South of Broad in Charleston in Charleston County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

U.S. Courthouse and Post Office / Briggs V. Elliott

U.S. Courthouse & Post Office Marker<br>(<i>side 1 • faces north • courthouse on right</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 2, 2019

1. U.S. Courthouse & Post Office Marker
(side 1 • faces north • courthouse on right)

Inscription. U.S. Courthouse and Post Office (side 1) This Renaissance Revival building, opened in 1896, is notable for its association with U.S. District Judge J. Waties Waring (1880-1968). Waring, a Charleston native who served here 1942 to 1952, issued some of the most important civil rights rulings of the era. Briggs v. Elliott, the first suit to challenge public school segregation in the U.S., was heard here before three judges on May 28-29, 1951.

Briggs V. Elliott (side 2) Thurgood Marshall and other NAACP Legal Defense Fund lawyers represented Harry and Eliza Briggs and 19 other courageous parents from Clarendon County. In a bold and vigorous dissent opposing the prevailing doctrine of separate but equal, Waring declared that segregation "must go and must go now. Segregation is per se inequality." The U.S. Supreme Court followed his analysis as a central part of its groundbreaking decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

Sponsored by the Charleston County Bar Association, 2014

Erected 2014 by Charleston County Bar Association. (Marker Number 10-85.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans

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• Civil Rights • Education • Law Enforcement. A significant historical year for this entry is 1896.

Location. 32° 46.568′ N, 79° 55.865′ W. Marker is in Charleston, South Carolina, in Charleston County. It is in South of Broad. Marker is on Meeting Street south of Broad Street, on the right when traveling south. Marker is located along the sidewalk, near the southeast corner of the Courthouse/Post Office building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 83 Broad Street, Charleston SC 29401, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. St. Michael's Church (a few steps from this marker); St. Michael's Episcopal Church (a few steps from this marker); County of Charleston Historic Courthouse (within shouting distance of this marker); U.S. Post Office and Courthouse (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named County of Charleston Historic Courthouse (within shouting distance of this marker); Major General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (within shouting distance of this marker); City Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Charleston.

Regarding U.S. Courthouse and Post Office / Briggs V. Elliott.

<i>Briggs V. Elliott</i> Marker<br>(<i>side 2 • faces south • courthouse on left</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 2, 2019

2. Briggs V. Elliott Marker
(side 2 • faces south • courthouse on left)

National Register of Historic Places #74001835 (1974)

Also see . . .
1. Briggs v. Elliot. NPS Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park website entry:
The Briggs case was named for Harry Briggs, one of twenty parents who brought suit against R.W. Elliott, the president of the school board for Clarendon County, South Carolina. Initially, parents had only asked the county to provide school buses for the black students as they did for whites. When their petitions were ignored, they filed a suit challenging segregation itself. (Submitted on May 10, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Charleston, South Carolina. U.S. General Services Administration website entry:
The location of the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse was the site of the gallows for public executions during British rule. After the Revolutionary War, the property was the location for a police guardhouse, which was destroyed during the devastating 1886 earthquake. In 1887, Congress authorized funds for construction of a new post office and courthouse. South Carolina architect John Henry Devereux designed the building. (Submitted on May 10, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Additional keywords. U.S. Courthouse and Post Office / Briggs V. Elliott

<i>Briggs V. Elliott</i> Marker<br>(<i>side 2 • wide view • post office lobby entrance on left</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 2, 2019

3. Briggs V. Elliott Marker
(side 2 • wide view • post office lobby entrance on left)

U.S. Courthouse and Post Office Marker (<i>side 1 • tall view • courthouse on right</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 2, 2019

4. U.S. Courthouse and Post Office Marker (side 1 • tall view • courthouse on right)

U.S. Courthouse and Post Office Marker (<i>wide view from Meeting Street • marker seen at left</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 2, 2019

5. U.S. Courthouse and Post Office Marker (wide view from Meeting Street • marker seen at left)

Post Office Lobby (<i>just inside Meeting Street entrance</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 2, 2019

6. Post Office Lobby (just inside Meeting Street entrance)

Charleston U.S. Courthouse and Post Office (<i>northeast corner view</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 2, 2019

7. Charleston U.S. Courthouse and Post Office (northeast corner view)

Credits. This page was last revised on April 3, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 10, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 380 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on May 10, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.