Portrait unveiling celebrates the life and legacy of Cynthia Graham Hurd
On the evening of June 17, 2015, a 21-year-old white supremacist walked into the “Mother” Emanuel A.M.E. Church in downtown Charleston and murdered nine African-Americans. He claimed he did it because he wanted to ignite a race war. Instead what happened was an outpouring of love around the Charleston community and beyond.
That love was felt yet again on Wednesday, June 20 when Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) held an event to honor the life of one of those victims, Cynthia Graham Hurd, at the St. Andrew’s Regional library branch in West Ashley that now bears her name.
“Cynthia Graham Hurd had a lifelong love of reading and learning and shared that with everyone,” said Brittany Mathis, the Executive Director of the Charleston Friends of the Library.
The Friends of the Library funded and commissioned renowned portrait artist Stephanie Deshpande to paint a portrait of Hurd. The painting was unveiled at the event, which was held during Kindness Week, organized to honor Hurd’s philosophy to always be kind. Other Kindness Week events include a food drive, a reading pledge, and more.
For Deshpande this was her second portrait she has done of one of the Emmanuel Nine. She also painted a portrait of Myra Thompson that was displayed as part of Principal Gallery’s 2016 exhibit A Tribute to the Emanuel Nine: A Portrait Project.
A representational painter best known for her psychological portraits and narrative paintings, Deshpande has received recognition for her paintings by the Portrait Society of America. So when looking for an artist to capture Hurd, Charleston County reached out to Deshpande, who turned it around quickly and personally drove it down from Northern New Jersey and hand delivered it in time for the ceremony.
“When you have good workers, you recognize them. No matter who they are,” said Charleston County Council member Anna Johnson. “And this is a woman who worked for everybody in the community.” Hurd was a 31-year library employee who spent the last four years of her life managing the St. Andrew’s Regional Branch Library (now known as the Cynthia Graham Hurd St Andrews Regional Library), which is located at 1735 N Woodmere Dr., just off Sam Rittenberg Boulevard.
Darlene Jackson, Deputy Director for CCPL, applauded Johnson and the rest of County Council. “They stepped up and said ‘We’re going to do this (rename the library).’ And they did. And now it’s history and we have the name change on the outside of this building,” said Jackson. The portrait of Hurd will be hung at the library, so that everyone who visits will know, not just how she died, but more importantly how she lived.
“Someone like Cynthia, who worked so diligently and so hard, we need to continue to recognize her and honor her legacy,” said Friends of the Library board member Tony Joyner who was a personal friend and classmate of Hurd.
“We all in the library family knew Cynthia and we loved Cynthia. She was so full of life. She was so vivacious. She was funny. She had passion for reading and literacy. Oh my gosh, she was just well read and well loved. She was an excellent reference librarian. She was an excellent children’s librarian. She was just so well-rounded,” said Jackson. “And if you met her, you would remembered her. You could not be in her company and walk away and not remember her. Because she left her mark on you.”
According to Jackson, it’s easy to honor Hurd because of who she was and what she did within the community. “She lives with us. I don’t look at Cynthia as gone because she left her life with us. So she’s still alive as far as I’m concerned,” said Jackson, who described Hurd as a powerful, dynamic person.
“When folks walk in and look at her [portrait], I want them to see the spark,” said Jackson. “I want them to see the intelligence. And the passion. And that she’s alive. And not look at her portrait and say ‘Oh, that’s someone from way back when.’ But to say ‘Wow, this is someone who is here and is alive.’”
Jackson said she was grateful that Hurd’s family continues to do various things to keep her legacy alive. “It’s not just important for the family, which is critical, but it’s nice to recognize her worth and value beyond the family and to the community and to the world, because it’s needed,” said Jackson. “You’re talking about a life-long legacy. Not just for a moment.”
City of Charleston mayor John Tecklenburg echoed Jackson’s sentiments about Hurd. “You nailed it. She is so easy to honor because of all she and her family have done for our community with a focus on education and literacy. And her commitment to Charleston County and our library system,” he said before helping unveil the painting. The standing-room-only crowd, which had packed the conference room at the Cynthia Graham Hurd St. Andrews Regional Library, took an audible deep breath as the cover was removed from the stunningly life-like portrait.
