Update: Winthrop Tillman vandalism caused $1,500 in damage in protest of building name

Vandals caused nearly $1,500 worth of damage to Winthrop University’s iconic administrative building by using black spray paint to write “Rename Tillman Hall” on a wall, authorities said Tuesday.

School officials on Monday morning released some details about the vandalism, with Winthrop President Dan Mahony sending an email to campus employees decrying the act of defacing property.

A police report released Tuesday provided more information about the vandalism, including details about the damages. The report states that someone used spray paint to cover up the Tillman name on two outdoor building signs and painted the letters “T,” “N,” “J,” and “S” on an exterior building wall.

Winthrop Campus Police believe the vandalism happened sometime between 11 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 a.m. Monday, according to the police report. The graffiti was quickly cleaned up Monday morning before most people were on campus for the school’s traditional Convocation ceremony and first day of classes.

Officials on Tuesday told The Herald they would not release images of the vandalism due to an ongoing police investigation. The incident is the second act of protest this summer over the Tillman Hall name, resulting in damages and vandalism on campus.

In July, someone used red paint to scrawl “violent racist” over the portrait of Benjamin Tillman on the first floor of the historic building.

For months, many South Carolinians have engaged in a debate over whether Winthrop and Clemson University should rename campus buildings that honor the former governor and U.S. senator. The politician, who died in 1918, is widely considered an unapologetic racist who condoned the murder and segregation of black people in the South.

But Tillman also was instrumental in the founding of Winthrop and Clemson as public colleges. Some people who find the former politician’s views repugnant argue that Tillman Hall should not be renamed, but school officials could find ways to present Tillman’s history.

South Carolina law prohibits public agencies such as Winthrop and Clemson from renaming historic buildings without permission from state lawmakers. Winthrop officials have said this law prevents them from making a decision about changing the building’s name.

Many people on campus already have stopped using the Tillman name and instead call the 1896 structure “Main Building” – its original name before school officials rededicated it in 1962.

Because of Tillman’s dark legacy and the growing controversy over Southern symbols of racism, white supremacy and discrimination, Winthrop leaders have formed a campus group to discuss what should be done to acknowledge the ups and downs in the university’s history. The group has not indicated whether it eventually will suggest to the school’s Board of Trustees that the building be renamed or rededicated.

University Provost Debra Boyd said Monday the group of campus employees and students will continue the conversation and “appreciate the array of voices speaking on the matter.”

“Winthrop was built and grew in the shadow of discrimination and segregation, but we have worked to move into the sunlight,” Boyd said, noting the school’s record of diversity and student achievements across racial and socioeconomic lines.

Over the years, numerous people have attempted to persuade Winthrop officials to remove Tillman’s name from the building. The most recent campaign for a name change came from two Winthrop alumni in October.

Former students Mike Fortune, 71, and Richard Davis, 77, said then that it’s inappropriate for Winthrop to have a building named for a racist man who openly gloated about killing black people.

They presented their case to Winthrop trustees at a board meeting, during which Fortune read examples of Tillman’s using derogatory, racist terms about black people.

“Tillman was a very, very evil character,” Davis said.

This story was originally published August 25, 2015 at 12:54 PM with the headline "Update: Winthrop Tillman vandalism caused $1,500 in damage in protest of building name."