Local groups call for removing statues, renaming buildings protected under Heritage Act

Certain buildings need a two-third vote from the General Assembly to be renamed

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) —Some lawmakers and groups are urging members of the General Assembly to vote on the removal of statues from the State House grounds and change the names of buildings on college campuses.

In the last week, Clemson University and the University of South Carolina have taken steps to try and rename buildings after former Governor Benjamin Tillman and scientist J. Marion Sims, respectively.

Clemson’s Board of Trustees, after calls to action from football stars DeAndre Hopkins and Deshaun Watson, voted to rename their honors college, which was previously named after former S.C. Senator John C. Calhoun, to the “Clemson University Honors College”. They also requested the General Assembly vote on reverting the name of Tillman Hall back to “Old Main”.

Earlier this week, the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees also moved to ask the General Assembly to rename Sims Hall at Women’s Quad, something endorsed by President Bob Caslen.

“We absolutely commend the boards of Clemson and UofSC for the steps they have taken. That said, this is just the beginning,” said Helen Knight, a University of South Carolina alumnus and organizer for “Repeal the Heritage Act.”

Historians say Tillman was a staunch supporter of segregation and racial inequality, while Sims allegedly did experiments on enslaved women without anesthesia during his research. His discoveries led to him being named “the Father of Modern Gynecology.”

Tillman served as Governor of South Carolina from 1890 to 1894 before becoming a Senator from 1895 to his death in 1918.

However, simply renaming these buildings is not so easy.

In South Carolina, changing the name of a public building or removing a monument, especially one that honors someone from the Civil War era, has to receive a two-thirds vote from the General Assembly under the Heritage Act, which was put into law in 2000.

Representative Seth Rose (D-Richland County), who has filed a bill to remove the statue of Tillman from the State House grounds, says he was struck by how people were protesting racial equality in the shadow of Tillman’s statue on State House grounds.

“I think we all need to do our part to heal this community, heal this country, and by doing and saying nothing, we are endorsing what ‘Pitchfork’ Ben Tillman stood for,” Rep. Rose said.

Some groups are even calling for the Heritage Act to be repealed. Their petition has received more than 9,000 signatures, while others calling for the renaming of buildings on the University of South Carolina campus, including the Strom Thurmond Fitness Center, have received more than 60,000.

However, when it comes to repealing the Heritage Act, Brian Symmes, a spokesman with Governor Henry McMaster’s office said:

“The Heritage Act provides a good framework for how to deal with these issues – it preserves historical monuments while allowing South Carolinians to voice their concerns through thoughtful and democratic debate among their elected representatives. That debate has proven to be important in the past and needs to be prioritized in making these decisions in the future.”

According to Rep. Rose, debate on the Heritage Act in the State House probably won’t start until 2021 since it wasn’t included in the sine die resolution when both chambers adjourned back in May.

However, when that debate begins, Rep. Rose wants his colleagues to think about the history before they make a decision, especially when it comes to “Pitchfork” Ben Tillman.

“We can not erase history but we can choose to not honor somebody on public grounds that does not deserve to be honored,” said Rep. Rose.