Middle School History Entwined With Civil Rights Milestone

R.C. Edwards Middle School students learned about their schools’ unique connection to civil rights history during a special presentation from South Carolina ETV on Monday.
Students attended a screening of the documentary, “The Education of Harvey Gantt,” which tells the story  of the first African-American student at Clemson University.

The school’s namesake, R.C. Edwards, was the CU president who oversaw integration. Gantt went on to beecome a succcessful architect and the first African-American mayor of Charlotte.

Students heard from the makers of the documentary, as well as from Nancy Reid, Edwards’ daughter, about Edwards’ role in integration.

Betsy Newman, the documentary’s producer, said that while Gantt’s arrival at Clemson was controversial, it  remained peaceful in part because of the leadership of Edwards and former governor Fritz Hollings.

“They learned by being the last (state to integrate) how to avoid the violence that happened elsewhere,”  Newman said. “It was also the dogged work of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of  Colored People) that seet the tone forr Harvey’s arrrival at Clemson.”

The Black History Month event at the school was organized by Write To Change, a non-profit youth literacy and social advocacy group.

Students were challenged to find ways to continue to unite across racial and social barriers in the tradition of Harvey Gantt.