The City of Orangeburg crowned Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Williams as Mr. and Mrs. Heritage Festival at the inaugural Orangeburg Heritage Festival. The crowning ceremony took place on Friday, June 19 on the Heritage Festival’s Main Stage in downtown Orangeburg.
Cecil Williams is an Orangeburg native and civil rights photographer whose work has been published in hundreds of books, newspapers, and television documentaries. He is also the founder of the Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum in Orangeburg. His wife, Barbara, is a retired educator who he met while both attending Claflin University.
Cecil Williams has been instrumental in photographing and preserving the rich history of Orangeburg during joyous and turbulent times. His candid and unfiltered representation of Orangeburg’s events has garnered nationwide attention and sparked change in his city, the state of South Carolina, and the United States.
Barbara Williams is the current president of the Orangeburg NAACP and has worked tirelessly to bring awareness to human rights and equality for all. Under her leadership, the Orangeburg NAACP has been awarded the Modjeska Simpkins Advocacy for Health and Game Changer recognitions in the areas of youth, education, health advocacy and voter empowerment.