Richard T. Greener Lecture

The Richard T. Greener Lecture continues his legacy of teaching at the University of South Carolina by inviting speakers to give a talk focusing on a topic relating to Greener’s life as an educator, philosopher, librarian, lawyer, or diplomat.

​2023 - Neil Kinghan

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Neil Kinghan will deliver the 2023 Richard T. Greener Lecture on Friday, September 15 in Harper College, room 320 (also known as Euphradian Hall). It is free and open to the public.

He will discuss his book, A Brief Moment in the Sun:
Francis Cardozo and Reconstruction in South Carolina. Copies will be available for purchase from All Good Books.
Cardozo was appointed to the USC Board of Trustees in 1869 and enrolled in its law school in 1874. 

According to LSU Press: ​"Neil Kinghan’s Brief Moment in the Sun is the first complete historical analysis of Francis Cardozo and his contribution to Reconstruction and African American history. It draws on original research on Cardozo’s early life and education in Scotland and England and pulls together for the first time the extant sources on his experiences in South Carolina and Washington, DC. Kinghan reveals all that Cardozo achieved as a Black educator and political leader and explores what else he might have realized if white racism and violence had not ended his efforts in South Carolina. Above all, Kinghan shows that Francis Cardozo deserves a place of honor and distinction in the history of nineteenth-century America."

​2022 - Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
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​The 2022 Richard T. Greener Lecture featured Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, bestselling authors of The Personal Librarian, their novel about the extraordinary life of Belle da Costa Greene who became J.P. Morgan's personal librarian. She was born Belle Marion Greener, daughter of Richard T. Greener and Genevieve Ida Fleet, but along with her mother and siblings she passed as white and hid her true identity. The 2022 Richard T. Greener Lecture was moderated by Augusta Baker Endowed Chair Dr. Nicole Cooke at Richland Library on Thursday, September 8, 2022. ​It was co-sponsored by the Center for Innovation & Inclusion in Higher Education, the Augusta Baker Endowment, and Richland Library. ​

2021 - Eddie Comeaux
The 2021 Richard T. Greener Lecture was given by Eddie Comeaux, Professor of Higher Education and Executive Director of the Center for Athletes’ Rights and Equity at the University of California-Riverside: “Choosing Their Battlefields: Paul Robeson and Other Black College Football Players’ Activism for Racial Equity.” The event was part of the Museum of Education's fall exhibit on "The History of American College Football" by guest curators Christian K. Anderson (who moderated the talk) and Amber C. Fallucca. It was held on Wednesday, December 1, 2021.

2020 - Randall Kennedy

​The 2020 Richard T. Greener lecture with Harvard Law Professor Randall Kennedy was held on Monday, December 1, 2020: “Black Students and Struggles for Freedom on Southern Campuses.” This year marks the 150th anniversary since Greener's graduation from Harvard. Yvonne Osirim, president of the Harvard Black Alumni Association, provided opening remarks about Greener's time at Harvard. Aubrey Gibson, member of the board for the UofSC Black Alumni Council, engaged Prof. Kennedy in conversation after his lecture. You can view the lecture online on the Museum of Education's YouTube Channel. (Flyer)

2018 - James Clyburn

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United States Representative James E. Clyburn served as the inaugural speaker at the unveiling of the Greener Statue.