A HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

TO EXPRESS THE PROFOUND SORROW OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES UPON THE PASSING OF REVEREND JOSEPH DARBY JR. OF CHARLESTON COUNTY, A FOURTH GENERATION MINISTER IN THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AND TO EXTEND DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HIS LOVING FAMILY AND HIS MANY FRIENDS.

 

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives were saddened to learn of the death of Reverend Joseph Darby Jr. at the age of seventy-four on August 8, 2025, a day after his birthday; and

 

Whereas, born in the Wheeler Hill neighborhood of Columbia, he graduated from Booker T. Washington High School where he was a member of the Honor's Society and served as class president. He attended South Carolina State College, where he was a member of the celebrated Marching 101 Band, and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1973 from the University of South Carolina; and

 

Whereas, after college, Reverend Darby served as an employment counselor for a youth program with the South Carolina Department of Public Welfare and then as a juvenile probation counselor at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice for thirteen years; and

 

Whereas, when the lure of service to the church called him, he attended the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and became an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) minister. His first pastoral appointment in 1977 was at Piney Grove AME Church in Gaston, followed by leadership positions at a few Columbia-based churches. In Columbia, he served as president of the Greater Columbia Interfaith Clergy Association and of the Greater Columbia Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance; and

 

Whereas, in 1998, the 7th District AME Church of South Carolina appointed Reverend Darby to lead the historic Morris Brown AME Church where he remained until 2013, when he became presiding elder of the Beaufort District. He most recently served as a pastor at Nichols Chapel AME Church; and

 

Whereas, dedicated to his church, he served in such capacities as chairman of the Episcopal District Board of Trustees, coordinator of the state's Sons of Allen Men's Fellowship, registrar for the Palmetto Annual Conference Board of Ministerial Training, and member of the General Board; and

 

Whereas, devoted to his community, Reverend Darby was a board member of the Reid House of Christian Services and of the Daniel J. Jenkins Institute for Children. He was a member of the state education superintendent's African American Achievement Committee. He was active in the Ninth Judicial Circuit's Drug Court Program and a leader of the Christian Jewish Council of Charleston; and

 

Whereas, a staunch defender of public education, he served as first vice president of the Charleston branch of the NAACP and as chairman of P.A.S.T.O.R.S. Housing Initiative and of the South Carolina Coalition of Black Church Leaders. When provoked, Reverend Darby could pen clear, convincing prose, to set the record straight, dismantling an opponent's argument with facts and rhetoric; and

 

Whereas, Reverend Darby's impressive strength came from the combination of intelligence, flare, empathy, patience, and honesty, attracting the attention of civic and political leaders near and far. He sought basic fairness with a disdain for the politics of deceit; and

 

Whereas, he and his late wife, the former Mary Bright, reared two fine sons, Jeremy and Jason. He was blessed to see the continuation of his family legacy in four loving grandchildren: Jax, Zora, Naomi, and Julius; and

 

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are grateful for the life and legacy of Reverand Joseph Darby Jr. and for the example of dedication and warmth he set for all who knew him. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

 

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, express profound sorrow upon the passing of Reverend Joseph Darby Jr. of Charleston County, a fourth generation minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and extend deepest sympathy to his loving family and his many friends.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Reverend Joseph Darby Jr.

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