‘He never gives up’ – Book looks at life of civil rights museum founder

Barbara Johnson-Williams, who is president of the Orangeburg Branch of the NAACP, has written a book titled “Immersed: The Unconventional Journey of a Man, Mission and Museum.”

The 224-page book chronicles the inspiring story of Cecil Williams, her husband of 32 years. His photographs have helped preserve the African-American experience of the second half of the 20th century.

Johnson-William’s book gives the community another glimpse into her husband’s treasure trove of images, more than 200 of which are featured in the publication.

As revealed by its title, the book provides the author’s intimate, inside perspective on her husband’s mission and the museum which is now under construction.

Through deep personal anecdotes, Johnson-Williams unveils the trials, triumphs and ingenuity that defined William’s life.

“Whenever he puts his mind to something, he makes it come to fruition. … I’m a big proponent of doing mission work, and he’s on his mission,” Johnson-Williams said.

An official book signing will be held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, at the Orangeburg County Library.

The $100 price of the book includes a donation to the museum. The book is published by Williams, who has published more than 200 books over more than three decades.

“He’s always said, ‘Why don’t you write a book?’ He was like, ‘Write a book about yourself.’ I said, ‘You’ve got a lot to offer. Let’s kind of start with you,’” Johnson-Williams said.

Johnson-Williams said she, along with Williams and his late sister, Brenda, came up with the idea of developing a civil rights museum in 2019, with the book’s last chapter describing how the museum began to take shape.

The South Carolina Civil Rights Museum is currently located at 1865 Lake Drive. It will eventually be moved to Railroad Corner as part of Orangeburg’s downtown revitalization.

Railroad Corner is located at the intersection of Russell, Magnolia and Boulevard streets. The corner is being developed by Orangeburg University District Partners LLC.

“The museum is underway. The foundation is just about coming out of the ground. We expect sometime before the end of January, maybe to see some steel rising from the foundation and maybe the pouring of the pad on which the museum sits,” Williams said.

“It’s a two-story museum. Earlier, the contractors were saying that the museum would be finished by June, but I don’t believe it’s going to be until like December 2025,” he said.

He said it feels “amazing” to be so close to the museum’s completion.

“The 11,000-square-foot building is three times bigger than our present museum. We can’t wait until we occupy it and bring this to Orangeburg. We feel South Carolina’s and Orangeburg’s history deserves something like this,” Williams said.

“It would also be the catalyst of other business activities going on there, including an S.C. State (University) dormitory, Claflin (University) dormitory, restaurants, things like that,” he said.

Johnson-Williams said she is equally excited to have a book which she hopes gives readers not only a glimpse into William’s determination to fulfill his goals, but also help them tap into their own.

“He always told me how he could not go to Clemson University because of segregation. There were a lot of things that he had to go through in order to get to where he is now. He never gives up. If he has an idea, rest assured that it’s going to take place,” she said.

Johnson-Williams continued, “All of it goes right back to the museum. We want people to keep learning about things that he has done. I can go to the museum sometimes and on any given week see something different.”

The book is exclusively available now in the museum’s gift shop and online website at www.cecilwilliams.com/shop-books.