Orangeburg Massacre

1968 in South Carolina1968 mass shootings in the United States1968 murders in the United States1968 protestsAfrican-American history of South Carolina ... and 15 more

African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United StatesConflicts in 1968Deaths by firearm in South CarolinaFebruary 1968 events in the United StatesHistory of African-American civil rightsLaw enforcement in South CarolinaMass shootings in South CarolinaMurder in South CarolinaPolice brutality in the United StatesProtest-related deathsRacially motivated violence against African AmericansSouth Carolina State UniversityUniversity and college shootings in the United StatesUse American English from August 2023Use mdy dates from September 2023

The Orangeburg Massacre was a shooting of student protesters that took place on February 8, 1968, on the campus of South Carolina State College in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. Nine Highway Patrolmen and one city police officer opened fire on a crowd of African American students, killing three and injuring twenty-eight. The shootings were the culmination of a series of protests against racial segregation at a local bowling alley, marking the first instance of police killing student protestors at an American university. Two days before the shootings, student activists had been arrested for a sit-in at the segregated All-Star Bowling Lane. When a crowd of several hundred Claflin and South Carolina State College (State College) students gathered outside the bowling alley to protest the arrests, police dispersed the crowd with billy clubs. Students requested permission to hold a march downtown and submitted a list of demands to city officials. The request for a march was denied, but city officials agreed to review the demands. As tensions in Orangeburg mounted over the next few days, Governor Robert McNair ordered hundreds of National Guardsmen and Highway Patrol officers to the city to keep the peace. On the night of February 8, students from both colleges and Wilkinson High School started a bonfire at the front of State College's campus. When police moved to put out the fire, students threw debris at them, including a piece of a wooden banister that injured an officer. Several minutes later, at least nine patrolmen and one city police officer opened fire on the crowd of students. Dozens of fleeing students were wounded; Sam Hammond, Henry Smith, and Delano Middleton were later pronounced dead at the Orangeburg Regional Hospital. In the aftermath of the killings, the bowling alley and most remaining whites-only establishments in Orangeburg were desegregated. Federal prosecutors charged nine patrolmen with deprivation of rights under color of law by firing on the demonstrators, but they were acquitted in the subsequent trial. The state of South Carolina charged one of the protestors, Cleveland Sellers, with several riot charges. He was convicted on charges relating to events two days before the massacre. Sellers received a full pardon in 1993. In 2001, Jim Hodges became the first governor to make a formal apology for the massacre.

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Orangeburg Massacre
Geathers Street, Orangeburg

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Latitude	Longitude
N 33.4952 °	E -80.8547 °

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South Carolina State University Nance Hall

Geathers Street 300
29115 Orangeburg
South Carolina, United States
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Nearby Places

Lowman Hall, South Carolina State College

Lowman Hall is a historic academic building located on the campus of South Carolina State University at Orangeburg, Orangeburg County, South Carolina. It was built in 1917, and is a three-story, hip roofed, brick building, with projecting end pavilions. The front façade features a one-story, tetrastyle Ionic order portico. It was originally used as a men's dormitory.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It is part of the South Carolina State College Historic District.

Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church (Orangeburg, South Carolina)

Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic Methodist Episcopal church located at 185 Boulevard NE in Orangeburg, Orangeburg County, South Carolina. It was built between 1928 and 1944 and is a two-story, brick Late Gothic Revival-style church building on a raised basement. It features a large Tudor arched stained glass window with molded cast stone surround.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

South Carolina State College Historic District

South Carolina State College Historic District is a national historic district located on the campus of South Carolina State University at Orangeburg, Orangeburg County, South Carolina. The district encompasses 10 contributing buildings, 1 contributing site, and 1 contributing object at the core of the historically black university. They were constructed between 1917 and 1950, and include a variety of architectural styles including Classical Revival and International Style. Notable buildings include the separately listed Hodge Hall and Lowman Hall, along with Home Management House, Mechanical Industries Hall, and Wilkinson Hall. Also on the campus, but located outside the district, is Dukes Gymnasium. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Claflin University

Claflin University is a private historically black university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Founded in 1869 after the American Civil War by northern missionaries for the education of freedmen and their children, it offers bachelor's and master's degrees.

Tingley Memorial Hall, Claflin College

Tingley Memorial Hall is a historic academic building located on the campus of Claflin University at Orangeburg, Orangeburg County, South Carolina. It was built in 1908, and is a two-story, brick Classical Revival style building. The buildings serves as the main building on the Claflin College campus. The hipped and gable roof is topped by an octagonal cupola. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is located in the Claflin College Historic District.

Treadwell Street Historic District

Treadwell Street Historic District is a national historic district located at Orangeburg, Orangeburg County, South Carolina. The district encompasses 39 contributing buildings in an African American residential section of Orangeburg. They include one-story, weatherboard frame dwellings dated between about 1890 and 1930. The houses are in a variety of popular architectural styles including Victorian and Bungalow.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Hodge Hall

Hodge Hall is a historic academic building located on the campus of South Carolina State University at Orangeburg, Orangeburg County, South Carolina. It was built in 1928 in the Palladian style. It is a two-story, nine nay, brick building with a full basement, a flat roof and a parapet. The front facade features a flat-roofed portico with paired fluted columns and pilasters. The building has two large, modern brick rear additions.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. It is located included in the South Carolina State College Historic District.

East Russell Street Area Historic District

East Russell Street Area Historic District is a national historic district located at Orangeburg, Orangeburg County, South Carolina. The district encompasses 55 contributing buildings in a residential section of Orangeburg. They include residences constructed between about 1850 and 1930, and includes large, one- and two-story, frame and brick houses and smaller one-story homes occupied by servants. The houses are in a variety of popular architectural styles including Victorian, Colonial Revival, and Bungalow.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Maj. John Hammond Fordham House

Maj. John Hammond Fordham House is a historic home located in Orangeburg, Orangeburg County, South Carolina. It was built in 1903, and is a 1½-story, Victorian frame cottage. It was the home of Maj. John Hammond Fordham, a prominent African-American citizen of Orangeburg.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

Church of the Redeemer (Orangeburg, South Carolina)

The Church of the Redeemer is a parish of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America, in the city of Orangeburg, South Carolina. The first Anglican church in Orangeburg Township was established in 1749 by the Rev. John Giessendanner, and a chapel at Orangeburg was later provided by the Act of 1768, which created St. Matthew's Parish in Ft. Motte, South Carolina. Following a long dormant period, the Church of the Redeemer was organized. The current building was erected between 1854 and 1855 on Boulevard Street, near the corner of Amelia, where the cemetery remains. The structure, which features Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows, was moved to its present site, improved and renovated in 1895.In November 2012, the congregation, along with other churches in the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, left the national Episcopal Church of the United States, and in June 2017, formally joined the Anglican Church in North America.

Dukes Gymnasium

Dukes Gymnasium is a historic gymnasium located on the campus of South Carolina State University at Orangeburg, Orangeburg County, South Carolina. It was built in 1931, and is a two-story, brick building with a full basement and a gable on hip roof. The front façade features a five-bay brick arcade. It is the home venue for the South Carolina State Bulldogs women's volleyball team. Intramural Men's Basketball Scoring Record is held by Antonio D. Coleman (Spring 2002). Coleman scored 63 points in the semifinals overtime lost to SC/GA Connect. The game ended on a last second buzzer beater three pointer from Kevin Mack. The game has been heralded as one of the greatest games to be played Dukes Gymnasium ever. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

South Carolina State University

South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina, is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).