Columbia’s Civil Rights Walking Tour

Walk the University of South Carolina Horseshoe

Explore one of the South’s most historic college campuses and learn how USC became the most integrated public university in the South during Reconstruction before that history was nearly erased.

Visit the South Carolina State House

Stand on the grounds where Confederate monuments, Civil Rights protests, Reconstruction history, and political power all collide in one of the most historically important public spaces in South Carolina.

See the African American History Monument

One of the most powerful monuments in the South, this landmark tells the story of African and African American history through sculpture, symbolism, and the stone diagram of the slave ship Brookes beneath your feet.

Discover the Story of Edwards v. South Carolina

Learn how 190 African American students marched to the State House, were arrested, and helped create one of the most important Supreme Court rulings protecting the right to peaceful protest.

Visit First Baptist Church

See the church where South Carolina’s Secession Convention met in 1860 and voted unanimously to leave the United States, setting the Civil War in motion.

Explore Historic Main Street

Walk through the heart of downtown Columbia, where student sit-ins, lunch counter protests, public art, museums, and civic life shaped the city’s modern identity.

End at Arsenal Hill

Finish near the Governor’s Mansion complex, where Reconstruction politics, historic homes, and Columbia’s long struggle over memory and power come together.