Off the main highway which runs through the sleepy South Carolina town of Orangeburg are the weathered buildings of the state's Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural, and Mechanical College. They are old buildings, belonging for the most part to generations long past. An air of decay pervades the 50 acre, unkempt campus. It is a decay bred from apathy-apathy of the State Legislature, of the board of trustees, of the 1300 or so students who know they are getting an education that is second-rate. It springs from a college president who, though obsequious to the all-white board of trustees, rules the faculty-men and women of his own race-with an iron hand.

Lost in the spell of decay, few members of the fantastically inbred faculty will fight the system. For they remember one who did. Lewis K. McMillan, exprofessor of History, was fired for writing a book, "Negro Higher Education in the State of South Carolina," which exposed the system for what it is.

Born on Farm

The son of a poor, backwoods farmer, McMillan educated himself until he was almost certainly the most distinguished member of State College's faculty (A.B. Howard, B.Div. Yale, Ph.D. University of Bonn, Germany). An expert in the history of the reconstructed South, he realized more clearly than most the pitiful lack of educational opportunities for the 45 percent of South Carolina's population who are Negro.

His book, a 296-page minutely documented work, was published at his own expense. It is a careful examination of the one public and nine private colleges for Negroes in South Carolina. The story it tells is typical of many Southern states, except that conditions in South Carolina are worse than in most.

It is a book that is essentially picayune, losing much of its possible force by giving as much emphasis to trivia such as grounds as it does to faculty. Yet for the careful reader, everything is there. It is a scathing indictment of the state, its bigoted whites, and its apathetic Negroes.

McMillan especially condemns the system under which his own institution was run. No Negro has a real voice in the administration of State College. It is governed by a six man, all-white board of trustees, drawn from business and professional men of the Orangeburg region. The board is all-powerful, but it leaves routine decisions to the college president, Benner C. Turner. When Turner was selected in 1950, the trustees asked each candidate two questions:

1) "Do you believe in, and will you support, the Southern philosophy of race and education in administering the affairs of this institution?"

2) "Are you a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People?"

Turner had the right answers.

Turner Summons McMillan

The McMillan episode started on Feb. 2, 1953. At a faculty meeting, the historian announced the Feb. 12 publication date of his forthcoming book. Early the following morning, Turner summoned him to his office. The president had not seen a copy of the book, and bitterly complained because he had not been able to read the manuscript.

According to McMillan, Turner said, "Now, Doctor, the policy of the administration-that is, of the president is to forbid any member of the staff to vilify the College or any sister institution in the State. If your book is of such a character, your case will be brought before the Trustee Board for action. Remember, now, Doctor McMillan, that you have a good job here at the College."

In effect, Turner placed burning the book as the minimum price for McMillan to be retained.

The professor would make no bargains.