Cecil Williams, a native of Orangeburg SC, is a renowned photographer whose work documented the civil rights movement in South Carolina – including Harvey Gantt’s enrollment at Clemson University. In this interview, Williams speaks of his life in Orangeburg, SC, and growing up in the shadow of Claflin University and South Carolina State University, two Historically Black Universities just blocks from his home.
Williams, whose first camera was a Kodak Baby Brownie, started taking pictures at 9 years old and one of his earliest photos was of then attorney Thurgood Marshall. As a teen, Williams shot yearbook photos for both Claflin and South Carolina State University. He then freelanced at the Orangeburg Times and the state newspaper, which led to his work with the Associated Press.
As photographer for the state chapter of the NAACP and JET Magazine, Williams captured some of South Carolina’s most iconic civil rights scenes. He speaks of covering protests, marches, and sit-ins as well as participating in them. In this interview, he discusses covering the Briggs v. Elliott case which became one of the cases involved the landmark Brown vs. Board of education decision, which desegregated public schools throughout the nation.
In January 1963, Williams photographed Harvey Gantt’s enrollment at Clemson University. He initially met Gantt, however, in the three years prior to his time at Clemson. He knew Mathew Perry who led the NAACP in its efforts to integrate Clemson University and spent time with Gantt in his home in Charleston and other activities. He called Gantt a “good friend” and shares that he too wanted to be an architect and attend Clemson University.
On the day of Gantt’s enrollment, Williams recalled that he sought not just to document Gantt’s arrival at Clemson but the national media’s focus on Gantt and what was taking place at Clemson. Working for JET Magazine at the time, Williams recalled that the magazine was not originally granted access to cover the event. After some negotiations, Williams recalled not only winning gaining access to the event but attending the press briefing and being accepted and “treated like royalty.” That day, Williams was one of only three Black people on Clemson’s campus. The others were Harvey Gantt and a journalist from the New Amsterdam News.
