Tonight a member of our community was recognized for his achievements and talents.

The South Carolina African American History 2010 calendar is no longer widely available in printed format. But it is available in digital portable document format (pdf). To learn more about the calendar or to download a copy, visit www.scafricanamerican.com

Our very own, Warren Bolton , is showcased for April.

“Warren Bolton’s insightful, fair and balanced commentary has been a catalyst for
progressive and positive change in the community for almost a decade as associate
editor at The State newspaper. He is among a small percentage of African Americans in
similar roles at daily newspapers in the country.

Bolton began his distinguished journalism career in 1986 as a reporter with the
Columbia Record. In 1988, he joined The State and covered county government for
six years, and in more than nine years as a reporter, covered education, police, courts
and the Legislature. He served as assistant night news editor as well as an assistant
assigning editor before becoming an assigning editor in 1996. He became education
editor in April 1997, and a month later, joined The State’s Editorial Board, its first ever
African-American member. He was promoted to associate editor in January 2000.

He has received numerous awards recognizing his accomplishments including the
Columbia Urban League’s Lincoln C. Jenkins Jr. award for community service and the
Community Service Award from the Midlands Association of Black Journalists in 1998,
the top column writing award from the S.C. Press Association as well as the Ambrose
E. Gonzales Award for excellence in journalism, given by The State in 2000, and the
2008 Press Association’s E.A. Ramsaur award, given to the top editorial writer in
South Carolina.

Bolton is also an associate minister and member at Bethel AME Church in Columbia,
where he and his wife, Tanya, co-chair the church’s Married Couples Ministry. The
Boltons are proud parents of two sons, Alexander and Christopher. Active in the
community, he has volunteered at the Department of Juvenile Justice, the United Way
and the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Midlands. A Columbia native and University of
South Carolina graduate, he is the youngest of 11 children born to the late Bertha Mae
Bolton.”

And from today’s State :

“As an associate editor at South Carolina’s largest daily, Warren Bolton has used his editorial platform to argue for progressive change in the community.

After a distinguished career in The State’s newsroom, Bolton became the first African-American to sit on The State’s editorial board in 1997. He often serves as a voice for those who have little or no access to the political power structure.”