Rear bus panel used by Esau Jenkins and the Progressive Club of Johns Island
- On View
- Segregation Gallery
- Museum Maps
- Objects in this Location
- Manufactured by
- Volkswagen, German, founded 1937
- Used by
- Jenkins, Esau, American, 1910 - 1972
- Subject of
- The Progressive Club, American, 1948 - 1989
- Date
- 1966; altered 1967
- Medium
- metal
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 30 5/8 × 50 1/4 × 3 3/4 in. (77.8 × 127.6 × 9.5 cm)
- Caption
- The influential civil rights activists Esau and Janie B. Jenkins devoted their lives to the uplift of their Johns Island community. In 1948, the Jenkins helped to form the Progressive Club, a community social and activist organization. The Club served as a community center and grocery store in addition to providing literacy education and childcare for the racially oppressed and impoverished community of Johns Island. Under the leadership of Septima Clark and Bernice Robinson, the Jenkins developed the first Citizenship School at the Club in 1957 and helped to register thousands of Black voters across the Sea Islands.
- This panel is from a 1966 Volkswagon microbus used by Esau Jenkins to provide transportation for the island residents. Jenkins used the bus rides to teach the passengers how to read and provided the education needed to pass voter registration tests designed to prevent African Americans from voting. Jenkins hand-painted his personal motto, "Love is Progress, Hate is Expensive," on the panel.
- In 2019, the remaining microbus was excavated, preserved, and added to the National Historic Vehicle Register by the Jenkins family along with the Historic Vehicle Association, The NB Center for American Automative Heritage, and the Hagerty Drivers Foundation.
- Description
- The rear lift panel to a 1966 Volkswagen Transporter microbus used by Esau and Janie B. Jenkins for the Progressive Club on John's Island, South Carolina. The panel is painted white at the top and green at the bottom. A large window is in the top half of the panel. Painted below the window with white paint is the motto “LOVE IS PROGRESS / HATE IS EXPENSIVE” and "HELP OUR SCHOLARSHIP FUND."
- Place used
- Johns Island, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Vehicles
- Movement
- Civil Rights Movement
- Type
- access doors
- Topic
- Activism
- Associations and institutions
- Civil rights
- Communities
- Education
- Justice
- Rural life
- Suffrage
- Transportation
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Esau and Janie Bell Jenkins Family
- Object number
- 2014.162.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.