COLUMBIA — Before serving in World War II, the man for whom a Richland County courthouse is named was not allowed to eat at the same lunch counter as the White men he fought alongside.
Matthew Perry's story, which includes his fight for Civil Rights and service as a federal judge until his death in 2011, is now featured in the South Carolina Military Museum's civil rights exhibit from Feb. 1 until the end of June.
The exhibit aims to highlight similar stories of South Carolina military veterans who played a role in the Civil Rights movement, with artifacts dated from the Reconstruction era to the present day with a focus on "race, gender and physical ability" and veterans' struggles to overcome discrimination on those grounds.
"The U.S. military has traditionally seen itself as quite progressive, and in many ways it is," museum director Saddler Taylor said Feb. 5. "But we must reflect on those individuals who broke societal barriers within the military and struggled mightily for positive change after their honorable service."
A white sign behind a black case shows arrows going in opposite directions, each for segregated showers. A Jeep and trailer used during World War II has a video playing inside, showing Columbia native Charity Adams Earley — the first Black woman to lead a corps of Army officers — reviewing the work of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. Columbia's army base, Fort Jackson, recently rededicated one of its facilities to Earley's memory.
Additionally, the exhibit includes a sword that was owned by the son of former Gov. Franklin Moses, Jr., who spent much of his tenure trying to integrate the state government and the University of South Carolina during the Reconstruction Era.
The exhibit will also include a World War I-era item loaned from the S.C. Confederate Relic Room, according to the museum's Curator of Collections Heather McPherson.
“South Carolina’s 371st Regimental flag is an anchor piece that signifies the resolute spirit of African Americans fighting for justice at home and abroad," McPherson said. "While the regulation eagle symbolism gives off an air of uniformity, you have to look deeper to realize the price of freedom was not equal for those serving under its review.”
Though the exhibit opened on Feb. 1, the museum will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a tour of future exhibit improvements and a reception starting at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 23.
The South Carolina Military Museum, at 1 National Guard Road in Columbia, is free to the public and open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday through Saturday. The last daily tour starts at 3:30 p.m.
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