Orangeburg Massacre

Approximately 150 protesters had demonstrated against racial segregation at the All-Star Bowling Alley on several occasions prior to the Orangeburg Massacre. On the evening of February 8, 1968,  South Carolina State University (SCSU) students started a bonfire on the front of campus, which is located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. As police and firefighters attempted to put out the fire, officer David Shealy was injured by a thrown object. South Carolina Highway Patrol officers fired shots at the protestors.

Three of the protestors, African American males, were killed and twenty-eight other protesters were injured. The three men killed included two SCSU students Samuel Hammond (18), Henry Smith (18), and Delano Middleton (17), a student at the local Wilkinson High School. 

At a press conference the following day, Governor Robert E. McNair said the event was "...one of the saddest days in the history of South Carolina."

The Orangeburg Massacre | The World of Cecil

Video

In the final segment of The World of Cecil: Part One, the documentary recounts events from 1968 when students from South Carolina State University, led by John Stroman, attempted to desegregate the...
Orangeburg Massacre: Remembrances & Reckoning, Part 1
Episode 1

Video

Fifty years have passed since the tragic Orangeburg Massacre occurred at South Carolina State College. With the protests at the All Star Bowling Alley mere days before, no one anticipated the massacre...