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2025-2026 Bill 4829: Morticians Association, Inc.- A Living Monument to the Black Morticians in SC - South Carolina Legislature Online
South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 4829
STATUS INFORMATION
House Resolution
Sponsors: Reps. King, Alexander, Anderson, Atkinson, Bailey, Ballentine, Bamberg, Bannister, Bauer, Beach, Bernstein, Bowers, Bradley, Brewer, Brittain, Burns, Bustos, Calhoon, Caskey, Chapman, Chumley, Clyburn, Cobb-Hunter, Collins, Cox, Crawford, Cromer, Davis, Dillard, Duncan, Edgerton, Erickson, Ford, Forrest, Frank, Gagnon, Garvin, Gatch, Gibson, Gilliam, Gilliard, Gilreath, Govan, Grant, Guest, Guffey, Haddon, Hager, Hardee, Harris, Hart, Hartnett, Hartz, Hayes, Henderson-Myers, Herbkersman, Hewitt, Hiott, Hixon, Holman, Hosey, Howard, Huff, J.E. Johnson, J.L. Johnson, Jones, Jordan, Kilmartin, Kirby, Landing, Lastinger, Lawson, Ligon, Long, Lowe, Luck, Magnuson, Martin, McCabe, McCravy, McDaniel, McGinnis, C. Mitchell, D. Mitchell, Montgomery, J. Moore, T. Moore, Morgan, Moss, Neese, B. Newton, W. Newton, Oremus, Pace, Pedalino, Pope, Rankin, Reese, Rivers, Robbins, Rose, Rutherford, Sanders, Schuessler, Scott, Sessions, G.M. Smith, M.M. Smith, Spann-Wilder, Stavrinakis, Taylor, Teeple, Terribile, Vaughan, Waters, Weeks, Wetmore, White, Whitmire, Wickensimer, Williams, Willis, Wooten and Yow
Document Path: LC-0162HA-JAH25.docx
Introduced in the House on January 14, 2026
Adopted by the House on January 14, 2026
Summary: Morticians Association, Inc.- A Living Monument to the Black Morticians in SC
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date
Body
Action Description with journal page number
1/14/2026
House
Introduced and adopted (
House Journal-page 34
)
View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
01/14/2026
A
house
RESOLUTION
TO CONGRATULATE
THE SOUTH CAROLINA MORTICIANS ASSOCIATION FOR THE OUTSTANDING SERVICE THESE
DEDICATED MORTUARY PROFESSIONALS PERFORM FOR THE CITIZENS OF THE PALMETTO STATE
AND UPON THE ONE HUNDRETH ANNIVERSARY OF THEIR SIGNIFICANT WORK THROUGH THE
ASSOCIATION.
W
hereas, the South
Carolina House of Representatives is pleased to learn that the South Carolina
Morticians Association will celebrate ten decades of meaningful service and
compassionate assistance to families throughout our great State; and
W
hereas, in 1924, E.N.
Isom of Chester conceived the idea of an association of funeral homes owned by Black
directors and shared his vision about possible benefits until a consensus grew;
and
W
hereas, the first
meeting was held in 1925 at Zion Baptist Church in Columbia, and undertakers
continued to meet under the direction of the Independent National Funeral
Directors Association; and
W
hereas, from these
meetings grew what was initially called the Colored Funeral Directors and
Embalmers Association of South Carolina with Columbia's Willis C. Johnson the
first president; and
W
hereas, the first
meeting attendees included Eugene Gadsden, Julius P.L. Fielding, Eddie C. Mickel,
and Jacob G. Moultrie, all of Charleston; T.A. Williams and Pearl Williams of
Newberry; E.A. Bythewood of Orangeburg; J.E. Spann of Chester; T.H. Pinckney of
Columbia; A.A. Alston of Georgetown; and Edmund Perry Palmer of Sumter; and
W
hereas, from the 1900s
to the 1940s, the State Board of Embalmers allowed anyone to open a funeral
home, provided they had a licensed embalmer, paving the way for Black
entrepreneurs to become funeral home directors; and
W
hereas, the number of Black
embalmers grew, and many more funeral homes were established through the 1940s
and 1950s. From the 1950s to the 1970s, funeral directors served as business
leaders in the community, state, and nation, and the association became a
catalyst for social justice on the state and national levels; and
W
hereas, under the
leadership of Charles Mason, the association was renamed the South Carolina
Morticians Association, Inc. (SCMA) during the 1960s and was divided into
districts to allow closer contact among its members; and
W
hereas, South Carolina
gained prominence when Richard Haile Jr. of Camden was elected president of the
National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association (NFDMA) in 1960, of which
the SCMA is a member; and
W
hereas, each year the
SCMA hosts an annual convention, beginning the week after Mother's Day, to
elect state officers. A governor and secretary from each district serve on the
state board of directors, and district officers manage their district's affairs;
and
W
hereas, the
association's legislative committee studies legislative matters affecting the
profession, and the association holds frequent workshops and seminars to keep
members informed about state funeral laws and regulations that help them remain
compliant; and
W
hereas, the South
Carolina House of Representatives appreciates the distinguished and highly regarded
contributions that the South Carolina Morticians Association and its members
have made to this State and join with them in celebrating one hundred years of
service to their communities. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the
House
of Representatives
:
That the members of the South Carolina
House of Representatives
, by this resolution, congratulate
the South Carolina Morticians Association for the outstanding service these
dedicated mortuary professionals perform for the citizens of the Palmetto State
and upon the one hundredth anniversary of their significant work through the
association.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution
be presented to the president of the South Carolina Morticians Association.
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This web page was last updated on January 14, 2026 at 2:45 PM