Wedding & Event Venue Near Beaufort, SC.

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - South Carolina’s branch of the NAACP is expressing concerns over the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

“We found some disturbing disparities that we’re very concerned about,” Anson Asaka, Associate General Counsel said.

In a letter to the sheriff’s office, the NAACP says they reviewed five years of data and lay out their specific concerns.

“The sheriff’s office issued warrants and citations and made arrests at far higher rates for African-Americans compared to their white counterparts.”

The sheriff’s office said they have trainings and analysis systems in place to minimize racial profiling.

“I feel confident that any of the concerns the NAACP had are addressed by our policies and procedures and not only are those policies and procedures in place, but the statistical analysis that we perform makes sure that they are being enforced appropriately,” Daniel Gourley, General Counsel, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said.

Diversity in leadership at the sheriff’s office was noted in the NAACP’s letter as well.

It reads in part, “the BCSO command staff is entirely white and predominantly male.”

When we checked the BCSO website, now weeks after the letter was initially sent, we found five of the 27 people in leadership roles are women and three are racial minorities. The sheriff’s office stands by their hiring processes and denies any alleged violations.

They are however, willing to talk about the concerns.

“We welcome the opportunity to sit down and have an open discussion about our policies and procedures, how we can enforce those, how we do enforce those and address and concerns the NAACP had.”

Asaka wants the same meeting and hopes it can lead to change.

“Our goal is to ensure fairness, equality, and equity in policing and employment.”

It’s worth noting that the NAACP’s letter was sent to WTOC this week and we are now six days away from the South Carolina primary, where the Beaufort County sheriff is up for re-election.

WTOC asked the NAACP if the timing of their letter was intentional. They tell WTOC that it is completely coincidental, and the NAACP is a non-partisan organization.

You can read the full letter from the NAACP as well as the written response from sheriff’s office below:

people—with respect to the rates at which you warn, cite, and arrest Black individuals—

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits racial discrimination by recipients of

Our review of citation and arrest data from 2016-2021 suggests that your office’s traffic

residents are issued warnings and citations and arrested at far higher rates than their

Your office’s use of force practices are also of great concern, as use of force reports

residents—sometimes with deadly consequences. Between 2016 and 2021, 74% of the

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of

Based on an initial review of your office’s hiring and employment practices between

Enforcement). In the Enforcement Division, this racial imbalance is particularly troubling:

there are currently only two Black uniformed enforcement personnel in a division of 142

Your office’s current hiring practices, including but not limited to the potential use of

3 Between 2016 and 2021, 50% of the approximately 17,000 people arrested by the Sheriff’s Office were Black. In

2020, when compared to warnings issued to white people, Black individuals made up 41% of those who received

warnings and 48% of those received citations; 60% of those issued multiple citations were Black. Our data also

year for warnings, citations, multiple citations, and use of force; because your office did not provide arrest data by

The potential violations we have identified cut to the core of your office’s ability to

immediate steps to remedy these practices. To that end, we request a meeting by June

10, 2022, to discuss the vitally necessary actions that your office can and should take to

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Here is a current good example of how the city of Beaufort goes to no lengths to let you in on what’s going on.

The city posted its agenda for a recent Beaufort City Council meeting. Mostly “standard” stuff, until you get to the good part — proposed annexations.

Which annexation are you interested in? R100 028 000 122D 0000? Or how about R100 001 0051 0000? Hard to know, unless you are an expert in cruising tax ID numbers on the county GIS system. And these are just two of them.

Why do governments do this? No typical resident knows how to navigate this stuff, even if they were interested. But posting notices like this seems designed to ensure the public stays disinterested, and in the dark.

Now, to be clear: We are not contesting, in this instance, these annexations. Each could be argued, but most make some sense. And more information on each of these parcels was available on May 10, when a required public hearing on the annexations was held. If you wanted to, you could have gone to City Hall and asked.

And by the way, Beaufort County doesn’t do it any better. The hoops one must jump through there to learn the details of a proposed development would challenge any Olympian athlete. Some of it is here, another part is over there. And so on.

But here is our plea to the city, and to the county: Just as there ought to be continuity in zoning, there ought to be continuity in information. All the information on a given development or annexation application needs to be in a single place, and easily accessible to the public.

As it is now, if concerned about planning and zoning issues and decisions, one needs to have lots of time available, a willingness to learn to navigate city and county websites and information systems, the ability to call city and county officials and ask “What is this?” plus time to attend both internal staff meetings and published meetings of city and county bodies, and a good understanding of city and county community development codes, master plan and zoning ordinances (not to mention the relevant state statutes).

Anyone want to get involved? Probably not. And because such government practices work to push the public away, those with the most to gain — large landowners and developers, primarily — have the field to themselves. And most of the time, without anyone watching, they get their way.

No, it’s not illegal. It’s just that the system was never designed to allow sunshine in. For all the blather about good government and transparency, city and county information systems and practices don’t walk the talk. Here’s what we most deserve from government (City and County) in this context:

? A real-time development information system, accessible electronically by the public, focused on planning and development activities.

? Posting of every development application or rezoning/annexation application, posted the same day the formal application is received and time-stamped.

? Posting of all subsequent documents and communication related to the application, and a continually updated index of all documents and communications regarding the application.

? Downloadable working documents — applications, engineering and architectural designs and drawings, staff and consultant reports and evaluations — for each filed project.

? Online commenting system to provide for easy interaction and communication between planning staff, applicants, and the public for each filed project.

Were this kind of a system in place (something entirely doable in today’s digital world) we might join with elected officials to brag about the openness and “full transparency” we have achieved. Until then, it’s just “fake transparency,” no matter how much lipstick we put on the pig.

The mission of the Sea Island Corridor Coalition is to ensure successful and sustainable development of Beaufort’s Sea Island Parkway Corridor, and the land and water it touches. Contact: seaislandcoalition.com

This story was originally published June 15, 2022 11:41 AM.

The former mayor of the City of Beaufort was injured in a boating accident while sailing with his brother on the Beaufort River, officials say.

William “Billy” Keyserling, the former mayor, and his brother, Paul, were sailing Saturday afternoon when their boat capsized and sank, according to City of Beaufort/ Town of Port Royal Fire Department Chief Ross Vezin.

Billy Keyserling was severely injured but was “recovering well” as of Sunday, according to Vezin and Mayor Stephen Murray. Vezin did not know if Paul Keyserling was injured.

After the boat capsized between Beaufort Memorial Hospital and the Beaufort Yacht Club, the brothers were pulled out of the water by bystanders who took them to the Beaufort Memorial dock, Vezin said. One bystander performed CPR on Billy Keyserling until firefighters arrived.

Vezin was unsure about the extent of damage to the boat Sunday and did not have an update on the brothers’ injuries.

The S.C. Department of Natural Resources is investigating the accident, according to reporting from the Island News. Greg Lucas, a spokesperson for DNR, said officials responded at 1:30 p.m. but had no further updates to provide.

“I’m thankful for the good Samaritans, first responders, and BMH team that came to Keyserling’s aid,” Murray said. “He’s surrounded by family and recovering well. Please join me by keeping him in your thoughts for a full and speedy recovery.”

Keyserling served three terms after first being elected in 2008. He was reelected without opposition in both 2012 and 2016. In 2020, Keyserling chose not to run, and Murray was elected.

Before his years as Beaufort’s mayor, Keyserling had a 16-year career in Washington working for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. It wasn’t until he was elected mayor, however, that he found his “voice,” Keyserling previously told the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.

“It’s been a fabulous ride for me,” Keyserling said. “There’s never been a higher honor than to serve as the mayor of my hometown, to feel productive, but most importantly to be part of a team.”

This story was originally published May 22, 2022 12:51 PM.

Beaufort County School District will be providing free meals for children of all ages starting Monday through the summer food service program, according to a press release from the district.

As of 2020, at least 6.1 million children were food insecure in the United States, meaning that they were without reliable access to food, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The rate of children who were food insecure at that time rose by 7.6%. Before then, the rate of children’s food insecurity had been in decline since a 2008 peak at 11%, the data showed.

In South Carolina, one in seven children faces hunger, according to Feeding America, a national hunger-relief organization. Of the households receiving aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the state, 48.3% have children.

Several summer camps, Beaufort County libraries and other organizations are joining in the effort to serve students in the area.

Lunch began being served at libraries in Beaufort County starting Monday and runs through July 29. This meal program is open to the public and will provide meals for children 18 years old and younger.

Beaufort — Lunch at the Beaufort Library on Scott Street begins at noon and ends at 1 p.m.

Hilton Head — Children can eat from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at the Hilton Head branch on Beach City Road.

St. Helena — Students can get lunch from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the St. Helena Library on Jonathan Francis Senior Road.

Lobeco — Lunch will be served at the Lobeco Branch Library from 1-2 p.m.

Bluffton — Children will be served at the Bluffton Library on 120 Palmetto Way from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.

Children do not need to sign up for food programs at the libraries.

The Boys and Girls Club, Beaufort-Jasper YMCA and the YMCA Migrant Education Program summer camps will be serving meals to children enrolled in their camp services starting in June. Information on how to enroll your student in camp services can be found on the school district’s website.

Neighborhood Outreach, a nonprofit organization serving over 500 children in Beaufort County, will serve lunch starting Monday and Tuesday of this week until July 27.

Students enrolled in the school district’s summer reading program will be given breakfast and lunch at the following schools:

This story was originally published June 6, 2022 11:56 AM.

More than 150 years ago, African American children -- descendants of enslaved people -- studied at Brainerd Institute in Chester where they learned about culture and the arts.

Less than 200 miles away in Beaufort, descendants of enslaved people from Africa held to a rich culture replete with music, art and storytelling.

On Saturday, the cultural and historical significance of both — the Gullah Geechee people and the Brainerd Institute — will merge for Vivian Ayer’s “Workshops in Open Fields.”

Ayers created “Workshops in Open Fields” in the 1970s in Houston, Tx., when she served on the board for the National Endowment for the Arts.

But she also may be familiar because she is the mother of Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen, award-winning Broadway and screen actresses, dancers, directors and producers.

Ayers, 99, is a Chester native, and was in the last class to graduate from Brainerd Institute in 1939.

She wanted to bring “Workshops” back to Chester and started the program in 2017 to promote preschool literacy.

Rashad purchased Brainerd Institute in 1999. All but one of the original buildings is still standing.

This year’s “Workshops” theme is “Literacy Through the Arts.”

The event will feature artists and performers of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. The Gullah Geechee people developed their unique culture while working on plantations on isolated sea islands in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida.

“The Gullah Geechee is kind of a keeper of African Heritage,” said Pete Stone, a program volunteer and spokesperson for Ayers.

Having a large population of African Americans in South Carolina is “really a part of our culture and heritage as a state and realizing the story didn’t just start with slavery, but goes back beyond that to the richness of the traditions from Africa that came to South Carolina,” Stone said. “So having that in Chester kind of spreads that wealth and that richness and those roots to honor those traditions.”

There is no admission charge for the event, which will be outdoors on the Brainerd campus. The 14-acre campus opened in 1866 to serve local children of freed slaves.

The event will include Ghanaian art, performances by the Gullah Family Slide Dancers, storytelling, a community mural, sweetgrass art, musicians and interactive performances by internationally-recognized artists.

The goal is to teach youth literacy through the arts, Stone said. The event is open to people of all ages, though it is geared to children, he said.

Vivian Ayers’ Workshops in Open Fields “Literacy Through the Arts” will be 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Brainerd Institute, 115 Marquis Street, Chester.

The event is open to the public. There is no admission charge.

Rock Hill

‘Juneteenth Rock Hill 2022’ is Friday through Sunday in Rock Hill. Events include:

* Friday: Food Truck Friday at Fountain Park in downtown Rock Hill Friday starting at 6 p.m.

* Saturday: Freedom Fest from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mount Prospect Baptist Church, 339 Black St.

* Sunday: Worship, 11:15 a.m. at Mount Prospect Baptist Church.

Lancaster

Juneteenth Freedom Festival is Saturday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Main Street in Lancaster. Events include music, vendors, food trucks, and fireworks.

Chester

Chester Juneteenth 2022 event Friday from 6:30 p.m. to 9;15 .p.m at Metropolitan AME Zion Church, 182 York St. Events include poetry, story time, entertainment, art gallery and other events for adults and children.

This story was originally published June 16, 2022 3:19 PM.