Catherine Fleming Bruce

Catherine Fleming Bruce (born December 3, 1961) is an American author, preservationist, activist and politician of the Democratic Party.

Catherine Fleming Bruce
Born (1961-12-03) December 3, 1961
Ft. Campbell, KY
NationalityAmerican
EducationAgnes Scott College
University of South Carolina
Notable workThe Globalization-friendly global public sphere: contrasting paths to moral legitimacy and accountability.
AwardsHistoric Preservation Book Prize, University of Mary Washington
2017 The Sustainers: Being, Building and Doing Good through Activism in the Sacred Spaces of Civil Rights, Human Rights and Social Movements

Early life and education

Catherine Fleming Bruce was born in Kentucky and later moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where she was raised.[1] Bruce received her bachelor's degree from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia and her master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Bruce is the daughter of Emma Fleming and the late Louis Fleming, who served as Chairman of Sumter (SC) County Council.[2][3]

Political activism

Bruce has advocated in coalition with other local and state chapters of national advocacy groups[4][5] and community based groups. She has been active in the preservation of Richland County (SC) historic sites in connected to local leaders active during the Civil Rights Movement, particularly Black women.[6] In 1995, Bruce founded the Collaborative for Community Trust, which by 2000 was a "small group made up of mostly educators who are committed to social change." The group bought the home of activist Modjeska Simkins in downtown Columbia so that it could be used as a human rights center and the group's offices after restoration.[1] Scholars noted in 2021 that Richland County has more monuments to Black women than any other county in the United States.[7][8][9][10]

In the aftermath of the 2014 deadly Christmas Eve EF3 hurricane[11] in Columbia, Mississippi and the 1000 year flood that struck Columbia, South Carolina the year afterward.[12][13] Bruce highlighted historic ties between the two cities and participated in joint relief efforts that connected them as sister cities.[14][15][16][17]

On January 17, 2022, Martin Luther King Day, Bruce announced her campaign to run in the 2022 election for South Carolina's Class 3 seat in the United States Senate against Republican incumbent Tim Scott.[18][19][20][21] Bruce received the highest number of votes in the June 14 Democratic Primary against two opponents.[22][23] Because South Carolina State law requires a more than 50% margin of victory, a June 28 runoff was held.[24][25][26] The eventual Democratic nominee was defeated by the incumbent.[27][28] Bruce is now serving as Director of Operations at Richland County Democratic Party.[29]

Publications

Her writings focus on culture and social justice. Published scholarship includes The Globalization-friendly global public sphere: contrasting paths to moral legitimacy and accountability, a chapter that appeared in the 2011 book, Public Sphere Reconsidered: Theories and Practices.[30]

Bruce's 1992 documentary, A Perfect Equality: Conflicts And Achievements of Historic Black Columbia, was broadcast on South Carolina Educational Television.[1][31] The 90-minute documentary is divided into four parts, each covering an era of Black history between 1786 until 1990, and contains narration, archival photographs, and interviews. The State staff writer Pat Berman wrote that in the documentary, "Bruce focuses on what [black people] have achieved in Columbia and what strategies have been devised to deal with the racism that not only impedes progress but also denies the humanity of others".[31] She also produced a guide to places in Richland County important to Black history[1] that was described by The State in 1995 as a "ground-breaking guide to Columbia's black history".[32]

Bruce is the author of The Sustainers: Being, Building and Doing Good through Activism in the Sacred Spaces of Civil Rights, Human Rights and Social Movements.[33] She became the first African American to win the University of Mary Washington Center for Historic Preservation Book Prize in 2017.[34] The book received significant attention in the field, and has amplified national scholarly and professional discussion on social justice, inclusion, diversity and anti-racism in the practice of preservation, by such groups as Urban Heritage, Sustainability, and Social Inclusion project of the Columbia Climate School Center for Sustainable Urban Development, as well as connections between preservation, activism and social justice.[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44]

In 2021, an article by Bruce, "A Lion Tells Her Own Story: Civil Rights Buildings in South Carolina”, was published in C20: The Magazine of the Twentieth Century Society, a United Kingdom - based publication.[45][46]

References
  1. "Woman inspired by rights activist". The State. February 28, 2000. p. 6. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022 – via Newspaper.com.
  2. "Louis Fleming". The Sumter Item. January 25, 2007. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  3. "Retired Sumter Businessman Donates Towards Scholarship". Morris College. December 22, 2021. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  4. McFadden, Jessica (January 9, 2019). "Media Advisory Legislative Assembly". American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina (ACLUSC). Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  5. Wallace, Allen (November 4, 2018). "State House Rally urges people to get out and vote". Cola Daily. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  6. "South Carolina Honors an African American Medical Pioneer" (PDF). Call and Response South Carolina African American Heritage Commission Newsletter. Winter 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  7. "County's Black History, Preservation Efforts Draw National, Global Attention New task force aims to further market historically significant sites in area". Richland County South Carolina. January 5, 2022. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  8. "Richland County has more monuments to Black women than anywhere else, researcher says". The Minority Eye. August 6, 2021. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  9. "Reckoning with Monuments and Public Commemoration". The City University of New York. April 23, 2021. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  10. "Explore 8 Historic Places Telling the Story of Black Women Who Fought For Civil Rights". National Trust for Historic Preservation. 2022. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  11. Breslin, Sean (December 28, 2014). "Tornadoes Kill 5 in Mississippi; 50 Injured During Deep South Severe Weather". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  12. Chalasani, Radhika (October 5, 2015). ""Thousand year" flooding in South Carolina". CBS News. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  13. Murphy, John D. (July 2016). "Service Assessment: The Historic South Carolina Floods of October 1–5, 2015" (PDF). National Weather Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  14. Herrington, Charles (August 18, 2016). "Columbia, SC honors Columbia, MS with sister city designation". WDAM-TV. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  15. "Columbia, Miss. sends water to Columbia, SC flood victims". WJTV-TV. October 13, 2015. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  16. "Resolution R-2016-053 To Honor the City of Columbia, Mississippi With Official Sisterhood for its Assistance during the October 2015 Flood" (PDF). City of Columbia SC. August 16, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  17. Staff Reports (October 14, 2015). "ColumbiaStrong travels from Mississippi to Midlands to deliver flood relief aid". ColaDaily. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  18. Goulding, Shelbie (January 20, 2022). "Daughter of Late Sumter County Council Chairman to challenge Tim Scott for US Senate Seat". The Sumter Item. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  19. Shain, Andy (January 17, 2022). "Columbia preservationist joins US Senate race for Tim Scott's seat". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  20. Bohatch, Emily (January 18, 2022). "Columbia SC activist announces run against Senator Tim Scott". The State. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  21. Schnell, Mychael (January 21, 2022). "These Senate seats are up for election in 2022". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  22. "Here are the key primary election results from South Carolina". NPR. June 14, 2022. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  23. "2022 South Carolina primary elections results". The Washington Post. June 15, 2022. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  24. Jabour, Tara (June 22, 2022). "SC representative Krystle Matthews faces Catherine Fleming Bruce in runoff election". WCBD-TV. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  25. Eaddy, Thelisha (June 27, 2022). "Author, preservationist and state rep compete for Democratic nomination for US Senate". South Carolina Public Radio. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  26. "South Carolina Senate Primary Election Results". NBC News. June 28, 2022. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  27. Kang, Hanna (November 8, 2022). "Results: Republican incumbent Sen. Tim Scott defeats Democratic state Rep. Krystle Matthews in South Carolina's US Senate election". Insider. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  28. "ELECTION RESULTS 2022: South Carolina Election Results". Politico. November 11, 2022. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  29. "Please help us welcome". Richland County Democratic Party. January 29, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  30. Correia, Joao Carlos; Maia, Rousily C.; Glasser, Theodore; et al. (2011). Public sphere reconsidered : theories and practices. Portugal: LabCom Books. pp. 23–36. ISBN 978-989-654-082-1.
  31. Berman, Pat (March 28, 1993). "Film follows struggles of Columbia blacks". The State. p. 67. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. "Achievements". The State. January 1, 1995. p. 60. Archived from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. A ground-breaking guide to Columbia's black history was researched and compiled by Hopkins resident Catherine Fleming Bruce.
  33. Maryland, Preservation (July 13, 2020). "Doing Social Good Through Preservation Activism With Catherine Fleming Bruce". PreserveCast. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  34. Henry, Christine (May 2017). "Book Prize". University of Mary Washington Center for Historic Preservation Book Prize. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  35. Wells, Jeremy C.; Chalana, Manish; Hoffman, Steven; Stiefel, Barry (February 2022). "A Summary of Preservation Education in Relation to Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Social Justice and Some Recommendations" (PDF). National Council for Preservation Education. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  36. "The Sustainers: Author Talk with Catherine Fleming Bruce". Preservation League of New York State. March 10, 2022. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  37. Chhaya, Priya (December 11, 2017). "Start the Conversation with 15 Essential African American History Books". National Trust for Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  38. "Need a Fall Reading List? We've got Suggestions!". Greater Portland Landmarks. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  39. ""What Needs to Change?" – Providence Symposium: Whose Places Matter (And Why?)". Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. November 17, 2020. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  40. "DHR Register Program Updates". Virginia Department of Historic Resources: DHR. August 2020. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  41. Avrami, E (October 15, 2021). "Building a Foundation for Action: Anti-Racist Historic Preservation Resources". Academic Commons. doi:10.7916/99gm-xc32. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  42. Wells, Jeremy (May 14, 2021). "10 Ways Historic Preservation Policy Supports White Supremacy and 10 Ideas to End It". Heritage Studies. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  43. Hickman, Matt (October 13, 2020). "The Weitzman School of Design launches a center for civil rights sites preservation". The Architect's Newspaper. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  44. Leggs, Brent (December 6, 2020). "Historic Preservation: Saving African American Spaces Is The New Black Activism". Essence. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  45. Lloyd, Bryony (2022). "C20 Magazine Retailer Pack 2022-2023" (PDF). C20 Twentieth Century Society. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  46. Bruce, Catherine Fleming. "A Lion Tells Her Own Story: Civil Rights Buildings in South Carolina”, C20: The Magazine of the Twentieth Century Society. Issue 2021/2/, London, United Kingdom.
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