The University South Caroliniana Society is pleased to announce its 2026 Annual Meeting and Event, featuring distinguished scholar and awardwinning author Dr. Edda FieldsBlack, author of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize–winning book, COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid and Black Freedom during the Civil War.
Dr. Fields-Black will present insights from her 2025 Pulitzer Prize–winning book highlighting Harriet Tubman’s remarkable South Carolina connections and the broader story of freedom during the Civil War. The event will take place on Tuesday, May 12, 2026.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Dr. Edda Fields-Black back to Columbia for the Society’s Annual Meeting. As one of the country’s leading historians, her scholarship has earned national acclaim and some of the field’s most distinguished honors. Her awardwinning work reflects years of rigorous research, and to hear her speak is to gain insight not only into her findings, but into the research journey itself— the questions that guided her, the discoveries she made, and the phenomenal stories about Harriet Tubman that she has brought to light. This occasion is especially meaningful given her ancestral roots in South Carolina and her engagement with the collections of the South Caroliniana Library, which hold critically important materials that contributed to the success of COMBEE. The Annual Meeting is a rare opportunity to hear directly from a leading scholar and to better understand the power of
archival research in shaping new interpretations of African American and southern history.” -Bobby Donaldson, Associate Professor of History and the Director of the Center for Civil Rights History and Research at the University of South Carolina
Schedule of Events:
-
5:30 p.m. – Annual Business Meeting of the University South Caroliniana Society Membership
-
6:00 p.m. – 2026 Annual Event featuring Dr. Edda FieldsBlack
The Annual Event is open to the public. Registration for the event can be found at thesouthcarolinianasociety.org About the University South Caroliniana Society
The University South Caroliniana Society is a private, non-profit friends organization supporting the South Caroliniana Library, a special collections library within the University of South Carolina Libraries. Founded in 1937, the Society supports the acquisition, preservation, appreciation, and use of South Carolina materials.
