A Timeline of Campus, Community, and National Events

“It ain’t complex to put it in context.

Find the air beneath the kite, that’s the context.

Yeah, baby, I’m conscious. Ain’t no contest.”

—Rapsody, “Complexion (A Zulu Love)”

[by Kendrick Lamar], To Pimp A Butterfly, 2015

Listed below are selected events from each semester and links to corresponding media, including  the reading list and the corresponding mixtape I wrote and recorded for each term. I arrived in Clemson Wednesday, 10 July 2013.

• Fruitvale Station released — Friday, 12 July 2013
• George Zimmerman verdict issued — Saturday, 13 July 2013
  

• Michael Dunn [first] verdict issued [for killing of Jordan Davis, Jacksonville, FL] — Saturday, 15 February 2014
• ““Slaves of the State”: Convict Labor and Clemson University Land and Legacy” by Clemson Professor Rhondda Thomas published in The South Carolina Review 

• Eric Garner killed [Staten Island, NYC, NY] — Thursday, 17 July 2014
• John Crawford, III killed [Beavercreek, OH] — Tuesday, 5 August 2014
• Michael Brown killed [Ferguson, MO] — Saturday, 9 August 2014
• “See The Stripes” website/video online — Sunday, 17 August 2014

• Clemson Professor calls “See The Stripes” “fascism” — Friday, 22 August 2014  [“Dr. J. David Woodard, a political science professor at Clemson, disputed any claims that “Solid Orange” could be construed as racist. “It’s fascism. It’s looking at things only through racial lenses and not seeing anything else when in fact there is no racism associated with this,” Woodard told Campus Reform.”]
• Academe Blog responds to Woodard with “Godwin’s Law at Clemson.” — Saturday, 23 August 2014
• “See The Stripes” Poetry, Dance, and Music Fest — Tuesday, 16 September 2014 [Part of the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities Race and the University initiative]
• Clemson Tigervision: “Seeing The Stripes: An interview with Dr. Rhondda Thomas and A.D. Carson” — Tuesday, 16 September 2014

• Death of Tucker Hipps in fraternity event on Lake Hartwell [Clemson, SC] — Monday, 22 September 2014
• Tamir Rice shot [Cleveland, OH] — Saturday, 22 November 2014 [died Sunday, 23 November]
• Dear White People released — Friday, 17 October 2014
• Darren Wilson [Michael Brown] “no indictment” announced — Monday, 24 November 2014
• Vice President of Student Affairs Gail DiSabatino leaves Clemson — Tuesday, 2 December 2014
• Almeda Jacks hired as Interim Vice President of Student Affairs — Wednesday, 3 December 2014
• Daniel Pantaleo [Eric Garner] “no indictment” announced — Wednesday, 3 December 2014
• Students meet in Hendrix and Daniel Hall — Wednesday, 3 December 2014
• Clemson “Die-In” on Bowman Field — Thursday, 4 December 2014
• Clemson “Crip’mas” party — Saturday, 6 December 2014
• Clemson students protest march from Cooper Library Bridge — Sunday, 7 December 2014 [as students gather at the Library intent on delivering “Crip’mas” cards to the President’s house President Clements issues an email stating “the free expression of opinion must not cross the line and become harassment or intimidation, just as rallies and protest marches must not cross the line to lawlessness.”]
• AP: “Frat suspends Clemson students over racially charged party”
• Greenville News: “Off-campus Clemson party increases racial tension”

• Clemson “Coalition of Concerned Students” deliver grievances and demands to administration — Wednesday, 7 January 2015
• Greenville News: “Clemson students demand University address diversity”
• Greenville News: Debate rages over Clemson’s Tillman Hall — Friday, 16 January 2015
• Graduate Student Government resolution to rename Tillman Hall passes — Thursday, 29 January 2015
• The State “‘Pepper in the salt shaker’ — Clemson hears calls for more diversity” — Saturday, 31 January 2015
• Faculty Senate resolution to rename Tillman Hall passes — Tuesday, 10 February 2015
• Board of Trustees Chairman Wilkins releases statement refusing Tillman Hall name change — Thursday, 12 February 2015
• University of Oklahoma president releases statement condemning Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity members for “racist chant” video — Monday, 9 March 2015
• TillMain Debate [Benjamin Tillman’s name on “Old Main” building on campus], co-hosted by The Greenville News and the Clemson University Undergraduate Student Government’s Council on Diversity Affairs — Tuesday, 10 March 2015

• Walter Scott killed [North Charleston, SC] — Saturday, 4 April 2015
• Freddie Gray detained [Baltimore, MD] — Sunday, 12 April 2015 [died Sunday, 19 April]

• Michael Slager indicted for killing of Walter Scott — Wednesday, 11 May 2015
• Six Baltimore officers indicted for killing of Freddie Gray — Thursday, 21 May 2015
• Mother Emanuel Shooting, Charleston, SC — Wednesday, 17 June 2015
• The Conversation: The massacre at Mother Emanuel: the past still lives with us — Saturday, 20 June 2015
• Clemson University Mother Emanuel Memorial Service — Wednesday, 23 June 2015
• In One Image, Clemson University Captures White Tone-Deafness And Just How Deep White Supremacy Runs
• NPR Code Switch: “Dispatch From Charleston: The Cost Of White Comfort” — Wednesday, 24 June 2015
• Bree Newsome removes flag from South Carolina statehouse — Saturday, 27 June 2015
• Clemson TV : “On Holy Ground: Massacre in Charleston Part I” — Thursday, 2 July 2015
• “Old Main” vandalized with spray paint — Monday 6 July 2015 [morning]
• Confederate flag “rally” in front of “Old Main” [flag raised in front of building] —Monday, 6 July 2015 [evening]
• Clemson TV : “On Holy Ground: Massacre in Charleston Part II” — Wednesday, 8 July 2015
• The Guardian: “My South Carolina university is whitewashing its complex racial history” — Thursday, 9 July 2015
• Confederate Flag “officially” removed from South Carolina statehouse — Friday, 10 July 2015
• Death of Sandra Bland [Hempstead, TX] — Monday, 13 July 2015
• Clemson [Board of Trustees] renounces Benjamin Tillman —Friday, 17 July 2015
• Clemson’s Statement regarding Benjamin Tillman [.PDF] [Announcement of establishment of a task force on “how best to preserve and tell the complete history of Clemson University.”]
• Ku Klux Klan Rally held in Columbia, South Carolina in defense of Confederate Flag — Saturday, 18 July 2015
• Zachary Hammond killed [Seneca, SC] — Saturday, 25 July 2015

• Memorial Vigil: In remembrance of those who were taken too soon [Clemson BSU event] — Wednesday, 26 August 2015
• 2nd Annual “See The Stripes” Festival — Tuesday, 15 September 2016 [Storify]
• Anderson Independent: “See The Stripes” Festival Photo Gallery — Tuesday, 15 September 2015
• “Reclaim “Old Main”” march — Wednesday, 16 September 2015
• “Social Media with National Impact: A Conversation with Young Activists” — Wednesday, 23 September 2015 [Speakers: Johnetta Elzie and DeRay McKesson (Co-Editors of the #Ferguson Protester Newsletter, Planning Team members for Wetheprotesters.org and Campaign Zero, 2015 Howard Zinn Freedom to Write Award Winners); A.D. Carson (RCID doctoral student, Poet, Activist, Founder of #SeeTheStripes).]
• “‘Reclaim Old Main’ group chants in Clemson march on Tillman Hall”
• Mark Tiller [Zachary Hammond] “no indictment” announced — Tuesday 27 October 2015
• University of Missouri football players protest begins — Saturday, 7 November 2015
• University of Missouri president Tom Wolfe resigns — Monday, 9 November 2015
• “Why Missouri’s football team joined a protest against school administration” — Monday, 9 November 2015
• “Does Missouri president ouster offer lessons to universities grappling with a racist past?” — Tuesday, 10 November 2015

• “Old Main” vandalized [again] — Thursday, 7 January 2016
• Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, keynote speaker at Clemson’s MLK Commemorative Service — Tuesday, 19 January 2016
• Recommendations from the Task Force on the History of Clemson to the Board of Trustees — Saturday, 6 February 2016 [From the report: “name changes were not considered. Keeping the names of our historical buildings intact ensures important, hard stories will continue to be told and their lessons learned.”]
• Clemson Professor and graduate student kicked out of Trump rally on campus — Wednesday, 10 February 2016
• Student discovers bananas on “African Americans at Fort Hill” sign on campus — Monday, 11 April 2016
• Students responsible for bananas come forward, university declines to file charges, holds campus meeting — Tuesday, 12 April 2016
• Groundbreaking “for a historical marker near where slaves and imprisoned black laborers once lived” — Tuesday, 12 April 2016
• Clemson #StudentBlackOut march announced for Wednesday, 13 April 2016 via social media — Tuesday, 12 April 2016
• #StudentBlackOut ends at Sikes Hall, where students deliver message that #SikesSitIn begins and will continue until Administration answers demands and grievances delivered 7 January 2015 — Wednesday, 13 April 2016
• Day 2 #SikesSitIn Continues: Students instructed to leave Sikes Hall at close of business day. Five students [called the #Clemson5] — Ian Anderson, A.D. Carson, D.J. Smith, Rae-Nessha White, Khayla Williams — are arrested for trespassing — Thursday, 14 April 2016
• Clemson issues “Diversity Update” via email — Thursday, 14 April 2016
• The Atlantic: “Five Arrested in Clemson University Racism Protests”
• Day 3 #SikesSitIn Continues: Students issue response to “Diversity Update” — Friday, 15 April 2016
• Day 4 #SikesSitIn Continues — Saturday, 16 April 2016
• Day 5 #SikesSitIn Continues: — Sunday, 17 April 2016
• Day 6 #SikesSitIn Continues: University Administrators hold campus forum [on “campus climate, safety and multicultural center”] — Tuesday, 19 April 2016
• Day 7 #SikesSitIn Continues: University Administrators hold campus forum [on “issues that affect workforce diversity. Recruiting and retention of underrepresented faculty and staff.”] — Wednesday [morning], 20 April 2016
• Day 8 #SikesSitIn Continues: University Administrators hold campus forum [on “support of underrepresented students.”] — Wednesday [evening], 20 April 2016
• Clemson Student Jamie Reese Moore arrested for posting Yik Yak death threats — Wednesday, 20 April 2016
• Day 9 of #SikesSitIn: Students issue statement suspending sit-in — Thursday, 21 April 2016
• President Clements issues response to demands with timelines and personnel responsible — Thursday, 21 April 2016
• AP: “Rotting bananas trigger protest for diversity at Clemson”
• Anderson Independent: “Clemson sit-in ends; Clements sets diversity deadlines”
• Anderson Independent: Sikes Sit-In Photo Gallery

• Pulse Nightclub shooting — Sunday, 12 June 2016
• Clemson University Pulse Nightclub Memorial Service — Tuesday, 14 June 2016
• Alton Sterling killed [Baton Rouge, LA] — Tuesday, 5 July 2016
• Philando Castile killed [Falcon Heights, MN] — Wednesday, 6 July 2016
• Five police officers killed at protest [Dallas, TX] — Thursday, 7 July 2016
• Korryn Gaines killed [Baltimore, MD] — Monday, 1 August 2016
• Colin Kaepernick NFL protest begins — Sunday, 14 August 2016

• Clemson Football Coach Dabo Swinney comments on Kaepernick protest — Tuesday, 13 September 2016

• Clemson Professor, Chenjerai Kumanyika writes open letter to Coach Swinney — Wednesday, 14 September 2016
• Clemson Graduate Student Government President Tyrese Bryant issues letter to Coach Swinney — Thursday, 15 September 2016
• Ku Klux Klan recruitment flyers found on Clemson University campus — reported Monday, 10 October 2016
• Clemson University Police Department releases a statement about multiple racial harassment incidents of students and Klan recruitment — Monday, 10 October 2016
• “Make Clemson Great Again” event in “Old Main” auditorium featuring Milo Yiannopolous — Tuesday, 18 October 2016
• Greenville News: “Clemson U. police investigate KKK fliers”
• Op-Ed: “We Need More Free Speech On Campus”

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*This timeline does not include a comprehensive list of US police killings. The Counted Project by The Guardian is a useful database for a more representative account.