Dr. Walter Curry: South Carolina African American Confederate Pensioners

The Horry County Museum presents a program by Dr. Walter Curry on African American Confederate pensioners from South Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 1 p.m. This presentation examines the factors that led South Carolina to employ African American labor during the American Civil War, the various functions that this labor fulfilled, the state's endorsement of Confederate pensions for African Americans, significant aspects of the pension application process and prominent African American Confederate pensioners from South Carolina, particularly those hailing from Horry County and the Pee Dee region.

Dr. Curry is a native of Orangeburg. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from South Carolina State University, and has earned graduate degrees in education, which includes a doctorate degree in Curriculum & Instruction from Argosy University, Sarasota. In 2018, he launched Renaissance Publications, LLC., a self-publishing company, through which he publishes his books, which focus on African American history through ancestry. Most recently, he has rebranded his company to Renaissance Publications, LLC.

Dr. Curry has published two award winning books, The Thompson Family: Untold Stories from the Past (1830-1960), and The Awakening: The Seawright-Ellison Family Saga, Vol.1, A Narrative History. Both books consist of stories that cover the lineage of Dr. Curry’s ancestry from slavery, The Civil War, The Reconstruction Era and family life in Aiken, Orangeburg and Richland counties, and beyond. He has done book signings and presentations at local conferences, workshops, bookstores and schools across the state and nationwide. His third book, South Carolina’s Matilda Evans: A Medical Pioneer, which is the biography of the first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina, will be released on April 8.

Additionally, Dr. Curry is the curator of Ancestral Reflections: The Thompson Family, an exhibit consisting of eight paintings that feature the individual experiences of enslaved relatives, including a woman who served in the Civil War; and individual agricultural and civic activities during past times in rural low country South Carolina. Inspired by stories from Dr. Curry's award-winning book The Thompson Family: Untold Stories from The Past (1830-1960).

Dr. Curry is the Author-In-Residence at the Aiken Center for the Arts located in Aiken. As an Author-In-Residence, he provides learning engagements though exhibits to Aiken County Public Schools that bring the stories from his books to life. He has received numerous accolades for his work and service which includes two African American Historical and Genealogy Society book awards; legislative resolutions from the South Carolina General Assembly for his significant work in service to African American History and Heritage in South Carolina; Literary Titan Gold Awards; a recipient of the Martha Schofield “Work The Legacy” Award; member of the Inaugural South Carolina State University 40 Under 40; and selected as a 2022 Richland Two School District Black History Month honoree. He also serves as a member of the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum Commission, the South Carolina Arts Directory, and the South Carolina Humanities Speakers Bureau. Dr. Curry is also a Certified Interpreter Guide through the National Association for Interpretation.

Dr. Curry currently lives in Columbia with his wife, Takiyah S. Curry, who is a registered nurse and graduate of the University of South Carolina. They have two sons, Braxton and Braylon.

The program is free to the public and will be held in the Museum’s McCown Auditorium located at 805 Main Street in Conway. For more information, call (843) 915-5320 or email hcg.museum@horrycountysc.gov.

View a list of scheduled programs