Born into slavery, Simkins founded the Macedonia Baptist Church in Edgefield, South Carolina.
A staunch Republican, he served in multiple governmental offices following the Civil War, including the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1872 to 1876.
In that election, former slaveholder and Confederate loyalist Wade Hampton III narrowly won the governorship, largely due to fraud and intimidation.
[2] In 1938, his grandson, Charles B. Bailey applied to the all-white University of South Carolina School of Law.
After months of being told it was "under consideration", a leading member of the university's board of trustees declared an unwillingness to admit non-whites.