In 1938, Orangeburg’s first black high school opened in this building, which had been constructed by the Works Progress Administration. It was named for Dr. Robert Shaw Wilkinson (1865-1932), president of S.C. State A&M College. The school’s mascot was the Wolverines, its colors were maroon and gray, and its motto was “Strive to excel, not to equal.” Throughout its history, it was the only black high school in the city of Orangeburg. In 1953, it moved to a new campus on Belleville Rd., built to help the state preserve segregation by equalizing black and white schools. Its students were active in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. After Swann v. Mecklenburg (1971), it integrated with the white high school to form Orangeburg-Wilkinson High. Grades 9-10 attended the Wilkinson campus until 1973, when it became Belleville Junior High.