Orangeburg Massacre
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
The Orangeburg Massacre occurred on February 8, 1968. The events unfolded after 3 nights of a civil rights protest over segregation at a bowling alley. The end result of the protest was excessive force by the police leading to 3 people dead and 27 wounded.
Images
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The Orangeburg Massacre occurred on the night of February 8, 1968, two years before the National Guard at Kent State. Until this night, South Carolina had a history of nonviolence during all of its civil rights gatherings. Unfortunately this time, the governor was too eager to show how tough he was, setting in motion, a chain of events that lead to disaster.
The protest originated around a bowling alley, one of the few remaining places in town to remain segregated. On the first night, the students showed up for a sit in, the owners wife told them to leave, and threw away anything that they touched. The second night, the police showed up and there was a confrontation. Several of the students had to go for medical attention, while others threw rocks and bricks. The situation further escalated on the third night, when the police arrived at a bonfire the students had lit. The students started heading back to campus at South Carolina State University, and the police started firing. There are more than one story on what set this off, but the end result was 3 dead and 27 wounded.
After the shooting, the governor tried to cover up what had happened by saying it had been a battle and the police were acting in self defense. They went so far as to arrest a young man named Cleveland Sellers, charging him with rioting. This was the official story for years, and Sellers served 7 months in prison. As years went by, the real story started to come out, and finally 1993, Sellers conviction was pardoned.
The protest originated around a bowling alley, one of the few remaining places in town to remain segregated. On the first night, the students showed up for a sit in, the owners wife told them to leave, and threw away anything that they touched. The second night, the police showed up and there was a confrontation. Several of the students had to go for medical attention, while others threw rocks and bricks. The situation further escalated on the third night, when the police arrived at a bonfire the students had lit. The students started heading back to campus at South Carolina State University, and the police started firing. There are more than one story on what set this off, but the end result was 3 dead and 27 wounded.
After the shooting, the governor tried to cover up what had happened by saying it had been a battle and the police were acting in self defense. They went so far as to arrest a young man named Cleveland Sellers, charging him with rioting. This was the official story for years, and Sellers served 7 months in prison. As years went by, the real story started to come out, and finally 1993, Sellers conviction was pardoned.
Sources
Orangeburg Massacre stirs debate 44 years later, updated September 21, 2012
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012/09/21/orangeburg-massacre-stirs-debate-44-years-later/57817944/1
The Orangeburg Massacre, July 4, 2011
http://www.orangeburgmassacre.com/