H 5724

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 5724
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
A house RESOLUTION
TO HONOR AND CONGRATULATE DR. LEO TWIGGS FOR BEING
CELEBRATED AT THE MEN'S MINISTRY OF NEW MOUNT ZION BAPTIST CHURCH "MEN OF
EXCELLENCE" AWARDS GALA.
Whereas, the Men's
Ministry of New Mount Zion Baptist Church honored Dr. Leo Twiggs at their "Men
of Excellence" Awards Gala for his many years of influential work in the arts; and
Whereas, Leo Franklin
Twiggs was born on February 13, 1934, in St. Stephen, as eldest of seven
children. In tenth grade he assumed the role of head of the family after his
father's passing, working six days a week at the local movie theater to help
with the family finances; and
Whereas, he attended
Claflin University in Orangeburg, where he majored in art, history, and
English. He graduated summa cum laude in 1956 with a bachelor's degree. After
serving in the Army Signal Corps and a brief time teaching at the high school
level, he sought to further his education. With no state-sponsored graduate
programs available to Black South Carolinians, he enrolled at New York
University, where he studied under acclaimed artist Hale Woodruff, and in 1964
he graduated with a master of arts degree; and
Whereas, Dr. Twiggs
developed the Art Department at South Carolina State University, where he
taught from 1964 until 1998. He also played a key role in establishing and
directing the I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium on campus. Dr. Twiggs was
named professor emeritus in 2000; and
Whereas, three years
into his time at South Carolina State University, the University of Georgia
invited him to enter their art education graduate program. For the following
three years, Twiggs traveled between Athens and Orangeburg, and in 1970 became
the first African American to earn a doctorate in art education from the
institution; and
Whereas, in 1964 Dr. Twiggs
began to experiment with the ancient process of batik, a traditional African
method for decorating fabric using dye and wax. This process of painting
allowed him to create the illusion of subtle textures. His chosen subject
matter has included the iconography of the American Civil War, the Confederate
flag, blues music, and rivers; and
Whereas, an acclaimed
artist, Dr. Twiggs has been honored many times throughout his career. In 1981
he was the first visual artist to receive the Elizabeth O'Neill Verner
Governor's Award for outstanding contributions to the arts in South Carolina.
In 2016 he was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina's highest
civilian honor. In 2017 he received the Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Governor's
Award for the second time for lifetime achievement. In 2018 he was awarded the
Society 1858 Prize, and in 2019 he was presented with the Georgia Museum of
Art's prestigious Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Award; and
Whereas, as an artist,
he is fueled by his encounters with the world through memory and imagination,
and believes that to create lasting value, art must transcend and interpret the
resilience of the human spirit. Dr. Twiggs' work has been the subject of over
seventy one-man shows and has received international recognition, with
exhibitions held at the Studio Museum in Harlem, the American Crafts Museum,
and in United States Embassies all over the world. His images have been widely
published in art textbooks and featured in several television documentaries;
and
Whereas, recently, at
the Gibbes Museum of Art, Dr. Twiggs' debuted an expansive new exhibit titled
"Revelations: The Art of Leo Twiggs," which featured more than forty works that
he created between 1961 and 2020. This exhibit showcased tender recollections,
painful reminders, and future thoughts. The pieces chosen spanned many mediums,
including batik on cotton, oil on canvas, mixed-media assemblage, and large
photo reproductions of stained glass windows he designed for a chapel at
Claflin University. "Revelations: The Art of Leo Twiggs" is the first major
retrospective of Twiggs' work to be held in South Carolina; and
Whereas, the Men's
Ministry of New Mount Zion Baptist Church "Men of Excellence" Awards Gala, held
on June 20, 2026, honored Dr. Leo Twiggs and his inspiring living legacy. Now,
therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the
South Carolina House of Representatives,
by this resolution, honor and congratulate Dr. Leo Twiggs for being celebrated
at The Men's Ministry of New Mount Zion Baptist Church "Men of Excellence"
Awards Gala.
Be it further resolved
that a copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Leo Franklin Twiggs.
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This web page was last updated on June 25, 2026 at 05:49 PM