Columbia dedicates mural of Sarah Mae Flemming, who helped desegregate city buses

On June 22, 1954, Sarah Mae Flemming made a historic decision. Now the city of Columbia has made sure the memory of that moment will live on for years to come.

The city on Thursday formally dedicated a mural of Flemming on a wall at Woodland Park, just off Garners Ferry Road. The piece — called “The Pursuit of Justice” — is one of a series of murals Columbia and its parks foundation have commissioned on city-owned buildings, with the aim of honoring African American history that is important to the city.

Flemming was an African American Columbia area resident who, in June 1954, took a seat in a “whites only” section of a segregated city bus. She was attacked by the bus driver and eventually filed a lawsuit against the owners of the bus company. The Flemming incident happened more than a year ahead of the much more heralded Rosa Parks bus incident in Alabama. Flemming’s case was a catalyst in the desegregation of Columbia’s bus system and was used in support of the Montgomery bus boycott following Parks’ arrest.

The mural of Flemming at Woodland Park was created by Hand in Hand, the husband-and-wife artist duo of Andrew and Sarah McWilson, who travel across the country creating public art. Assistant City Manager Henry Simons on Thursday called their Flemming mural “a masterpiece.”

Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, the city’s first Black mayor, was among those on hand for Thursday’s dedication. He said the story of Flemming, who died in 1993, is more than worthy of being part of the city’s African American mural series.

“She exemplifies what the true spirit of America is,” Benjamin told The State. “The fact is that seemingly ordinary people can do extraordinary things that can change the course of history. We should realize that none of us are ordinary, and we all have amazing gifts, and if we are going to use those gifts at the right time, we can make a place better. That’s what she did and what she exemplifies.”

One Columbia for Arts and Culture, the city-backed arts advocacy organization, helped guide the mural project. One Columbia executive director Lee Snelgrove noted that several members of Flemming’s family were present for Thursday’s dedication and posed for pictures at the mural after a short ceremony.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Snelgrove told The State. “It’s about telling the stories of Columbia and the people who live here, work here and have resided here in the past. ... To have a space like this, that is permanent and is going to stay up and can tell (Flemming’s) story to people who might not otherwise encounter it, that’s really exciting, and it’s what public art can really do for Columbia.”

Snelgrove said there will be signage placed at the mural that gives info about Flemming and her story.

Artist Andrew McWilson, of the Hand in Hand creative duo, said Flemming was a true inspiration for the mural.

“We only want to create works that have great meaning, and we want to add to the human experience,” he said. “Very often when we go places and do a mural, we have to muster up a meaning or delve deeper to find one or unveil one, or find inspiration for something meaningful to paint. The process here was effortless in that respect, because the story was here, the meaning was here, the support for Sarah Mae Flemming’s story was here, and the need was here.”