Quenton Tompkins’ family tree is deeply rooted in rural McCormick County, South Carolina. His grandfather was a sharecropper in McCormick. His mother, who turns 88 this month, grew up as the youngest of 24 children. Branches of aunts, uncles, and cousins now stretch from Florida to Chicago. And although 48-year-old Tompkins has heard plenty of
A large genetics research project underway across South Carolina may help scientists address some of the state’s persistent health disparities, which disproportionately impact its Black residents and regularly rank among the nation’s worst.