» Unveiling the Legacy of Avery: Damon L. Fordham
This is a part of an ongoing series featuring the reflections of past Avery Research Center employees, interns, and undergraduate and graduate students.
In the spring of 1995, I was a columnist for the Charleston Coastal Times newspaper. Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney of the Avery Research Center became familiar with my work and invited me to become a graduate intern as research assistant at this institution, as well as enrolling in the MA degree in history program at The College of Charleston. This was a perfect fit for me because of my love of history and my desire to make a living at what I loved.
While at Avery, I learned many skills in my chosen profession. Teaching the youth in the Avery Scholars program prepared me for a career as an educator. Working as a research assistant improved my own skills as a researcher in finding sources with accurate information, as well as Dr. Dulaney’s guidance and insistence on perfection making me a better writer. Additionally, I gave tours of the building to visitors and learned to appreciate the past legacy of the Avery Institute, especially after learning that some of my own ancestors attended that institution.
Today, I teach various history courses at The Citadel Military College here in Charleston. I have also made several forays to Africa, where I visited my ancestral village in Senegal and lectured to classes of students in Ghana and The Gambia, and am the author of five books on South Carolina’s African American History. I also serve as a tour guide, lecturing on Charleston’s lesser known aspects of its Black past. None of these things would have been possible had it not been for what I learned at the Avery Research Center.
