The critically acclaimed Charleston Gospel Choir will to present its 2025 spring Piccolo Spoleto performance entitled The Blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard: The Day that Changed America and the U.S. Armed Services, Saturday, May 24, 2025 at 6 p.m. at Second Presbyterian Church, 342 Meeting Street, Charleston.
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.
In July 1948, over the objection of senior military officers, Truman proclaimed an Executive Order banning racial discrimination in the U.S. Armed Forces in response to several incidents against Black veterans, most notably the Woodard case.
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.
“The American experience is unique and continues to inspire and challenge our collective experiences. This look back on our shared past reminds us of pivotal moments in our history and is one story that warrants acknowledgment through song,” said Lee Pringle, Choir Founder and event producer.
For more information, visit www.charlestongospelchoir.org.