Understand SC

This week, the journalists behind the project "'I Am Omar’: A quest for the true identity of Omar ibn Said, a Muslim man enslaved in the Carolinas," share details from their reporting process, the challenges they ran into along the way and what their days in Senegal taught them about who Omar really was.

South Carolina's regular legislative session recently came to a close. Post and Courier political reporters joined us this week to break down some of the most important developments from the 2021 session, which was bookended by an abortion ban and a resumption of the death penalty.

It’s taken months for details about Jamal Sutherland’s death to be released. Just last week, the Charleston County Sheriff's Office released dozens of videos showing in graphic detail the final moments of Sutherland’s life on Jan. 5 at the county jail. The look into Sutherland's death raised serious questions about how people with mental illnesses are treated by police.

COVID-19 vaccine supply is now outpacing demand in South Carolina, which has worried public health experts. Meanwhile, Gov. Henry McMaster cited vaccine availability in the state as his reason for issuing an executive order that restricted local governments' ability to mandate masks. This week, we explain recent changes to mask rules and take a closer look at the slowing pace of vaccine uptake in South Carolina.

The V.C. Summer nuclear project is widely considered to be the one of the biggest business failures in state history. It left state-owned utility Santee Cooper $4 billion in debt and started off a lengthy debate about what to do with it. Now, years after that project's collapse in 2017, the path ahead for the utility is just becoming clearer. This week, we get you up to speed on this story and break down why it matters to South Carolinians.

This week, we're taking a closer look at the Lowcountry Rapid Transit project, which is slated to be South Carolina's first mass transit system. We'll discuss how it will work, where it will go and when it's expected to be operational.

Getting federal recognition doesn’t come easily, as evidenced by the decades put into the effort for the Waccamaw Indian People of South Carolina. Finally, though, Chief Harold "Buster" Hatcher says they are starting to see more support for their cause.

South Carolina is one of three states that doesn’t have a hate crimes law. But earlier this month, a bill that would remove the state from that short list passed easily through the House. This week, political reporter Jamie Lovegrove breaks down what the bill would do and its chances of getting passed this year.

This week, food editor and critic Hanna Raskin shared an update on the current state the food and beverage industry in Charleston, which is thankful for record sales but wrangling with an increasingly urgent staffing crisis. And local restaurant owner Michael Shemtov explained how his efforts to help his staff get vaccinated turned into hosting a vaccination clinic where more than 400 local food and bev workers got their shots.

In Charleston County's historic Phillips community, the descendants of the African American freedmen who originally founded the settlement on a former plantation east of the Cooper have fought for its survival for years. Longtime Phillips resident Ada Bennett and Richard Habersham, president of the Phillips Community Association, share why.