Historical Marker Full Ceremony

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A groundbreaking ceremony at Clemson University signals both the spot where a new historical marker will be erected and the launch of a new commitment to tell the university’s full history. As two descendants of people once enslaved at Fort Hill watched, university officials, trustees and special guests broke ground for a historical marker that will commemorate a site where slave quarters stood on the plantation owned by John C. Calhoun and later by university founder Thomas Green Clemson.

“The story of Clemson University’s founding is one of great vision, commitment and perseverance,” said Clemson President James P. Clements. “However, it is also a story with some uncomfortable history. And, although we cannot change our history, we can acknowledge it and learn from it, and that is what great universities do.”

In his remarks, Clements praised the work of two individuals who were the driving force behind the work that led to today’s groundbreaking: Rhondda Robinson Thomas, associate professor of English whose research on African-Americans who lived and labored at Clemson prior to desegregation spurred interest in the markers, and alumnus James E. Bostic Jr., whose $50,000 donation helped fund Thomas’ work. Bostic was the first African-American to earn a doctorate from Clemson.



April 12, 2016 18:21


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