Integration with Dignity, 1963

Clemson University became the first white college or university in South Carolina to integrate on January 28, 1963. Harvey B. Gantt, a Charleston native who wanted to study architecture, applied for admission in 1961. After Clemson delayed admitting him, he sued in federal court in the summer of 1962. President Robert C. Edwards worked behind the scenes for Gantt's eventual enrollment, and he joined several leading businessmen, politicians, and others in an elaborate plan, described as "a conspiracy for peace," to ensure that Gantt entered Clemson without the protests and violence that marked the integration of other Southern universities. After a federal court ruled that Clemson should admit him, Gantt enrolled without incident and graduated with honors in 1965.

Clemson University, South Carolina · United States