the Civil Rights Movement of 1963. A young domestic worker was ejected from a city bus for trying to exit off the front instead of the back at the corner of Main and Washington; sit-ins occurred regularly at lunch counters like Kress near the corner of Main and Hampton; and marches and protests filled the SC State House grounds at the state’s seat of government, which anchors Main Street.
Capturing and sharing a city’s story not only allows for locals to better understand their community’s historical significance, but gives visitors the opportunity to see below the surface and experience a destination from the inside out.
Columbia SC 63’s Main Street Tour takes visitors on a journey through some of Columbia’s Civil Rights noteworthy and moving stories. Currently, seven markers serve as reminders of pivotal incidents that occurred along Main Street. As Columbia SC 63 continues to uncover more stories, additional markers will be added in an effort to remember, but not repeat.