engagement, and opportunity for students, families, and communities across South Carolina.
• Dr. Liz Zimmerman Keitt, a graduate of neighboring Claflin University who has devoted her life to faith, education, public service, and community leadership.
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• Lenell Geter, an author and professional development coach who specializes in personal improvement, assisting people in overcoming obstacles and gaining insights for their careers. Soon after graduating from SC State in 1982, Geter was wrongfully convicted, sentenced to life and incarcerated in a Texas prison, serving more than 16
months before being exonerated. From protest to permanence
The legacy of 1968 is visible not only in memorials but in campus spaces shaped by its aftermath.
At the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Legacy Plaza after the program, family members joined SC State President Alexander Conyers in lighting flames in memory of the three men. The plaza features bronze likenesses sculpted by Dr. Tolulope Filani, chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts.
Conyers reflected on the enduring presence of the families and survivors.
“It’s symbolic of the memories that continue to burn in the hearts and minds of family members. We’re grateful this year that after 58 years, we still have family members here representing those three young men who died on Feb. 8, 1968, as well as survivors,” Conyers said.
“We collectively pledge to fight to never allow a similar situation to occur when we can control it,” he said.
Thomas “Jackie” Kennerly, one of 28 demonstrators wounded in the melee, said the memory of that night remains vivid.
“After all these years, you think about the fact that it’s still so vivid in your mind what took place, why it took place and the fact that since that time, it hasn’t been a whole lot that has really changed,” said Kennerly, who received the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Social Justice Award at the 2025 commemoration.
“It kind of leaves you with uneasy feelings because history has a tendency to repeat itself. That’s what’s happening now. Things have improved to some degree, but we’ve still got so very far to go. I just hope and pray that we’ll get there,” he said.
Following the commemoration, the university cut the ribbon on its recently renovated bowling alley, which was originally built in response to the massacre’s origins. It will serve as home to SC State’s restored women’s bowling team while also providing recreation for students and the community.
For Conyers, the reopening of student amenities — including the bowling lanes and a campus barbershop and beauty salon — carries symbolic weight.
“It is outstanding to offer a place of recreation for our students. It’s symbolic because the (expanded) student center came about as an aftermath of our students not being allowed to bowl downtown,” Conyers said.
The remembrance each year affirms that what happened on SC State’s campus in 1968 is not confined to a single day in February but woven into the university’s ongoing pursuit of justice and equity.
