The Petal paper. [volume] (Petal, Miss.) 1953-19??, 1957-02-14
Edword Gdn1orekiun Reports On ..a.aTa,
The Ugly Battle OF 0rangeburg

edlfors we are indebted tor PERMISSION 10 use II.
The Editor)
| Until the summer Of 1855, the town Of
Orangeburg, South Carolina population IT,
6OO) was quiet, peaceful place. According
| to the white townspeople, it was an outstand-
ing example of biracial amity, interracial CO.
operation, and educational progress.
White Orangeburgers, having always
known" what Negro Orangebmgers want
ed, never bothered to discuss the problem of
segregation with them. Less than thirty-six
miles away, in Summerton, Negroes had been
carrying long-drawn- out legal campaign a
gainst segregated schools for the past six
years and had won historic Supreme Court
decision, but white Orangeburgers did not
see any connection between the situation in
Summerton and that in their town
Then it happened On July 30 1855, fifty
seven Negro parents petitioned the district
school board ito take immediate Steps to re-
organize the public schools on a non discrlm-
inatory basis A banner-headline front-page
story in the Orangeburg Times. Democrat
broke the news to white townspeople, who
were shocked to discover that some of their
Negroes opposed segregation enough to make
formal, legal protest
According to the paper, The petition
stunned citizens who had taken pride in hav-
ing pioneered in the equalization of schools
and of teachers salaries, and who were sin
cerely convinced that they had dealt fairly
and intelligently with racial problems ;. !"
White Orangeburgers began at once to
! organize Citizens Council, which called a
mass meeting at the local ball park. More
than three thousand white toWnspeople came
along to hear the towns leading political
/ figures denounce the Supreme Court de-
cision and call for pressure on Negroes dis
ruptlng the existing segregation pattern. -
| Elected permanent chairman of the Citi-
zens' Council at this meeting was w T. c.
Bates, local insurance agent and chairman
OF the county Republican unit Most of the
people there joined the Council that night
Under the leadership of Bates and Mayor r.
ii. Jennings, Jr, reprlsals against the Neg
70 petitioners members of their families
and members of the local NAACP. began.
Those who worked for white EMPLOYERS
were fired. Those who rented from white
landlords were evicted Those who BOUGHT
from white merchants and suppliers were
denied further credit and asked to settle
outstanding accounts at once. Some were no
longer able to buy in some places even for
cash
Mayor Jennings, who was the president of
! the Orangeburg Coca-Cola Bottling Com
pany, the Palmetto Baking Company. and
the Orangeburg Ice & Fuel Company, cut
Off the supply of Cokes, bread and ice cream
4 10 three Negro grocers and a gas station own
er VINO signed the petition. The Coble Dairy
stopped the delivery of milk to these grocers
and to all the petitioners on it's home delivery
routes. The owner of taxi COMPANY was
threatened with the loss of his Western
Union delivery contract and his drivers were
harassed by the local police A Shell service
station operator was forced out OF business
! by the oWner-distributor
i Petlnoners were refused new insurance
pollces. Immediate payment was demanded
on loans and mortgages where agreements
were oral or loosely drawn Banks, loan com
panles, and individual lenders refused to
give any further financial assistance. Teach
ers related to petitioners were threatened
with the loss of their jobs when their con
tracts expired at the end of the school wear
a few OF the petitioners receiving welfare
AID were told it would be cut off
When the news got out that the Citizens
council was offering $4,000 for the local
4 NA.A.C.P. membership list, the N.A.A.CP
burned all its records. Anonymous threats
were made against N.AAC.P. leaders bv
letter ana telephone. Although the Citizens
Council spoke out frequently against the use
OF force and violence during this time, it
continued to create an atmosphere of hostili-
ty IN which violence and terror. seemed logi-
cal to some
BY the middle of October, more than thir-
i ~ negroes had lost their jobs and twelve
Negro businesses had been affected.