Rev. Joseph Darby Jr. sympathy

2025-2026 Bill 4896: Rev. Joseph Darby Jr. sympathy - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 4896
STATUS INFORMATION
House Resolution
Sponsors: Rep. McDaniel
Document Path: LC-0181HA-KAR26.docx
Introduced in the House on January 14, 2026
Adopted by the House on January 14, 2026
Summary: Rev. Joseph Darby Jr. sympathy
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

1/14/2026

House

Introduced and adopted (
House Journal-page 77
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
01/14/2026

A HOUSE RESOLUTION

TO EXPRESS THE PROFOUND
SORROW OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES UPON THE
PASSING OF REVEREND JOSEPH DARBY JR. OF CHARLESTON COUNTY, A FOURTH GENERATION
MINISTER IN THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AND TO EXTEND DEEPEST
SYMPATHY TO HIS LOVING FAMILY AND HIS MANY FRIENDS.

W
hereas, the members of
the South Carolina House of Representatives were saddened to learn of the death
of Reverend Joseph Darby Jr. at the age of seventy-four on August 8, 2025, a
day after his birthday; and

W
hereas, born in the
Wheeler Hill neighborhood of Columbia, he graduated from Booker T. Washington
High School where he was a member of the Honor's Society and served as class
president. He attended South Carolina State College, where he was a member of
the celebrated Marching 101 Band, and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology
in 1973 from the University of South Carolina; and

W
hereas, after college,
Reverend Darby served as an employment counselor for a youth program with the
South Carolina Department of Public Welfare and then as a juvenile probation
counselor at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice for thirteen
years; and

W
hereas, when the lure
of service to the church called him, he attended the Lutheran Theological
Southern Seminary and became an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) minister. His
first pastoral appointment in 1977 was at Piney Grove AME Church in Gaston,
followed by leadership positions at a few Columbia-based churches. In Columbia,
he served as president of the Greater Columbia Interfaith Clergy Association
and of the Greater Columbia Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance; and

W
hereas, in 1998, the
7th District AME Church of South Carolina appointed Reverend Darby to lead the
historic Morris Brown AME Church where he remained until 2013, when he became
presiding elder of the Beaufort District. He most recently served as a pastor
at Nichols Chapel AME Church; and

W
hereas, dedicated to
his church, he served in such capacities as chairman of the Episcopal District
Board of Trustees, coordinator of the state's Sons of Allen Men's Fellowship,
registrar for the Palmetto Annual Conference Board of Ministerial Training, and
member of the General Board; and

W
hereas, devoted to his
community, Reverend Darby was a board member of the Reid House of Christian
Services and of the Daniel J. Jenkins Institute for Children. He was a member
of the state education superintendent's African American Achievement Committee.
He was active in the Ninth Judicial Circuit's Drug Court Program and a leader
of the Christian Jewish Council of Charleston; and

W
hereas, a staunch
defender of public education, he served as first vice president of the
Charleston branch of the NAACP and as chairman of P.A.S.T.O.R.S. Housing
Initiative and of the South Carolina Coalition of Black Church Leaders. When
provoked, Reverend Darby could pen clear, convincing prose, to set the record
straight, dismantling an opponent's argument with facts and rhetoric; and

W
hereas, Reverend
Darby's impressive strength came from the combination of intelligence, flare,
empathy, patience, and honesty, attracting the attention of civic and political
leaders near and far. He sought basic fairness with a disdain for the politics
of deceit; and

W
hereas, he and his
late wife, the former Mary Bright, reared two fine sons, Jeremy and Jason. He
was blessed to see the continuation of his family legacy in four loving
grandchildren: Jax, Zora, Naomi, and Julius; and

W
hereas, the members of
the South Carolina House of Representatives are grateful for the life and
legacy of Reverand Joseph Darby Jr. and for the example of dedication and
warmth he set for all who knew him. Now, therefore,

B
e it resolved by the
House of Representatives:

T
hat the members of the
South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, express profound
sorrow upon the passing of Reverend Joseph Darby Jr. of Charleston County, a
fourth generation minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and extend
deepest sympathy to his loving family and his many friends.

B
e it further resolved
that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Reverend Joseph
Darby Jr.

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This web page was last updated on January 14, 2026 at 4:10 PM