February 8 - Tucson News Now

February 8, 1968

3 Students Die in 'Orangeburg Massacre'

Four years after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a segregated bowling alley in Orangeburg, S.C. still refused to integrate and became the focal point of student protests. On this date in 1968, the protestors rallied on the campus of South Carolina State University. After one police officer was struck by debris tossed by the crowd, other officers opened fire. Three students were killed and 27 were injured. (Nine law enforcement officers were charged in connection with the shootings. All were acquitted.)