A resolution will be sent to South Carolina Legislatures to grant the permission to rename Tillman Hall if approved, the Winthrop board of trustees announced on Friday.
Tiana Neal, a sophomore at Winthrop, created a petition on Change.org as a call to action for the renaming of Winthrop’s administrative building.
“I was very disheartened to see that my university has a building named after this man… I think it is very important that Winthrop stand and show support to its students of the black community,” Neal wrote in the petition. “It is a predominately white school however 30% of the student body is African American and to continue to have a building named after a white supremacist who fought to suppress the rights of black people at a university where many black students come to learn is hurtful to students in the black community and especially at Winthrop.”
Several faculty members have written formal letters to the board of trustees to encourage their decision of renaming the building, whose namesake was a known white supremacist that participated in the murder of African Americans.
Dr. Scott Huffmon, a political science professor, wrote in an email to the board about the misdeeds of Ben Tillman and why changing the building’s name is important.
“I am joining numerous others, then, in asking you to petition the state Legislature to allow Winthrop to change the name of “Tillman Hall” back to its original name, “Main Hall,” he wrote in the email. “Tillman admitted to being associated with more murders than the 1970s serial killer, the Son-of-Sam. All were committed in the name of white supremacy and include the murder of United States Army veterans in Hamburg, SC and the murder of a SC State Senator (from York County!).”
“In conclusion, asking the legislature to allow the name to revert to the original name in no way “erases history” or assails tradition… [Tillman] was a murderous white-supremacist who used any and all power he had to destroy the rights of African Americans,” he wrote. “In loving my neighbors, I find it difficult to ask African American students to walk the halls of a building named after a man who dedicated his life to ensuring that people like them would have no rights. I view it as a spit into the face of all of their accomplishments.”
Dr. John Holder, a political science professor, showed support for Huffmon in a Facebook post while also asking the board to make a change.
“My colleague, Dr. Scott Huffmon, has presented to you, eloquently and in significant detail, a list of Benjamin Ryan Tillman’s misdeeds. I shall not repeat that list here; suffice to say that I wholeheartedly endorse [his] comments,” he wrote in his post. “Put simply, a vicious, racist murderer is unworthy of our honor. I ask that the board follow the example set by your colleagues at Clemson, and that you request the General Assembly to rename our administration building.”
“I wanted to show him support. This comes up every few years. It has come up again because of what’s been going on in the world,” Holder said in an interview with The Johnsonian. “Scott felt moved to make his statement and I read that and I am thinking ‘What can I contribute from my perspective?’ We have not had boards [in the past] that were interested in pursuing [the renaming of Tillman Hall] with the General Assembly.”
Holder added that he believes there is a bigger push on the board due to the fact Clemson’s board of trustees decided to ask for permission to rename their own Tillman Hall.
Prior to this year, students organized a protest in 2016 to rename Tillman Hall. It was organized in response to the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“It sparked a lot of BlackLivesMatter protests, much like the ones happening now for George Floyd. That’s what really got the conversation going about who was Benjamin Tillman and why do we even have a building named after him on campus,” Laura Munson, a 2020 Winthrop alumna, said.
Prior to being renamed Tillman Hall in 1962, the administrative building was called the Main Building.
“It soon became clear the renaming of that building was largely in response to the Civil Rights Movement as part of the whole intimidation factor,” Munson said.
The board of trustees announced on Friday during a public board meeting on what their decision was regarding the renaming of the building.
“We received a number of emails regarding changing the name of Tillman Hall. All but one are in favor of a change. I would like to thank the many faculty, staff, students, alum and community members who took the time to share their thoughts with us. Your voice has been heard,” Glenn McCall, Winthrop’s board of trustees chair, said. “We want to make sure that you understand that we can only vote to ask the legislatures to amend the Heritage Act to give us permission to change the building name here on campus.”
Before Tillman Hall can be renamed, the board must be granted permission by the South Carolina Legislatures because the Heritage Act places restrictions on public institutions.
“It is only after we get the permission that we can have a vote to change the name. Everyone who wrote a letter to us and has a strong opinion about changing the name of Tillman Hall will need to shift their focus and efforts towards the legislatures as we will,” McCall said. “It will take the efforts of you as citizens of this great state to help make that happen. You don’t have to convince us.”
The resolution passed unanimously on a voice vote.
In response to the Heritage Act there is a petition on Change.org titled “Gov. McMaster: Repeal the SC Heritage Act–Enable Local Decisions on Confederate Memorials,” which calls for action against legislative approval.
It would allow public institutions in South Carolina to freely make decisions regarding what happens to memorials and the names of historical buildings.
I wrote a piece, years ago, as the Opinion editor of TJ , in the early 2010’s demanding the name change to Tillman. Now, as a graduated, loser adult, I see kids across the globe pulling down racist monuments by force and smile. My sentiments exactly.