Since the Winthrop University Board of Trustees requested to restore Tillman Hall’s original name in June, not much has changed.
In order to restore the name, the Heritage Act of 2000 would need to be amended. The Heritage Act was put in place to preserve the history of South Carolina, even the unsavory parts. Under the Heritage Act, Winthrop could not rename Tillman Hall or restore its original name, an act perceived to be an erasure of part of the state’s history.
Tillman Hall was referred to as “the Main Building” by generations of Winthrop staff and students, until 1962, when the Tillman Science Building was razed by the university. After the science wing’s destruction, Winthrop gave the name to the Main Building, where it still remains.
During this era of Winthrop’s life, the campus was still racially segregated. It became fully desegregated in 1964 when Cynthia Roddey, Winthrop’s first African-American student, was welcomed to Winthrop inside a building that had been named after one of South Carolina’s most outspoken racists just a year and a half before her admittance. A step toward inclusivity was undermined with a painful reminder that history was not on the side of Winthrop students.
Benjamin Tillman, Tillman Hall’s namesake, was a South Carolina governor, United States senator, and renowned racist. His advocacy in favor of segregation laws and his participation in racially-motivated massacres define Tillman’s legacy, but his name has marred Winthrop’s own legacy. Tillman was a keynote speaker at the dedication of the Main Building in 1894 and aided Winthrop in gaining support from the state.
For these reasons, he was awarded a legacy on Winthrop’s campus map. Students across Winthrop’s campus are advocating for the restoration of Tillman’s identity as the Main Building. Winthrop students have even created online petitions and gathered over 300,000 signatures in support of removing Tillman’s name from the building.
Other students have written letters to the Board of Trustees to expedite the process. Renaming Tillman Hall has become an online debate, as students and staff alike are sharing their views. John Holder, a political science professor, shared a post on social media, begging for Tillman to be renamed, that quickly gained the attention of thousands. Following his open letter regarding Tillman, more students have delivered their online statements in a show of support for Holder’s standpoint.
In his letter, Holder states the reasons why Tillman is an unfit namesake for a historic part of campus: “Put simply, a vicious, racist murderer is unworthy of our honor. It is even more compelling given that Winthrop’s contemporary student body is now populated by large numbers of the very people Tillman sought ‒ often violently ‒ to exclude from education and from basic human rights.” he said.
With the recent calls for racial equity, the controversy over Tillman’s name is more politically relevant than ever. In response to the recent murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, it is imperative that the United States rally together to put an end to race–based killings. A small step toward beginning this initiative would be to stop honoring a man who was famous for massacring countless people of color.
Wren Brooke, a junior theatre tech major, enthusiastically supports the name change: “I believe that the name should be changed out of respect for the student body of Winthrop, as well as the countless lives Tillman oppressed,” Brooke said.
“Murderers shouldn’t be memorialized. This isn’t about erasing history, we know Tillman existed. This is about honoring those who were harmed by his beliefs. This is about knowing which names in history deserve to be respected, and Tillman is not one of those names.” they said.
As of this week, the Board of Trustees has yet to release another statement regarding the renaming process.
Photo by Olivia Esselman
