1968, Forty Years Later: A Look Back at the Orangeburg Massacre When SC Police Opened Fire on Black Students Protesting Segregat

While jokes are being made of Obama’s bowling skills, forty years ago it was not easy for a black man to even enter some bowling alleys. In fact, in South Carolina, it led to a confrontation between black students and police that became known as the Orangeburg Massacre.

It was February 8th, 1968, a crowd of students gathered on the campus of South Carolina State University to protest segregation at Orangeburg’s only bowling alley. Dozens of police arrived on the scene and the students lit a bonfire on a street in front of the campus. Tensions escalated, and police officers opened fire into the crowd. When the shooting stopped three students were dead and 27 wounded. The three killed were Samuel Hammond, Delano Middleton, and Henry Smith. Although the tragedy pre-dated the Kent State shootings and Jackson State killings, and it was the first of its kind on any American college campus, it received little national media coverage.

The nine officers who opened fire that day were all acquitted. The only person convicted of wrongdoing in the Orangeburg Massacre was one of the students, Cleveland Sellers. He was a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and was one of the organizers of the protest. He was convicted of a riot charge and spent seven months behind bars. Dr. Cleveland Sellers is the Director of the African American Studies Program at the University of South Carolina. He joins us on the telephone from Denmark, South Carolina, where he lives.

Cleveland Sellers, the only person jailed for events at the Orangeburg Massacre. He served seven months in prison after being convicted on a riot charge. He received a full pardon 23 years after his conviction. He is the Director of the African American Studies Program at the University of South Carolina.

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