Civil Rights Center Unveils Edwards vs South Carolina Monument

On March 2, 2021 -- the 60th anniversary of the student march on the South Carolina State House to protest segregation -- the Center for Civil Rights History and Research held a ceremony to unveil a historical marker and a monument in Columbia, South Carolina. In the 1961 march, the students refused to yield their First Amendment rights and were arrested. Their court case led to the landmark Edwards v. South Carolina (1963) U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned their convictions and affirmed the First Amendment right to protest injustice. Several of the original protesters attended the ceremony. In 1961, the students sang "We Shall Not Be Moved" as they marched around the State House grounds. The granite monument is likewise titled, "We Shall Not Be Moved."