Cleveland Sellers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cleveland Sellers
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| President of Voorhees College | |
| In office 2008–2015 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | November 8, 1944 Denmark, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Children | 3, including Bakari |
| Education | Shaw University (BA) Harvard University (EdM) University of North Carolina-Greensboro (EdD) |
Cleveland "Cleve" Sellers Jr. (born November 8, 1944) is an American educator and a brave leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He worked hard to make sure everyone had equal rights, no matter their skin color.
Cleve Sellers helped lead a group called the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). This group was made up of students who wanted to bring about change peacefully. He was involved in a sad event called the Orangeburg Massacre in 1968. During a protest, three students were killed. Cleve Sellers was the only person found guilty and sent to prison for what happened. Many believed this was unfair and because of racism. He later received a full pardon, which meant his record was cleared.
Mr. Sellers also had a career in education. He was the director of the African American Studies Program at the University of South Carolina. From 2008 to 2015, he was the president of Voorhees College. This is a special college that was started for African American students.
Contents
Growing Up and Early Activism
Cleve Sellers was born in Denmark, South Carolina. This town had mostly black residents. Because of this, Cleve didn't always see the unfair ways white people were treated better. He felt that white people wouldn't stop him from achieving his dreams.
He started attending the Voorhees School when he was only three years old. Cleve had a close relationship with his parents, especially his mother. He admired how much she cared for their community. He joined the Boy Scouts of America and even went to a big national event in 1960. He completed all the steps to become an Eagle Scout, which is a very high honor. However, his paperwork was lost. He finally received this award in 2007, more than 40 years later!
Inspired to Fight for Rights
Cleve's family was very religious. He was deeply affected when Emmett Till was murdered when Cleve was just ten years old. He felt a strong connection to Emmett. A summer retreat with church leaders also taught him about unfair racial treatment in America. These experiences made him want to fight for civil rights.
In 1960, when he was only 15, Cleve Sellers organized a protest. He led a "sit-in" at a lunch counter in Denmark, South Carolina. This was his first time actively joining the Civil Rights Movement.
Leading the Civil Rights Movement
In 1962, Cleve Sellers went to Howard University. Even though his father didn't want him to be an activist, Cleve joined a group called the Nonviolent Action Group (NAG). There, he met Stokely Carmichael, who became a big inspiration. Their group's meeting place was even visited by Malcolm X, who talked about "black nationalism." This idea focused on empowering the black community.
Joining SNCC and New Goals
In 1964, Sellers became a part of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). This group was started by students in 1960. Cleve was very dedicated. He decided to focus completely on the movement, even putting aside his education and personal life.
He was sent to Holly Springs, Mississippi, to help people register to vote. He and his friends faced a lot of racism there. When they returned, they felt like they hadn't achieved much. So, when Cleve Sellers became the program director of SNCC the next year, he worked to set clearer goals for the group.
Understanding Black Power
Cleve Sellers felt that SNCC's old ways weren't working. He wanted the group to have very specific and achievable goals. Some members, like Stokely Carmichael, started talking about "black power." Cleve Sellers explained that "black power" was not meant to be against white people. Instead, it was a way to make the black community feel strong and proud.
However, many white Americans misunderstood "black power." They thought it meant black people wanted to be superior. By 1967, the idea had a bad reputation. Even though SNCC faced many challenges, the idea of "black power" helped many black people express their feelings about injustice.
Cleve Sellers was also one of the first SNCC members to refuse to join the U.S. military. This was a protest against the Vietnam War. He and other leaders believed the government was trying to stop SNCC's work by drafting its leaders. Cleve graduated from Shaw University in 1967. After that, he returned to South Carolina, feeling tired from his work with SNCC.
The Orangeburg Massacre
Cleve Sellers was back in South Carolina, hoping to finish his college degree. On February 8, 1968, about 200 students gathered at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. They were protesting against a bowling alley that only allowed white people. Cleve Sellers heard about the protest and went to see what was happening.
Police officers were there, and they thought the crowd was becoming dangerous. They fired into the crowd, and three young men were killed: Samuel Hammond, Delano Middleton, and Henry Smith. Twenty-seven other people were hurt. Cleve Sellers was shot in his left shoulder and fell down.
The governor at the time, Robert Evander McNair, blamed "outside black power agitators." But later investigations showed this was not true.
Unfair Conviction
Authorities tried to blame Cleve Sellers, saying he caused the trouble. He was known as a strong civil rights leader. In 1970, Cleve Sellers was found guilty of not leaving when told to. He was sent to prison for a year. He was the only person sent to prison because of the Orangeburg Massacre. He served seven months. Many people believe he was unfairly targeted.
While in prison, he wrote a book about his experiences in the Civil Rights Movement. Twenty-five years after his conviction, Cleve Sellers received a full pardon. He chose to keep his record as it was, calling it a "badge of honor." He said the pardon helped him move forward.
Life After Activism
After leaving prison, Cleve Sellers continued his education. He earned a master's degree from Harvard University in 1970. He later earned his doctorate degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1987.
He became the director of the African American Studies Program at the University of South Carolina. He was interested in recording the history of protests and the experiences of African Americans. He studied the stories of people who shaped South Carolina's history, including their cultures and languages like Gullah and Geechee.
In 1989, Cleve Sellers and his family moved back to Denmark, South Carolina, to be with his aging parents. In 2008, he became the eighth president of Voorhees College, the same high school he had graduated from. He worked hard to increase the number of students at the college. In 2015, he had to step down as president because of a heart condition.
Cleve Sellers has two sons and one daughter. His younger son, Bakari T. Sellers, became a state representative in South Carolina. He was one of the youngest lawmakers in the United States when he was first elected in 2006 at age 22.
See also
