Feb 10, 2025 Story by: Editor
ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Family members, friends, and survivors of the 1968 Orangeburg Massacre gathered at South Carolina State University on Saturday to honor the lives lost 57 years ago during a campus protest.
Among the survivors was Thomas Kennerly, who recalled the harrowing moment when South Carolina Highway Patrol officers opened fire on students protesting against racial segregation and discrimination in Orangeburg.
“Am I going to be killed?” Kennerly remembered thinking, as fear gripped him and other students amid the gunfire.
“When I got near the front of the campus, the shooting started,” he recounted. “I immediately hit the ground and started crawling back towards the interior of the campus; I was met with all kinds of noises if you will — moans, groans from students.”
Only after helping transport injured students to the hospital did Kennerly realize he, too, had been shot.
“We got them to the infirmary, then I found out that I was shot,” he said. “I was hit three times. In my shoulder, my hip, and my right big toe.”
The tragic events of February 8, 1968, resulted in the deaths of three students and left 28 others injured.
On Saturday, South Carolina State University paid tribute to the victims, commemorating Henry Smith, Samuel Hammond, and Delano Middleton.
“It is important for us never to forget the sacrifice of those students. It means everything to my family,” said Adriene Middleton, the niece of Delano Middleton.
Although she never had the chance to meet her uncle, Middleton has dedicated her life to preserving his legacy in the civil rights movement.
“I’ve been coming to these commemorations since I was a very young child,” she said. “I’m a graduate of South Carolina State University. My grandmother worked on this campus. My uncle died here. This is more than just a commemorative event. It’s more than just something ceremonial. It’s woven into the fabric of our family.”
Survivors stressed the importance of educating younger generations about those who came before them.
“They’re standing on the shoulders of somebody who actually was injured and died because of what they felt was the right thing to do for freedom and trying to remove racism and injustice from the world as best they could,” Kennerly stated. Source: WCNC
