The 1968 Orangeburg Massacre in South Carolina

On the night of February 8th, 1968, three students were killed by police gunfire on the South Carolina State University campus in Orangeburg. Twenty-eight others were wounded. None of the students were armed and most were shot in their backs or the soles of their feet.

Tensions between students and police had gradually escalated over a period of a few days, following efforts by students to desegregate a downtown Orangeburg bowling alley. The protesters at the bowling alley had witnessed the beating by police of two female students.

When a large bonfire was lit at the edge of campus on February 8th, firemen backed by police moved in to douse the fire. A banister was thrown and hit a highway trooper, who fell to the ground bleeding. As students moved closer to watch the fire being put out, a patrolman shot his gun in the air as a warning. Thinking the shots had been fired by the students, nine other officers opened fire. Their riot guns were loaded with lethal buckshot.

The next day, Governor Robert E. McNair held a press conference in Columbia, in which he called the shootings an "unfortunate incident." Adding a few factual errors, McNair said the incident occurred off campus and placed blame on "black power advocates." All nine police officers involved in the shootings were acquitted a year later.

Cleveland Sellers, then director of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and present in Orangeburg at the time, was the only person convicted in the aftermath of the Orangeburg Massacre. He was pardoned in 1993, after evidence had proven him innocent on the charges that he had incited the riots of February 1968.

Learn more about the Orangeburg Massacre 40th Commemoration Ceremony at SC State on February 8th, 2008.

The Events of February 8th, 1968

• South Carolina State College Historic District - Orangeburg Massacre in the context of the civil rights movement in Orangeburg in the 1960s
• All Star Bowling Lane - segregated Orangeburg bowling alley at the origin of the confrontation between students and police. Note: Closed as of January 2008.
  –  All Star Bowling Lane photos
• The Orangeburg Massacre - what happened on the night of February 8th, 1968
  –  Survivors Tell Their Stories - video interviews with survivors of the shooting - Scroll down to reveal video player

South Carolina Responds to the Orangeburg Massacre

• Response timeline - good chronological overview from February 9th, 1968 to the present
• Cleveland Sellers - The only individual to be imprisoned as a result of the Orangeburg Massacre, Sellers spent seven months in prison, after a 1970 trial wrongfully convicted him on a riot charge. He was pardoned by the State of South Carolina in 1993. Sellers is director of the African-American Studies program at the University of South Carolina.
• SC Senate Bill S.22 - to create a commission to make recommendations to compensate the victims and families of the Orangeburg Massacre - introduced January 2007
• Lawmakers urge probe of Orangeburg Massacre - House Bill H.3824 would establish a commission to investigate the incident and prepare a formal report - May 2007 article
  –  SC House Bill H.3824 - introduced March 2007
• Eulogizing Governor Robert McNair - Writer Frank Beacham delves into McNair's mishandling of the events of February 8th, 1968 and his continued efforts to gloss over an important event in our state's history. Click on 'Orangeburg Massacre' at the top of the page
• FBI will not reinvestigate Orangeburg Massacre - December 2007
• Orangeburg Massacre Victim Reacts to Decision - Cleveland Sellers reacts to the decision of the FBI not to reopen the case of the Orangeburg Massacre - December 2007
• Closure for Orangeburg Massacre by Jack Bass - December 2007 - Survey of the responses to the Orangeburg Massacre and the need for a formal investigation

The Orangeburg Massacre Today

• Orangeburg Massacre 40th Commemoration - February 8, 2008 - 11 AM to 1 PM - Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium - South Carolina State University - Event Schedule and Directions
  –  SCETV Live Coverage - SCETV's The Big Picture will interview survivors and provide live coverage of the events
• SC college marks 'Orangeburg Massacre' anniversary - Governor Jim Hodges says "We deeply regret what happened on the night of February 8, 1968" - February 2001
  –  Remembering the 1968 Orangeburg Massacre - CNN article speaks of the significance of having the Governor present at the memorial – also depicts the current feelings in Orangeburg about the events of 1968
• Governor Mark Sanford apologizes for Orangeburg Massacre - February 2003

More Orangeburg Massacre Resources, Books

• The State's Orangeburg Massacre news archive
• Radio Interview with Jack Bass - SCETV Public Radio Your Day, January 31, 2008 - Scroll down and find the webstream link under Thursday, January 31, 2008
• Orangeburg Massacre Photo Gallery - people and places involved in the history of the Orangeburg Massacre, from its origins to its aftermath
• Cecil Williams Civil Rights Movement Photo Gallery - Orangeburg SC photographer
• The River of No Return by Cleveland Sellers - autobiography written during his time in prison - Amazon.com
• The Orangeburg Massacre by Jack Nelson & Jack Bass - book recounting the events of February 1968 and their aftermath, first published in 1970 - Amazon.com
  –  Orangeburg Relived - October 26, 1970 TIME Magazine article reviews The Orangeburg Massacre, compares the media coverage to Kent State, and exposes some major flaws in how the FBI investigation was handled
• South Carolina State University - brief history of this historically black college in Orangeburg and the setting for the Orangeburg Massacre