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NEWS BRIEFS: Portrait of Civil War hero now out of closet and on Senate wall

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This portrait of Swails now hangs in the Senate chamber, 13 years after it was approved. Photo provided.

By Herb Frazier, Charleston City Paper  |  A portrait of a Black Reconstruction-era state senator and Civil War hero sat in a Statehouse closet for 13 years before finally being put on display Thursday in the Senate chamber without a public ceremony.

A new book by Charleston lawyer and historian Gordon Rhea is to be published next month by LSU Press.

From the blood-soaked sands of Morris Island during the Union Army’s assault on Fort Wagner near Charleston, Stephen Atkins Swails became the first black U.S. Army officer. Following the war, Swails gained prominence as a Williamsburg County businessman, newspaper editor and the first black man to serve as the Senate’s president pro tempore.  He served in the state Senate from 1868 to 1878.

S.C. Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Darlington, this week told the Charleston City Paper that the portrait was hung in a private ceremony after the newspaper questioned where it was. Malloy said he spoke to Senate President Harvey S. Peeler, R-Cherokee, who he said “is a friend, and he is conscious of these issues.” He declined to detail his conversation with Peeler.

Meanwhile Thursday, the specter of race raised its head when S.C. Sen. Sandy Senn, R-Charleston, commented on Swails’ fair complexion. In an email with a “what’s up” emoji that she sent to Senate Clerk Jeffrey Gossett and all of the state’s senators, she wrote: “That sure is the whitest-looking black guy I’ve ever seen.”

In an interview today, Senn said she didn’t mean the comment as a slight to Swails, but she thought she was sent a picture of the wrong portrait.

“I think this whole thing got blown way out of proportion,” she said. “I didn’t ever, ever intend for any kind of slight to this man. I think some good is going to come out of this. More attention is going to be brought to his significant and extraordinary history. Nothing I said is derogatory toward him. The good news is even if it is going to be at my expense, this gentleman will get some overdue recognition.”

In an interview with the City Paper, Malloy said: “I have no words to respond to comments like that.”

In other recent news: 

Black history board members dismissed. Two veteran members of a state commission that promotes the preservation of Black history and culture said they were unexpectedly and unceremoniously “removed” from positions held since 1993, when state lawmakers created the S.C. African American Heritage Commission.  A state official said there were more applicants this year than open seats.  More: Charleston City Paper.

Civil rights groups sue McMaster, state lawmakers over redistricting. Two civil rights groups are suing South Carolina, saying state lawmakers are taking too long to draw new district maps. More: Associated Press, WCSC TV, The State, The Post and Courier.

S.C.’s abortion restrictions to go to U.S. appellate court. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has tentatively scheduled oral arguments for Dec. 6 in a lawsuit challenging South Carolina’s new abortion law, which took effect this year and bans abortions after fetal cardiac activity is detected. Cardiac activity typically occurs six weeks into pregnancy. Since pregnancy is calculated from a person’s first day of her last period — not ovulation date — this means that many women may not know they are pregnant. More: AP News.

Biden wants wind farms along coasts, including S.C.’s. Under a plan announced by the Biden administration Wednesday, seven major offshore wind farms would be developed along the U.S. coasts, including in the Carolinas, an area between North Carolina and South Carolina called Carolina Long Bay. The lease sales will be held by 2025, under the plan, which seeks 30 gigawatts of power by 2030. That would power more than 10 million homes.  More: AP News  |  The New York Times.

Haley tapped for lifetime seat on Clemson board.  Former S.C. Gov. and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who now lives at Kiawah Island, has been appointed to fill a lifetime seat on the Clemson University Board of Trustees vacated by former House Speaker David Wilkins of Greenville. Wilkins also served as ambassador to Canada in the Bush administration in the early 2000s. More: SC Public Radio, The Post and Courier.

S.C.’s Arrington sues Pentagon, NSA amid probe over disclosing classified info. Katie Arrington, a former Lowcountry  congressional candidate and GOP state lawmaker who went on to work for the Pentagon, is suing the Department of Defense and the National Security Agency, citing what she says are the agencies’ delays in investigating allegations she disclosed classified information. 

2022: Scott rakes in $8.3M for reelection. South Carolina’s U.S. Sen. Tim Scott has become one of the Republican Party’s most prolific fundraisers. He is heavily favored to win his 2022 reelection bid, leaving some to speculate a possible 2024 presidential bid. More: Politico.

Former SCANA CEO heads to prison soon. Former SCANA CEO Kevin Marsh is the first executive tied to a bungled billion-dollar nuclear project in South Carolina to go to jail. Construction on the V.C. Summer expansion project lasted nine years and consumed $10 billion — and it was canceled before it could be completed and produce any electricity. More: AP News, The Post and Courier, The State.

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