South Carolina State University distinguishes the victims of slaughter in Orangeburg on the 57th anniversary – WLTX.com

OrangeBurg, SC – family, friends and survivors of the 1968 Orange slaughter, gathered on Saturday at South Carolina State University to remember life lost 57 years ago during a protest in the campus.

Thomas Kennerley, who survived the tragic event, recalled the moments when the officers of the South Carolina highway patrol opened fire on a group of students protesters against racial segregation and discrimination in Orangeburg.

“Will I be killed?” Asked Kenerley, thinking about the fear that passed through the mind of his and many students when the police were firing.

“As I approached the front of the campus, the shooting started,” Knerley said. “I immediately hit the ground and started crawling back to the inside of the campus; I was greeted with all the noises, if you will – moan, a wall of students.”

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Only later, after he helped the wounded students in the hospital, Knerley realized that he was also injured.

“We put them in the infirmary, then I realized that I was shot,” he said. – I was hit three times. In my shoulder, my thigh and my right big finger. “

The slaughter in Orangeburg happened on February 8, 1968, when three students were killed during the protest and 28 others were injured.

On Saturday, the State University of South Carolina celebrated the anniversary of the slaughter in Orangeburg, honoring the three men who lost their lives – Henry Smith, Samuel Hammond and Delano Middleton.

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“It is important for us to never forget the victim of these students. It means everything to my family, “said Adry Middleton, Delano’s niece.

Middleton, who has never met her uncle, has spent her life in honor of her civil rights legacy.

“I come to these commemorations by a very young child,” Middleton said. – I am a graduate of the State University of South Carolina. My grandmother worked in this campus. My uncle died here. This is more than a mere commemorative event. This is more than something ceremonial. It is woven into the fabric of our family. “

The survivors emphasized the importance of ensuring that current and future generations remember those who came before them.

“They stand on the shoulders of someone who is actually wounded and died because of what they think is the right thing for freedom and try to eliminate racism and injustice from the world, as they could,” Kennerley said.