Orangeburg massacre
The Orangeburg massacre refers to a tragic event that occurred on February 8, 1968, when three African American individuals—two college students and the teenage son of a college employee—were killed by police gunfire on the campus of South Carolina State College. This incident took place during a time of civil rights protests, as students were advocating against the exclusion of African Americans from the only bowling alley in Orangeburg. The protests began three nights prior to the shootings, driven by a desire for equal access and rights.
On that fateful night, police opened fire on a group of students, injuring 27 others, many of whom were shot as they tried to flee the scene. Despite some media reports suggesting otherwise, the students were unarmed. Notably, the Orangeburg massacre was significant as it marked the first instance of college students being killed by police in response to protest activities. However, it received minimal national attention, overshadowed by a growing negative perception of black protesters in the wake of urban riots. In contrast, the later killing of four white students at Kent State University during an anti-Vietnam War protest garnered widespread coverage. Today, a campus monument serves as a memorial for the victims, honoring their pursuit of justice.
Orangeburg massacre
On Thursday night, February 8, 1968, three African Americans (two male college students and the teenage son of a college employee) were killed by police gunfire on the campus of almost entirely black South Carolina State College in Orangeburg. Twenty-seven other students were injured. Nearly all were shot in the back or side as they attempted to flee an unannounced fusillade of police gunfire. One police officer had been seriously injured by an object thrown at the police, but despite uncorrected false reports in the media, the students were unarmed. African American students had started protesting three nights earlier because the only bowling alley in Orangeburg continued to exclude African Americans despite pleas from local white and black leaders and students.
The Orangeburg massacre was the first incident of US college students being killed by police because of protesting, but the killings received almost no national attention, largely because many white Americans had developed negative attitudes toward black protesters following a series of urban riots in 1967. Twenty-seven months later, the killing of four white students at Kent State University in Ohio during a Vietnam War protest received international publicity. A campus monument memorializes Henry Smith, Samuel Hammond, Jr., and Delano Middleton, whose lives were taken “in pursuit of human justice.”
Bibliography
Cohen, Robert, and David J. Snyder, eds. Rebellion in Black and White: Southern Student Activism in the 1960s. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 2013. Print.
Eversley, Melanie. "Orangeburg Massacre Stirs Debate 44 Years Later." USA Today. USA Today, 21 Sept. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
Levy, Peter B. The Civil Rights Movement in America: From Black Nationalism to the Women's Political Council. Santa Barbara: Greenwood, 2015. Print.
Shuler, Jack. Blood and Bone: Truth and Reconciliation in a Southern Town. Columbia: U of South Carolina P, 2012. Print.
Turner, Jeffrey A. Sitting In and Speaking Out: Student Movements in the American South, 1960–1970. Athens: U of Georgia P, 2010. Print.