Aiken Technical College, South Carolina ETV to Host Film Screening of "The Blinding of Isaac Woodard"

Aiken Technical College and South Carolina ETV will host a free film screening of “American Experience: ‘The Blinding of Isaac Woodard’” on Tuesday, February 15, in the College’s amphitheater (700 building). The event is being held as part of the College’s Dynamic Dialogues Guest Lecture Series.

Doors open at 6 p.m., followed by the event at 6:30 p.m. A panel discussion will immediately follow the screening.

Tickets are required. To reserve a free ticket, visit https://bit.ly/3IQ5KGr. Masks are required in public spaces on the campus.

The film is based on the book Unexampled Courage by Richard Gergel. In 1946, Isaac Woodard, a Black sergeant in the Army, was on his way home to South Carolina after serving in World War II when the local chief of police brutally beat him during a stop. An all-white jury acquitted the chief of police of the crime, which left Woodard blind.

The incident caught the nation’s attention and set a series of events into motion, including the desegregation of federal offices and the military, setting the stage for the Brown v. Board of Education case, and jumpstarting the modern civil rights movement.

“‘The Blinding of Isaac Woodard’ illustrates how a single individual can be the spark that ignites a movement and creates a seismic shift in public opinion,” said Cameo George, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE executive producer. “Although his name is little-known today, Isaac Woodard’s story changed hearts and minds—and the law of the land.”

For more information about the event, email atcevents@atc.edu or call (803) 508-7246.