South Carolina highway patrolmen open fire on student protesters at South Carolina State College, killing three young men and wounding dozens.
At a Glance
- Date
- 8 February 1968
- Location
- Orangeburg, South Carolina
- Key people
- Samuel Hammond, Delano Middleton, Henry Smith
- Category
- Civil Unrest & Racial Violence
- Source
- Contemporary press; state records (1968) · Britannica
What It Meant Then
It was one of the first deadly campus confrontations of the civil rights era, yet long overlooked.
What It Means Now
The massacre is commemorated as a grave and under-recognized atrocity.
Cite this page
- MLA
- “The Orangeburg Massacre.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-orangeburg-massacre/.
- APA
- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). The Orangeburg Massacre. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-orangeburg-massacre/
- Chicago
- Black-History.com Editors. “The Orangeburg Massacre.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-orangeburg-massacre/.
Editorial Note
By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.