Letters: Columbia needs African-American museum

The Clemson Area African-American Museum is the only government-funded black museum that covers the entire history of African-Americans in South Carolina. That made me wonder why we do not have one in Columbia.

Columbia is 42 percent black, Clemson just 11 percent. Columbia generates several times the tax revenue as Clemson, and the University of South Carolina has twice as many students as Clemson.

I was recently named publicity manager for the museum, and the national champion Clemson football team recently agreed to help get the word out about our museum, which will help recruits and prospective students feel looked after ethnically.

As soon as the football team agreed to work with our museum, I knew that my alma mater the University of South Carolina needed a black museum.

USC just had Houston Texans owner Bob McNair give $5 million for a new football building. So $1 million or so from a friend of USC for a black museum should not be difficult to find.

Football is the largest revenue generator for colleges, and the majority of football players for major college teams are African-American.

This story was originally published February 26, 2017 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Letters: Columbia needs African-American museum."