Univ. of South Carolina's civil rights center gets $1.5M

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The University of South Carolina is receiving $1.5 million from an Oklahoma-based energy company to bolster the school's civil rights center.

University officials announced the gift from natural gas pipeline operator Williams on Tuesday. The funds will go toward the school's Center for Civil Rights History and Research, according to a news release. The center will use that money to fund exhibitions, grow its oral histories collection, acquire archival collections and support civil rights education in classrooms across the state.

“From the moment this center was conceived, we have hoped to see its impact extend across South Carolina, and beyond, to illuminate the events and people that defined our state’s role in the struggle for civil rights," said Harris Pastides, interim president for the university, in a statement. "This investment will enable the center to broaden its reach and resources for that mission.”

The center was first established in 2015 and aims to document South Carolina's role in the civil rights movement. Among its collections are the the congressional papers of U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn, the state's first Black congressman since Reconstruction.

Williams operates the Transco pipeline that runs from south Texas to New York City and transports about 15% of the natural gas consumed in the country, according to the company. Williams also maintains almost 420 miles (676 kilometers) of pipeline and two compressor facilities in South Carolina.