Penn Center receives transformative gift from MacKenzie Scott

The Penn Center (St. Helena Island, South Carolina) is honored to have received a generous and transformative gift from the novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The Penn Center’s Board of Trustees, dedicated staff members, and vibrant community are very grateful for and energized by MacKenzie Scott’s support, which represents the most significant one-time gift in Penn Center’s distinguished history.

Through the prism of its own nearly 160-year story, the Penn Center illuminates the legacy and present-day implications of post-Civil War Reconstruction in the United States. Penn Center’s historic campus, exhibitions, and programs reveal the history of the Penn School; celebrate Gullah Geechee culture; and serve students, educators, and rapidly growing public audiences. The Penn Center was designated a Reconstruction Era National Monument by President Barack Obama.

“We are dedicated to history for the sake of the future,” said Deloris P. Pringle, Chair of the Penn Center’s Board. “Thanks to MacKenzie Scott’s support, we can preserve the past while elevating our public offerings and expanding our impact in our own time.”

MacKenzie Scott’s crucial philanthropic support comes at a moment when the history of Reconstruction is often challenged—if not entirely silenced—in schools and communities across the country. Penn Center’s vital work includes representing and promoting this history and welcoming diverse audiences to engage with African American experience. Thanks to MacKenzie Scott and to all of its donors and supporters, Penn Center can reinvigorate its mission and invite local, national, and international audiences to discover its significance.