Event Details

Woodard was an African American World War II sergeant whose 1946 beating and maiming, hours after discharge from the U.S. Army, sparked national outrage and galvanized the civil rights movement in the United States.

Still in uniform, South Carolina-born Woodard was left completely and permanently blinded after a run-in with police in South Carolina while traveling to rejoin his family in North Carolina. The sheriff involved claimed he struck Woodard only once in self-defense, although Woodard claimed otherwise, and suffered a ruptured cornea and complete blindness in both eyes. South Carolina's reluctance to bring the sheriff to trial prompted federal involvement.

Through song and narration, the Choir will pay homage to Woodard’s legacy in performance of moving gospel and R&B standards including To Be Young Gifted and Black, I Know Where I’ve Been, and Lord Keep Me Day by Day with narration by Richard Gergel whose 2019 book Unexampled Courage: The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of America inspired this event.

Event time 6pm. Tickets$30 adults; $15 children/students with ID or at door (cash or check only) up to one half hour before the event.