Orangeburg, South Carolina _- The I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium, will launch its Spring 2017 Film and Lecture series to commemorate local heroes who fought for equality a consequence of which was the local conflict between private and public interests that resulted in the terrible trauma of The Orangeburg Massacre.
On Thursday, February 9, 2017 at 6 p.m., as part of The 49th Commemoration of the Orangeburg Massacre, the Stanback Museum will host the award-winning PBS documentary, Scarred Justice. The February 8, 1968 killing of two South Carolina State College students, Henry Smith and Samuel Hammond, along with 19-year-old Wilkinson High School student, Delano Middleton is a tragedy which continues to affect the Orangeburg community. In addition to these shocking deaths, 27 young people from South Carolina State College and Claflin College were wounded by members of the South Carolina Highway Patrol on South Carolina State’s campus. This event was an important component of the local civil rights movement and an example of the sacrifices suffered during the course of student-led protests of the 1960s.
Following the film, a discussion centered around the ethical challenges indicated by events revealed in the documentary will be presented. Frank Martin, Interim Director of I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium served as moderator, with invited special guest Cecil Williams, noted Civil Rights Photographer, author and publisher. The viewing of the film and the discussion was held in the Artifacts gallery of the Museum. Admission to view the film is free and open to the public.
The University’s official program commemorating The Orangeburg Massacre will took place Wednesday, February 8 at 3:30 p.m. in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium on the campus.
The Stanback presents this event concurrently with SC State University’s Celebration of Black History Month.
Scarred Justice: The Orangeburg Massacre 1968 was a co-production of Northern Light Productions, the Independent Television Service (ITVS) and the National Black Programming Consortium, with funds provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Sally Jo Fifer Executive Producer for ITVS.
Programs at the Stanback were made possible, in part, through funding from South Carolina State University, and Title III and with the support of Kappa Pi, an honorary arts organization.
For additional information about The I. P. Stanback Museum & Planetarium, contact (803) 536-7174 or Davion Petty, Program Coordinator and Manager (803) 516-4599.
The I.P. Stanback Museum & Planetarium, located on the campus of South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C., is an embodiment of the University’s commitment to community service, enhancing the awareness and appreciation of the fine and applied arts, encouraging reasoning regarding civic engagement and Civil Rights, and an understanding of day to day applications of Science and Humanities, all within in a single entity. The Stanback is of significant national importance as a unique, interdisciplinary facility, combining a Museum centered on the inter-subjectivity of the expressive arts with a Planetarium centered on the objective study of the logical extensions of the physical sciences, to be located on the campus of any Historically Black College or University, and is one of few such facilities anywhere in the country.