This City In South Carolina Was One Of The Most Dangerous Places In The Nation In The 1960s
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Robin Jarvis
Author
The civil rights movement sweeping the nation in the 1960s didn’t spare the state of South Carolina. One city in the Palmetto State, in particular, would feel the sordid aftermath of those turbulent times forever — after it became the site of a massacre.
The picturesque little city of Orangeburg was and still is home to South Carolina State University — both then and now, a predominantly African-American college.
As early as the mid 18th century Orangeburg was settled as a township. During the next century the area was a big cotton producer with much of the work performed by enslaved Africans. Fast forward past the Civil War to nearly a hundred years after those very slave families were freed and you'll hit the 1960s — one of the most riveting periods for equal rights throughout the South.
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As the Civil Rights movement spread into Orangeburg there was a popular hangout, a bowling alley in the middle of town that was a whites-only establishment and anyone of color was forbidden entry. Doing so could get you arrested.
In early 1968, some students decided to buck the system and enter the bowling alley anyway. The first night, they reportedly left politely after being asked to leave by the owner. However, the next night, they entered again and were escorted out by law enforcement.
Things escalated from there. Marches and protests ensued.
In response to rising tension, the state sent in troops from the South Carolina National Guard.
For several days, approximately 200 protestors gathered on the campus of South Carolina State University to protest.
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Finally, on the night of February 8, 1968, they lit a bonfire in the front of the campus. During attempts to extinguish the fire by police and firefighters, a police officer was struck in the head by a flying object. Shortly thereafter the police began to fire shots into the crowd of protestors. According to the official Wikipedia entry for the Orangeburg Massacre, eight officers fired carbines, shotguns, and revolvers at the protesters.
Three protestors were killed and 27 people were injured, most as they were trying to flee the gunfire. One young man that died wasn't even protesting. He was reportedly just sitting on the steps of the freshman dorm waiting for his mother's shift to end.
During a press conference after the fact, the South Carolina Governor declared the incident was one of the "saddest days in the history of South Carolina."
Learn more about the incident in this video from youtube user Jim Crow Museum:
During a press conference after the fact, the South Carolina Governor declared the incident was one of the "saddest days in the history of South Carolina."
Learn more about the incident in this video from youtube user Jim Crow Museum:
What do you remember most about the Orangeburg Massacre?
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