ORANGEBURG, S.C. — South Carolina State University is set to honor the 54th anniversary of the Orangeburg Massacre on Feb. 8 at 11 a.m. with a new monument that features the busts of three young men.
Two SC State students, Henry Smith and Samuel Hammond, along with Delano Middleton, who was a 17-year-old local high school student, were murdered after state police opened fire on about 200 unarmed Black students who were at the time fighting to integrate a local bowling alley.
The incident took place on Feb. 8, 1968, and resulted in 28 other protestors being injured.
The keynote speaker for the ceremony will be civil rights activist Dr. Cleveland Sellers Jr., who survived the Orangeburg Massacre.
“The Orangeburg Massacre is often overlooked in the story of African Americans who struggled to make the world better during the Civil Rights Movement,” SC State Interim President Alexander Conyers said in a release. “All of us benefit today from the courage and sacrifices of the people who made their voices heard that day in 1968."
Conyers also noted that this year's commemoration is important as the faces of Henry Smith, Samuel Hammond, and Delano Middleton will permanently be on SC State's campus to be honored.
The University said Tuesday’s ceremony also feature the 8th annual awarding of the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Social Justice Award. The recipients are South Carolina State College's Class of 1971 and Ms. Gloria Pyles, Title III director at SC State.