Tollison, Harris write commentary in The Post and Courier

In a commentary published in The Post and Courier, Courtney Tollison and Emily Anne Harris explain why Richard Furman, namesake of Furman University, should be included in the national conversation as the country celebrates 250 years.

Courtney Tollison ’99, Department of History. Photo: Dear Lissie Photography.

Tollison, Distinguished University Public Historian and Scholar at Furman, and Harris, a 2025 Furman history alumna, say Richard Furman played an important role in the Revolution by swaying “Americans who remained loyal to the British crown to the patriot cause.” Post-Revolution, the authors recount Furman’s efforts in bringing Protestant Europeans to the country and his stalwart support of education and religious freedom. His advocacy led to the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s founding of Furman Academy and Theological Institution after Furman’s death in 1825. It was the South’s first Baptist college.

Emily Anne Harris ’25. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.

Tollison and Harris also describe Richard Furman’s struggle with the institution of slavery and its incongruence with the Declaration of Independence – a struggle many of the founding fathers shared. Despite Furman’s internal conflict with the practice, he publicly defended its sanctity.

Tollison’s latest book, “Furman University: A Bicentennial History, 1826-2026,” will be available in February. Harris is a graduate student in Clemson’s Historic Preservation program. This commentary is the first in a series The Post and Courier plans to feature during Furman’s bicentennial year.