MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Darius Rucker is among the 2020 inductees into the S.C. Hall of Fame, according to an announcement from its Board of Trustees.
Darius Rucker, Dr. Leo Twiggs and Elizabeth Evelyn Wright will be inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame during a February ceremony in Myrtle Beach.
Grammy Award winning artist Darius Rucker is a lifelong philanthropist and a constant supporter of the MUSC Children's Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, S.C. He has also raised millions of dollars for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through his annual Darius & Friends benefit concert and golf tournament, as well as for more than 200 charitable causes supporting public education and junior golf programs in South Carolina through the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation.
Dr. Leo Twiggs, also a native of the state, is a nationally recognized artist and educator and was the first South Carolinian to receive the 1858 Society Prize for Contemporary Southern Art. In 1970, Twiggs became the first African American to receive the doctorate in art education from the University of Georgia. He chaired the art department and directed the museum at South Carolina State University until he retired in 1998, where he was named professor Emeritus in 2000. In 2017, Twiggs’s nine paintings series, “Requiem for Mother Emanuel” received national recognition when it was featured on CBS, ESPN and reviewed in Art in America.
Born in Georgia, Elizabeth Evelyn Wright settled in Denmark, S.C., in 1897, where she founded a school for African American youth. The founding of Denmark Industrial Institute in 1897 expanded to become Voorhees College following Wright’s death, providing thousands of students access to higher education. During Wright’s labors to accomplish her dreams, arsonists burned her schools down three consecutive times. Not giving up, Wright made attempts at five different locations before her dreams could be nurtured into reality. Elizabeth Evelyn Wright died at the early age of 34 years old on Dec. 14, 1906.
“Our 2020 inductees have made significant, valuable contributions to the state of South Carolina,” said Dr. Rodger Stroup, chairman of the Official South Carolina Hall of Fame. “While Mr. Rucker performs all over the world, he continues his close ties to South Carolina supporting numerous local and statewide organizations. For many years, Dr. Twiggs has been recognized as one of South Carolina’s leading artists and art educators. And despite her short life, Ms. Wright’s efforts to provide educational opportunities for African Americans in the segregated south of the late nineteenth century are a testament to her determination."
The induction ceremony will take place Feb. 7 at 10:30 a.m. in the ballroom of the Myrtle Beach Convention Center at 2101 North Oak St. The event is free and open to the public.
The South Carolina Hall of Fame—dedicated Feb. 11, 1973, by Gov. John C. West—was created to recognize and honor those contemporary and past citizens who have made outstanding contributions to South Carolina’s heritage and progress. On Sept. 21, 2001, Gov. Jim Hodges signed into law a bill designating the South Carolina Hall of Fame as the state’s official Hall of Fame.