"Free, free Palestine!" blares the megaphone.
"Free, free Palestine!" responds the line of Gaza Ceasefire Now protestors. They stand in front of the monument, facing Main Street, displaying pro-Palestinian signs and following along to the megaphone holder's chants. On that Saturday, like many previous Saturdays since the start of the Israel-Gaza conflict, demonstrators convened to voice their opinion at Columbia's greatest political landmark: the South Carolina State House.
This protest was by no means an isolated incident—rather, a continuation of Columbia's current surge in State House demonstrations. In Columbia's modern political landscape, there are many activist and advocacy groups that use the State House's space to convey their opinions. Two of the most notable groups that currently demonstrate at the space are South Carolina Citizens for Life, who organize the South Carolina March for Life every year at the State House, and the Carolina Peace Resource Center, who host the weekly Gaza Ceasefire Now protests every Saturday afternoon.
The SCCL, founded in 1974, is one of the oldest and foremost pro-life organizations in the state. Holly Gatling, their executive director, described the group as a single-issue organization that addresses issues pertaining to abortion, infanticide and euthanasia from a pro-life perspective. The group produces educational materials that oppose abortion and euthanasia, provides pro-life resources for expecting mothers and campaigns for legislation that supports their positions. Their outreach is wide-ranging, but perhaps their most important outreach event is the March for Life.
The March for Life, hosted every January since 1974, is a demonstration held by the SCCL that gathers pro-life activists at the State House in order to demonstrate against abortion.
"The purpose is to peacefully assemble and seek redress for the wrong of abortion, seek redress from our government, to speak freely about the right to life and to call for the overturning of Roe versus Wade," Gatling commented. "We have done that every year regardless of the crazy January weather in South Carolina."
Now, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the objectives of the march have slightly changed. Gatling stated that the march will continue in the post-Roe era by pushing for further pro-life legislation at the state level, as well as reminding the public of the effects of Roe.
The CPRC, founded in 1981, also responds to national issues through their outreach. According to David Matos, the CPRC's president, the organization is mostly concerned with topics related to peace, justice and the environment. Matos mentioned how public demonstrations serve as a key part of the group's outreach.
"We tend to do protests, actions and advocacy. We try to do education on issues that are some of the hot-button issues of the age, whether they're peace and justice issues, or the environment as well," Matos said.
Gaza Ceasefire Now, the group's current main project, is a reaction to one of contemporary society's most widely discussed issues: the Israel-Gaza conflict. Starting in November 2023, the CPRC held these protests at the State House in order to call for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza.
"We want to see a ceasefire lead to substantive moves towards peace between Israelis and Palestinians," said Matos.
Both the March for Life and Gaza Ceasefire Now react to national political developments through their demonstrations, whether it be abortion issues or international conflicts. By displaying their respective positions on national issues at the State House, these groups integrate these hot-button topics into the political discourse of the Palmetto State.
For some of Columbia's advocacy groups, the State House is the perfect place to voice concerns surrounding these national issues to state lawmakers. Since the Capital is the home base of the state government, demonstrators often occupy the Capital grounds to voice dissatisfaction with recent legislation, make representatives aware of their perceived shortcomings or simply recommend specific courses of action to the lawmakers inside the building.
The SCCL often uses this strategy during their March for Life. Holding the march at the State House gives the SCCL close proximity to the state's lawmakers, allowing them to directly advocate for legislative change.
"The state capital is the seat of our government," commented Gatling.
Another key factor for the State House's protest popularity is its central location in downtown Columbia, especially the front lawn's intersection with Gervais Street. Gervais is one of the major thoroughfares for the downtown area, and it typically receives lots of traffic during the afternoon rush hour. As such, protestors often demonstrate right in front of the street, so as to make their message visible to passing drivers. The CPRC often uses this tactic in their Gaza Ceasefire Now demonstrations by holding signs and doing chants on the State House's front sidewalk. However, in a larger Columbia-wide march organized by the CPRC, the organization projected their message to a particularly important political figure.
"We started doing a monthly, state-wide demonstration, which brought in groups from across the state. Amazingly, that coincided with President Biden's visit to South Carolina on January 27, 2024, and our march actually intersected with his motorcade," Matos explained.
Still, the main attraction for many of the activists that demonstrate at the location is its rich symbolic value, a kind of symbolism that can attract attention to the demonstrators' messages. The Capital is dotted with statues of influential South Carolinian politicians, memorials for the state's police and armed forces and the towering, Romanesque State House, itself a grand figure of South Carolina's democracy. Thus, protesting at this place connects the demonstration to the functions of the state's democratic institutions, which can be a very powerful association. In particular, the SCCL views the March for Life as a way to create this association between the group's perspectives and the state's institutions.
"Our purpose is to provide legal protection, and where are laws passed? At the State Capital. Where are laws signed? At the State Capital. And that's where we gather and make our collective voices known," said Gatling.
Moreover, the State House is a common ground for South Carolinians, a reflection of the state's citizens as well as a representation of governmental power. For this reason, the Capital is often used by protestors as a kind of public forum, one where citizens' ideas can be visibly expressed to a large portion of Columbia's population.
"It's that commons area where everybody knows and everybody can go and is a high-visibility area," said Matos. "So that's what makes it a popular protest location."
Through demonstrating at the State House, activists truly activate South Carolina's Capital. With signs, chants, marches and rallies, the political issues of the state and the nation are brought to the citizenry's attention, highlighting not only the salience of any given political topic, but the important role the local and federal governments play in resolving it. Demonstrations at the State House seek to connect the people with their government, both physically and symbolically. State House demonstrations represent the power of both of these parties.
Historically, this shared power has often led to controversy. There was the Civil Rights March to the State House on March 2, 1961, a demonstration hosted by the South Carolina NAACP that protested the state's racial demonstration laws. Despite the 187 demonstrators marching peacefully, Columbia law enforcement arrested all of the marchers on a Breach of Peace charge, causing a subsequent NAACP lawsuit that went up to the Supreme Court. In addition, a 2015 demonstration done at the State House by a North Carolinian branch of the KKK led to physical fights between KKK members and counter protesters, causing multiple disorderly conduct charges. Whether pressure is initiated by the government or the people, public political displays can be sources of tension.
But there is more than one shade of tension. While violent political animosity begets unempathetic hostility among Columbia's citizens, peaceful State House demonstrations can create a positive form of tension. When citizens view a State House protest, they are exposed to one of Columbia's ideological communities, a community that represents the beliefs and opinions of a sizable share of Columbia's population. The act of viewing a demonstration is an act of acknowledgement, even if the spectator has different political views than the demonstrators'. Though State House protests might often create tension, it is a form of tension that encourages engagement with the ideas of Columbia's citizenry. This willingness to engage with others is central to maintaining Columbia's community.
A passing car honks at the streetside protestors, causing a group of sign-holders to wave cardboard in support. A group of onlookers stand near the Capital's steps, discussing the demonstration in a small huddle. And all of the Main Street pedestrians, walking out of restaurants and stores, look up towards the State House to see a line of demonstrators, planted right in front of Gervais Street, yet again drawing attention to South Carolina's seat of government.
"What do we want!" resounds the megaphone.
"Ceasefire!" replies the crowd.
"When do we want it!"
"Now!"
