No melody, but the memory lingers on - Orangeburg Massacre, South Carolina

Black Issues in Higher Education, March 5, 1998 by Jamilah Evelyn

"I saw police crouching," Sellars remembers. "Then I saw my friend, Henry Smith. I wanted to tell him to move the students out of the area, maybe to a classroom or something. I called out his name."

The next thing that Sellers knew, guns were firing. The following eight seconds -- that's how long the gunfire lasted, according to Sellers -- "seemed to last an eternity."

Twenty-seven people were wounded, three were dead. Henry Smith -- who was shot in the back of his legs -- died not from the gunshot wound, but from a brain concussion he suffered from police officers who beat him.

The officers apparently had Smith confused with Sellers, who says that because of his work with SNCC, the Black Panther Party, and other organizations, he was a target of J. Edgar Hoover's COINTELPRO mission against civil rights activists.

Another female student -- who was six months pregnant, according to Stroman -- would lose her unborn child after she was beaten by police officers who stopped her car while she was on the way home after dropping off wounded students at the hospital.

The Aftermath

Sellers, now forty-nine, was hit in the left shoulder. He says that his hospital visit was interrupted by law enforcement officials who came to arrest him. He remains the only person to ever be arrested and convicted of any charges having to do with the protest. Although Sellers did not arrive on campus until just before the gunshots were fired, he was charged with inciting a riot and spent seven months in jail.

Some of the highway patrolmen involved in the incident have since expressed regrets. Others, like patrolman Collie Mets, feel the students killed don't deserve any recognition.

"They weren't brave. They were the ones who started the mess. They were agitators," Mets said. "I don't think a post-humous award is warranted for people who stirred up trouble. For it to be awarded is a shame."

For others, recognizing the event and honoring those who lost their lives is something that's long overdue.

"In order to soothe the pain, we feel it's tremendously important not to forget because, unfortunately, such incidents can happen again," said Carl Jones, vice president of student services at South Carolina State.

Stroman says he often thinks about his slain classmates. And every year, he attends SCSU's memorial that honors their lives.

"I haven't missed one yet," he says. "They'll see me there every year as long as I can walk."