Current Status Bill Number:1348 Type of Legislation:Concurrent Resolution CR Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19960409 Primary Sponsor:McGill All Sponsors:McGill Drafted Document Number:res9979.jym Date Bill Passed both Bodies:19960410 Subject:James McBride Dabbs
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________
Senate 19960410 Received from House
House 19960410 Introduced, adopted, returned
with concurrence
Senate 19960409 Introduced, adopted, sent to House
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TO HONOR THE MEMORY OF JAMES MCBRIDE DABBS, A MOST OUTSTANDING AND DISTINGUISHED UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA ALUMNUS, WRITER, PHILOSOPHER, AND THEOLOGIAN, ON THE OCCASION OF A SPECIAL FORUM ENTITLED "JAMES MCBRIDE DABBS AND THE SOUTHERN HERITAGE: A CENTENNIAL SYMPOSIUM" TO BE HELD APRIL 10 - 12, 1996.
Whereas, James McBride Dabbs, a native of Rip Raps Plantation in Sumter County, was a very extraordinary man and outstanding alumnus of the University of South Carolina; and
Whereas, it is entirely fitting that his memory, numerous contributions, and accomplishments be honored on the occasion of this symposium; and
Whereas, Mr. Dabbs was and continues to be known by many as one of the University's most distinguished graduates who finished among the top in his class some eighty years ago and is most worthy of being remembered and celebrated as a writer, lecturer, philosopher, and theologian; and
Whereas, upon graduation from the University of South Carolina in 1916, his academic achievement and potential were recognized with an invitation to teach in the University's English Department, and was later honored to become the head of the English Department at Coker College; and
Whereas, James McBride Dabbs was known as a torchbearer for social justice and racial equity in the South during the 1950's and 1960's and was considered an articulate and eloquent spokesman throughout the nation on behalf of social justice and racial equity; and
Whereas, this creative man was well-known for his talent as a regional poet and author of numerous essays in regional and national publications, and significantly, for his award-winning book, The Southern Heritage, of which Dabbs is quoted, "We are the South. The problem is in ourselves, and...we need to understand ourselves, what past we carry within us and what sort of future may find rootage in that past...I have no more doubt of the fire which burns at the heart of the south than I have of that which burns at my own. Why should I: They are both the same." (1958); and
Whereas, in addition to his many accomplishments as an outstanding writer of the South, other honors bestowed upon him include being elected President of USC's Phi Beta Kappa Society in 1937, the Southern Regional Council in 1957, as well as being awarded honorary degrees by Morehouse College in 1959 and Tuskagee Institute in 1964; and
Whereas, James McBride Dabbs also made significant contributions as an Elder and most distinguished modern lay theologian for his church, Salem Black River Presbyterian Church in Sumter County. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:
That the members of the General Assembly, by this resolution, wish to honor the memory of James McBride Dabbs, a most outstanding and distinguished South Carolinian, on the occasion of a symposium celebrating his life and his works sponsored by the South Caroliniana Library, the Institute for Southern Studies, and Coastal Carolina University's Waccamaw Center for Cultural and Historical Studies.