THE BENNETT BANNER
archives
'Believing that an informed campus is a Key to Democracy**
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1969
BENNETT COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, N.C,
VOL. XXXlll NO. 5
Solidarity Day Observed
By WINOMA GRIFFIN
Feb, 8 marked the first anni
versary of the Orangeburg Mas
sacre- -exactly one year ago Bro
thers Delano Middleton, Samuel
Hammond, and Henry Smith were
shot down by police on the campus
of S.C. State College. Saturday,
Feb. 8, was set aside as “Soli
darity Day”, a day in which stu
dents from the two Carolinas
commemorated the Orangeburg
Massacre.
The schedule for Solidarity Day
on Bennett’s campus consisted of
a workshop that involved both
faculty and students. Members of
the panel were LindaSilver, Mary
Shanks, Andrea Harris, Sandra
Wilson, and Sandra Philpott.
A final rally was held at 3 p.m.
on the Bennett campus. Speaker
for the rally was Bro. James
BRO. TURNER SPEAKS
Turner of Northwestern Univer.
sity in 111. Bro. Turner stressed,
the importance of “committment
to our people" and to the struggle
for liberation- -liberation from
oppression -- social, economic,
and particularly psychological
oppression. He explained that be
cause the black man has been so
conditioned by white society, he
has not been able to achieve total
liberation. The black man’s think,
ing has been based upon white
ideals, values, morals, and so on.
Moreover, in order to achieve to
tal liberation, the struggle for
liberation should be directed a-
gainst “capitalist exploitation”
as well as racial oppression, for
these are factors that continue to
hold the black man in a state of
dependency. Bro. Turner, in ex
plaining the purpose of Solidarity
Day, stated that "We have anob-
ligation to all black leaders, par
ticularly to our slain leaders.”
Moreover, black people are bound
by “blood ties,” “family ties,”
“historical events,” and “cultur
al factors.”
The rally ended with a ques
tion-and-answer session in which
members of the audience were
permitted to ask questions.
Orangeburg Massacre
The Facts
Thought
For Today
Negro colleges are like Oreo
cookies, black on the outside and
white on the inside,
--Leon Wiles,
Philander Smith,
Little Rock, Ark,
Three students, Samuel Ham
mond, 18 of Fort Lauderdale,
Fla,, Henry Smith, 18 of Marion,
S.C., and Delano Middleton 18, a
Orangeburg high school student
were killed and at least 28 others
were injured during a short, in
tensive burst of gunfire during the
week of Feb. 5-9, 1968. The inci
dent occurred in the small Negro
College city of Orangeburg, S.C.
Information concerning the mas
sacre was taken from a Special
Report by the Southern Regional
Council, Atlanta, Ga., and was
described thus.
On Monday night, Feb. 5, a
group of Negro students from
S.C. State College and Claflin Col
lege in Orangeburg visited the
All-Star Bowling Lanes, the only
bowling alley in town. In the back
ground of the visit to the lanes
was Negro resentment of the seg
regated status. Negotiations on-
the local level (and efforts to
involve the national government)
to desegregate the bowling alley
had all failed. Harry L. Floyd,
proprietor of the bowling alley,
refused service to the Negroes
and asked them to leave. When the
students refused to leave, he went
out to obtain warrants for their
arrest on trespassing charges.
While he was gone, Orangeburg
Chief of Police Roger E. Paston
cleared the bowling alley of all
persons and closed it for the night.
On Tuesday night, Feb. 6, local
police were present when a group
of students appeared again at the
bowling alley seeking service.
The door of the bowling alley was
locked to the students when Chief
of Police Paston arrived on the
scene, the door was opened to him
and some 25 students rushed to
the door gaining entrance. Fifteen
were arrested on trespassing
charges and taken to jail. Word of
the arrests quickly spread across
the two campuses andby 7:45 p.m.
a crowd of approximately 300
students gathered in the shopping
center parking lot. Alarmed at the
potential danger of their presence
in the parking lot, city officials,
including the Chief of Police de
cided to release the fifteen Ne
groes who had been arrested on
the promise that they would urge
the students in the parking lot to
go back to the campus. But at that
moment also, for reasons not
clear, a city fire engine pulled
into the parking lot. There was a
return of anger, and a return by
most of the crowd to the parking
lot, to surround the fire engine.
The truck was ordered out of the
lot, but the students, newly agi
tated, moved now to the bowling
alley, swarming about its glass
front. Police from 15 or 20 cars
in the parking lot closed in behind
them. Police pushed at the crowd
and then city and state police
alike, began beating back the
crowd with billy clubs. More than
one witness told of a young woman
held by one policeman, hit with a
billy club by a second, also of a
young woman begging not to be hit
again, even as a policeman swung
his club.
The students from both colleges
paused back onto the State College
campuse, breaking windows in
white businesses along the way.
The students obtained a permit
to march at about 8:30 Wednesday
morning. A list of grievances
was handed to the city council by
the students. The city council’s
answers were essentially nega
tive. Between 75 and 130 male
students milled around the edge
of the campus of S.C. State Col-
lege facing Watson Street and
Highway 601. Someone suggested
building a bonfire on Watson St.
The fire was started and accor
ding to an observer, about 50 high
way patrolmen along with 45
guardsmen and a number of city
police were present. Firemen
began putting out the dying bon
fire, A fireman reportedly yelled
that they were being shot at from
the campus. Suddenly the patrol
men began shooting over the bank
toward the mob. “It was a crack,
ling gunfire, almost as if an order
had been given for all patrolmen
to shoot at once,” The state main
tains that no order to fire was
given. But no one including news-
men on the scene saw any stu
dents with guns, and the students
said they heard no shots immed
iately preceding the gunfire of
the patrolmen. The students
maintain that without warning
shots were fired into a defense
less, unarmed crowd.
To this date, no punitive action
has been taken against the per
petrators of this crime.
I**
I-
BENNETT’S OWN MISS UNCF
Floreazo Watson
m
BERNADETTE GREGORY
Drama Production
Once again the Little Theatre
Guild raises its curtains to pro
duce “Barefoot In the Park”
written by Neil Simon, The play
is a comedy centered around the
difficulties that a newly married
couple faces as they settle into
their new brownstone apartment.
Having to cope with inadequate
space, heating and plumbing, and
an overly concerned mother-in-
law, the couple finds the situation
to be quite hectic. The husband is
portrayed by Gregory Tally, a
student at A&T, and the wife is
portrayed by Hilda Freeman, a
freshman here at Bennett. The
supporting roles are played by
Alfred Jones from Dudley High
School, Edgar Murphy, Tyrone
Miller, both from A&T, and Betty
Jones, and Hattie Carwell from
Bennett.
4 Students Attend
UNCF Conference
In INew Orleans
By WINOMA GRIFFIN
The United Negro College Fund
Conference was held in New Or
leans, La., Feb. 6-9. The con
ference consisted of 36 black
privately operated colleges. In-
eluded were Clark College in At
lanta, Bethune.Cookman, Day-
tona Beach, Fla., Barber-Scotii,
Concord, N.C., and Bennett. The
purpose of the conference was to
allow each college to report on its
activities in relation to the United
Negro College Fund, to suggest
plans and activities for the years
1969-70, and to better acquaint
student representatives with the
functions of the pre-alumni Coun-
cil.
Florenzia Watson, a sophomore
here, was chosen as Bennett’s
own Miss UNCF. She attended the
conference along with Bernadette
Gregory, Carla Friend, and Doris
Scott. Mrs. Necia Boyers, direc-
tor of Co-curricula activities
here, was also present at the
conference. Bernadette Gregory
was elected as secretary of the
National Pre - Alumni Council.
Bernadette is presently treasur
er of the sophomore class here
at Bennett.