Petitions urge removal of Tillman, Thurmond names at Winthrop University
Two respective petitions are calling for Winthrop University to rename buildings bearing the names of men with ties to racism.
Both petitions went online this week.
Tiana Neal started an online petition to rename Tillman Hall, which had garnered 1,284 signatures as of Thursday morning.
“This building is named after a white supremacist. With everything going on right now I think it is very important that Winthrop stand and show support to its students of the black community,” the petition states.
This isn’t the first time Winthrop students and supporters have petitioned to rename Tillman Hall. Students marched in 2016 following police shooting deaths, including that of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte.
Tillman was originally called Main Building on campus, according to Winthrop. Benjamin Tillman, a South Carolina governor and U.S. senator, was instrumental in establishing Winthrop College and Clemson University, The Herald reported in 2016.
However, on Winthrop’s website, Tillman is described as “a staunch supporter of agricultural populism, also was an avowed white supremacist, architect of state Jim Crow laws, and a violent advocate of lynch law.”
The petition states: “I was very disheartened to see that my university has a building named after this man. If you are not proud to advertise all that this man has done and fought for besides being a S.C. governor then their shouldn’t be a building named after this man the African American students have to go in every day for classes. A change is needed.”
Pierre Wooten, a Winthrop alum, started an online petition to remove all references to Strom Thurmond on Winthrop’s campus, including renaming Thurmond Hall. More than 280 people had signed the petition as of Thursday morning.
Wooten, 39, earned a bachelor’s in marketing from Winthrop in 2002 and a master’s in business administration in 2005. He attended classes in Thurmond.
Thurmond served as a U.S. senator from 1954 to 2003. He served on Winthrop’s board of trustees from 1936-38 and again from 1947-51 while he was South Carolina’s governor, according to Winthrop.
Thurmond supported racial segregation. He led the longest speaking filibuster by a single senator to date as he fought against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
“In light of all the racial injustice, we believe Winthrop will recognize having his name still connected to the University sends a clear message to every current and prospective African-American student that racism is acceptable. And as we are seeing across the nation this is unacceptable,” the petition states.
Protests continue in the Charlotte region and across the country following George Floyd’s death. About 1,000 people recently marched through downtown Rock Hill.
A goal of Winthrop’s strategic plan is to increase diversity among students and staff. The university increased from 39% in fall 2015 to 42% in fall 2019 the percentage of students who identify themselves as African-American, Latin American, Native American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Asian, two or more races or international, according to the university.
Wooten said during a phone interview with The Herald that he loves Winthrop and has acted as a mentor for students. He said the petition aims to preserve Winthrop’s inclusive culture and ensure the university continues to attract a variety of students.
“It’s for the spirit of making Winthrop better,” Wooten said. “Remove what shouldn’t be there but also to preserve the growth Winthrop is having.”
Winthrop University released the following statement:
“Several of our administrative and academic buildings bear the names of individuals who contributed to racism and oppression. We are aware that the names of these buildings create polarizing viewpoints.
“Many strongly believe that we cannot keep these building names because of who they represent. Others counsel retaining the name to recall the historic victory of the first African Americans to attend Winthrop as students, realizing an achievement Ben Tillman himself would never have countenanced,” reads the statement.
According to Winthrop, the building names are protected under the S.C. Heritage Act of 2000 and cannot be changed by the university. The S.C. General Assembly would have to overturn the act with a two-thirds majority vote.
“We encourage all who have strong feelings about the names on Winthrop buildings to reach out to their legislators and request action,” reads the statement.
Wooten said he hopes the petition will encourage Winthrop leaders to be an advocate for change. He said he also supports renaming Tillman Hall.
“I understand it doesn’t fall on Winthrop in terms of making that decision ... but the push from this side is to make sure that Winthrop is making that push for the student body,” Wooten said.
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 11:32 AM.
