Omar: Revealing the Journey

Journalists from The Post and Courier will discuss their recent Pulitzer Center-supported reporting in Senegal at a fundraiser event on Tuesday, May 25, at 5:30pm EDT at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, South Carolina.

In an upcoming project, The Post and Courier delves into the story of Omar Ibn Said, a Muslim scholar from Senegal who, at 37, was captured and put aboard a slave ship to Charleston in 1807. 

Post and Courier managing editor Autumn Phillips, projects reporter Jennifer Berry Hawes, and photojournalist Gavin McIntyre will share experiences from their journey in a panel discussion. There will be a gallery showcasing McIntyre’s photographs from Senegal.

This event was developed in connection with Spoleto Festival USA's 2022 world premiere of the opera Omar, which was composed by MacArthur Fellow and Grammy Award-winner Rhiannon Giddens and is based on the life and autobiography of Omar Ibn Said.

Guests will preview Spoleto’s Omar with an aria performed by Laquita Mitchell, accompanied by Diane Richardson. Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be available.

Limited tickets are available for $150 each. The first 100 people to purchase tickets will receive an early copy of The Post and Courier’s story “I Am Omar,” signed by renowned Lowcountry artist Jonathan Green.