[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 13, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E169-E170]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO THE VICTIMS OF THE ORANGEBURG MASSACRE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 13, 2001

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the men and 
women who were victimized in the little known civil rights battle which 
has become known as the Orangeburg Massacre. And to thank South 
Carolina's Governor Jim Hodges for the remarks he made during last 
week's thirty-third anniversary of this catastrophic event which took 
place on February 8, 1968. The Governor's remarks are inserted below.
  The Orangeburn Massacre's place in history has been overlooked, and 
is considered one of the most violent such events in South Carolina's 
struggle for civil rights. While many people believe the Kent State 
shootings were the first such event in our nation's history, the Kent 
State event occurred two years after the unrest at my alma mater, S.C. 
State. Henry Smith, 20, Samuel Hammond, 19, and Delano Middleton, 17, 
lost their lives during the bloody clash. Another twenty-seven people 
were also

[[Page E170]]

injured by the bullets from state law enforcement officers on that ill-
fated evening.
  Some three hundred students gathered on the campus of South Carolina 
State after three days of sit-ins and protests at All-Star Bowling 
Lane. The students were continuing their demonstration against the 
segregation of Orangeburg's only bowling alley. Four years after 
passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the establishment remained 
segregated, despite numerous efforts to persuade the owners to 
integrate.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me today in honoring Henry Smith, 
Samuel Hammond and Delano Middleton, the twenty seven students who 
survived their wounds. Governor James Hovis Hodges along with the 
hundreds of other students, teachers, administrators and parents who 
helped and are still helping to bring equality to this nation.

   Remarks of Governor Jim Hodges--South Carolina State University, 
                 Orangeburg, Thursday, February 8, 2001

       I am truly honored and humbled to be here with you today.
       Nearly 170 years ago, when our country was still newly-
     formed a Frenchman named Alexis de Tocqueville came to our 
     shores to explore this fledgling experiment in democracy. He 
     recorded his thoughts in a landmark treatise called Democracy 
     in America. He told his readers that he ``sought the image of 
     democracy itself, with its inclinations, its character, its 
     prejudices, and its passions, in order to learn what we have 
     to fear or hope from its progress.''
       Had Tocqueville visited America in 1968, he would have seen 
     our fears and not our hopes. We were a country in turmoil. 
     Thousands of American soldiers died in Vietnam. Assassins 
     struck down Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Neighbors 
     feared and distrusted one another. We were a state and a 
     nation deeply divided by race, age and politics.
       This was especially evident on our college campuses. On 
     these campuses, the passions of the time spawned protests and 
     confrontation. Some of these protests are known to all 
     Americans. One of the most famous images of the era is that 
     of a young girl weeping over her fallen friend at Kent State 
     in Ohio.
       But when we look in the pages of history, the Orangeburg 
     Massacre is often missing. Most Americans know about the four 
     students killed at Kent State in 1970, but not the three 
     students killed at S.C. State two years before. What happened 
     here thirty-three years ago was the first tragedy of its kind 
     on an American college campus. Yet few Americans have ever 
     heard the names of Samuel Hammond, Delano Middleton and Henry 
     Smith. Most Americans do not know them as we know them.
       Henry Smith was a sophomore from Marion. His mother was 
     secretary of his high school PTA. Henry's mother taught him 
     the importance of a good education. She told her children, 
     ``I always figured if I couldn't get it, I was going to have 
     it for my kids. Get them to college and get them what they 
     needed.'' Henry kept his promise to his mother. And he wrote 
     her every week to let her know how he was doing in school.
       Delano Middleton was a student at Wilkinson High School 
     here in Orangeburg. He would often lead his teammates in 
     prayer after football practice. His mother worked at the 
     college, and Delano often spent time on the campus making 
     friends with the other students.
       Samuel Hammond was born in Barnwell, and grew up in 
     Florida. He returned to his home state with dreams of 
     becoming a teacher. On a college questionnaire, Samuel was 
     asked ``What was the one big thing he wanted in life?'' 
     Samuel responded that the thing he wanted most was an 
     education.
       Henry Smith, Samuel Hammond and Delano Middleton each 
     wanted to enjoy the unlimited potential offered in America . 
     . . in a time and place where skin color provided limited 
     opportunity. It was that effort to claim equal rights and 
     equal opportunity, that pursuit of human dignity . . . that 
     led students to protest segregation at a local bowling alley.
       And after three days of fear and uncertainty . . . these 
     three young men were killed . . . and twenty-seven others 
     wounded . . . on the grounds of this campus.
       We deeply regret what happened here on the night of 
     February 8, 1968. The Orangeburg Massacre was a great tragedy 
     for our state. Even today, the State of South Carolina bows 
     its head, bends its knee and begins the search for 
     reconciliation.
       The families of Samuel Hammond, Henry Smith and Delano 
     Middleton are gathered here today. We thank you for coming. 
     As a parent, I can only imagine the sorrow you must have felt 
     to lose a loved one. We wish we had the opportunity to know 
     them as you did. We regret that they were taken from us at 
     such a young age.
       Many of the survivors of that night have gathered here. We 
     thank you for coming, and we welcome you back to Orangeburg 
     today. We take comfort from the fact that Orangeburg is a 
     better place, South Carolina is a better place, and America 
     is a better place than it was thirty-three years ago.
       I also want to thank the students of S.C. State for being 
     here today. If these three young men were alive today, their 
     sons and daughters would be college students just like you. 
     They were here because their parents believed in the power of 
     education. And you are here because of the sacrifices they 
     made. These sacrifices must never be forgotten, and these 
     opportunities must never be taken for granted.
       Thirty-three years ago, a group of students gathered around 
     a bonfire on this campus after being denied their basic right 
     to patronize a local business. And on that cold February 
     night, that bonfire was extinguished, along with the lives of 
     three brave young men.
       But that bonfire still glows brightly today. Because we--
     the living--are now the keepers of that flame.
       We must carry the flame with understanding . . . and 
     compassion . . . and education. Opportunity comes from 
     education. Ignorance and prejudice are turned back by 
     education.
       The flame of education illuminates the dark corners of our 
     past. The flame of education warms our hearts with 
     reconciliation. And the flame of education can guide us into 
     a future of boundless hope and opportunity.
       In America, we still seek the image of democracy itself. 
     And we still must contend with our passions and our 
     prejudices.
       But if Alexis de Tocqueville . . . or Samuel Hammond . . . 
     or Henry Smith . . . or Delano Middleton were here today, 
     they would see a city, and a state, and a nation where fear 
     has waned and hope abides. They would witness the progress of 
     our democracy, nod their heads and recognize that there is 
     still much to be done.
       And most importantly, they would urge us to continue down 
     the path of reconciliation.
       Thank you for granting me the honor of standing here today.

       

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