Birth of Center for African American History, Art and Culture
Progress of Center
The Center for African American History, Art and Culture will be housed in the historic Immanuel Institute building located on the corner of York and Richland Streets. Reverend W.R. Coles, an African American Presbyterian missionary, moved to Aiken in 1881 and established a church and a school for freed slaves in a small six-room house on Newberry Street. As the school grew, he built the Immanuel Institute in 1889. Over the years the building has housed a variety of educational and cultural schools and undergone some modification.
Progress of Center
Currently, the building exterior has been restored to its 1989 appearance, and the inside to being renovated to house the Center for African History, Art and Culture.
Upon discovering the history of the Immanuel Institute building in 2004, an ambitious movement began to capture that history and tell the stories of those African descent who played pivotal roles in Aiken County’s development. Community leaders, local businesses, city officials and citizens worked together to purchase, renovate and restore the building to house the Center for African American History, Art and Culture. The Center is dedicated to the collection, preservation, interpretation and dissemination of the contributions and accomplishments of African Americans in Aiken County, it is designed to educate and inform the public by offering an interactive curriculum focusing on history and the arts.
Our Mission and Vision
The mission of the Center for African American History, Art and Culture is to preserve the
Immanuel Institute building and to be an educational resource with interactive programs of sight and sound that educate and inspire, that celebrate both Aiken's diversity and its sense of community and that demonstrate the many contributions of African Americans in Aiken County, in South Carolina and in our nation.
Our History
The Center for Africa American History Art and Culture will be housed in the historic Immanuel Institute Building, located on the corner of York and Richland streets in Aiken, South Carolina. The Center will preserve the legacy begun in 1881 by Rev. W. R. Coles, a Presbyterian missionary. From humble beginnings in a small six-room house Rev. Coles established The Immanuel Institute to educate African Americans. In 1889 he constructed this building to house the growing school.
Through the years the building has housed a number of educational institutions. Among them were Coles Academy, Coles Normal and Industrial School, Immanuel Institute, Jackson School, Andrew Roberts Institute, and St. Gerard Catholic School.
In 2004, a few local community leaders recognized that this historic landmark should be preserved and used to capture the rich history of Aiken’s African American Community. To date, a dedicated board of directors has raised 1.2 million dollars and purchased, renovated and restored the outside of the building to its 1889 presence with the help of city and state grants and pledges from an inspired community. The Immanuel Institute building is listed on the National Register of Historic places. Work continues inside the building to create a high-tech, interactive learning center where visitors from near and far can see, smell, hear, touch and taste how Aiken’s African American history is interwoven with our nation’s history. We are eagerly anticipating opening in 2017. Meanwhile, programming is ongoing. The Center has hosted lecture series, art shows, travelling exhibits, special events, and concert series in the community. Check our calendar for upcoming events.
The Center for African American History, Art, and Culture gratefully acknowledges funding through the Aiken Together Campaign.
