The withheld History at Clemson University🐯 may be more shocking than Thomas Jeffersons’ concealed past.
Growing up in Clemson, South Carolina in the early ’80s, was a chaotic time in my life in which I quickly discovered so much regarding the harsh realities of a Black child that was absent of any meaningful knowledge of his true identity. I was born into a very large family that I initially believed to have exemplified unjustified pride at times, yet I soon learned that they were incredibly strong-willed as their daily tasks required acts of extraordinary perseverance just to maintain and survive. Despite the typical heroics displayed by my family and others within the community, I witnessed the demeanor of the majority around me with a servitude attitude in regards to their individual relationships with white Americans. The friendships seemed almost pressed or forced between the Black Community and others from privileged backgrounds and this was troubling to me. The mood could be described as timid and very fragile during certain interactions between people who have known each other forever. It was almost like there was no trust between citizens of different races, as each associate awaited disappointment and in many ways prematurely counted on unforeseen let-downs that many times never happen. In hindsight, I now understand how many of our black youth might have grown up feeling an obligation to support, sustain, and empower a city government and a major University that has been greatly reliant upon its black Citizens. Ironically, Clemson University is all that some locals choose to know and any disagreements against the University are in many ways considered treasonous.
In Clemson, South Carolina the majority of the Black citizens have given their everything to the local economy, while successfully managing to charm hundreds of thousands of visitors each year with a Southern Hospitality that appears to be void of generational turmoil.
I often imagine how different my personal life could have potentially been had someone from Clemson informed my family of my ancestors’ very rich history at Clemson University (formerly Clemson College). What if someone during my youth had acknowledged that Clemson University had been built by the forced labor of enslaved African Americans (my family) and that those acts were disgustingly inhumane?
“How difficult is it for Clemson University to admit that the families of John C. Calhoun and others of the Confederacy also fathered my family?”
image from Foxcarolina.com
In successfully offering the true history of Clemson University, this factual education would have already allowed citizens who have been traditionally divided to have a much better social understanding of one another. How hard could it have been for Clemson University to award scholarships and financial aid to the families that the school had known to have enslaved way back in the ‘80s when Clemson was conducting interviews with members of my family regarding their personal stories of slavery?
As a result of the neglect of Clemson University to properly educate the African American communities around the school, I grew up without the understanding or a clue as to who I truly was. It is hard to imagine an institution of higher learning making an unethical decision to withhold information that was capable of transforming the lives of the very people who were desperately searching for any sign of hope in a heartless Jim Crow South.
In hindsight, there are no limits to the endless possibilities that would have been obtainable had I been able to be inspired by my ancestors’ remarkable past at Clemson University. I can only imagine the tremendous turnaround that may have been experienced within the people that are closest to me; had my family’s secret stories that were passed down; been verified and not concealed by Clemson University.
Instead, I was forced to learn the lessons of life by experience, and unfortunately, many of those experiences while growing, were not always favorable towards me. After all, I was tirelessly searching and desperately trying to define who I really was and exactly what my purpose was in an unforgiving South.
At times, I truly felt as if I was without an identity or a discovered cause and though I was filled with a tremendous amount of ambition, I was without direction. The insides of my soul seemed hallow and majorly empty before discovering my true identity and I honestly did not understand why. However, somehow I knew that I possessed undiscovered greatness, yet the real challenge was in uncovering some of the hidden connections that had been buried at Woodland Cemetery in Clemson, South Carolina for over 100 years.
Living in the heart of the Confederacy, it was impossible to ignore the visually evident racism, white supremacism, and the vast differences in inequality in Clemson, South Carolina. These generational obstructions have mainly been unavoidable to many of the citizens of this small upstate town. I soon discovered that there was an unfounded and very unfair distrust for the black community by a large number of white citizens, despite the black community playing such a vital role in the economic growth of the city and a major university. This is the true culture and identity of Clemson, South Carolina, no matter what is publicly stated by those with hidden agendas. The persistent recorded actions of resistance to positive change for all people and the lack of meaningful advancement for African Americans in Clemson, South Carolina, have all spoken for themselves despite the right things being stated publicly.
The unnecessary resistance to positive change along with a reluctance to consider the needs of all citizens is similar to behaviors displayed by those who founded Clemson University and believed that they were much more superior than the enslaved. The enslaved, who were forced to believe that they were inferior.
PSYCHOLOGICAL SLAVERY
IMAGE IS ONLY THE TITLE OF A ROUGH DRAFT COPY OF AN EARLY INSPIRED BOOK
I can vividly remember growing up in the Calhoun community of Clemson, SC and each day witnessing a black man walking throughout the neighborhood that seemed somewhat confused. This man was always nice to the kids and although most kids were never educated to the facts of exactly what had happened to him, I could tell by his random acts of generosity that he did not deserve the punishment that had been unfairly dealt out to him. I would later hear of the traumatic stories regarding the extremely tragic incident that changed this innocent man’s life forever. My family was always quick to point out that this man was once a very intelligent Black man that had been viciously beaten by the police.
The very sad but factual truth is, that almost every Black family in the history of Clemson, South Carolina has heard of or knows of; a personal story of a lynching, unjust killing, or a terrifying experience involving those who are considered privileged, and somehow the story vanishes.
I often hauntingly remember one terrifying experience that involved a friend of many in Clemson, SC, (and also the surrounding communities) who was killed in May of 2001 after he was hit by an unknown Clemson University student, whose identity was being withheld and protected from the public. This same CU student was believed to be driving drunk at the time of the accident. I was there the night of this horrific event and I witnessed several intentional mistakes being made by those in authority that proved to be very questionable. However, once I began to question myself as to whether or not I was misjudging the inactions of those who have expressed good intentions, I was sent this book as verification of my feelings and I would like to share with you a few the very important inserts from, THE POLITICAL THOUGHT OF JACQUES RANCIERE: CREATING EQUALITY, By Todd May.
All (8) inserts were taken from, The Political Thought of Jacques Ranciere: Creating Equality, By Todd May.
The words above were taken from the author (Todd May), who was a part of a collaborated mission to bring forth equality, fairness, and awareness to an area of South Carolina that has said all of the right things, yet a thorough examination of several notable social mishaps involving Black citizens, have told an entirely different story. This is despite the inclusion of only a handful of selective African Americans that are allowed to be a part of movements of improvements that only produce a superficial change to citizens who are unaccustomed to reasonable modifications that are capable of bettering their lives.
My beliefs are based on factual evidence that Clemson University has conspired with others within the state of South Carolina to block and hide the accomplishments of The Men Of Color Having Answers Foundation (M.O.C.H.A.), which has greatly restricted our deserved opportunity of reaching and improving the lives of millions nationwide.
A SYSTEM OF HATE, WHOSE PRIMARY GOAL IS TO ENSURE THAT ALL THOSE WHO STAND UP AGAINST CORRUPTION ARE ALIENATED AND WITHOUT RESOURCES, IN HOPES THAT THOSE WHO STAND AGAINST THEM ARE GAGGED; OR UNTIL THEY SUBMIT AND COMPROMISE WITH INJUSTICES.
This explains how The Men Of Color Having Answers Foundation (M.O.C.H.A.) named a bridge in Clemson, South Carolina over a year ago after an African American woman who has been promoted as one of the very first enslaved at John C. Calhoun’s Fort Hill Plantation, and the city of Clemson has failed to honor the unanimous decision reached on (10/19/20) by the city council, and name the unnamed bridge. My Great Grandmother was born into slavery in 1836, yet miraculously outlived slavery as she made it to the incredible age of 105 years old. Nancy Washington Legree (born Nancy Calhoun), was later the overseer for the founder of Clemson University, Thomas Green Clemson.
“WHY IS MY GRANDMOTHER UNWORTHY OF A BRIDGE BEING DEDICATED IN HER HONOR, AFTER GIVING SO MUCH TO CLEMSON? AFTER CLEMSON UNIVERSITY HAS WRITTEN SO MUCH ABOUT HER IN THEIR CELEBRATED DIARIES OF SLAVERY?”
photo courtesy/credit: CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
The majority of the stories of slavery that have been told by Clemson University publications have been recalling the African American history that was added by my Ancestors and family. These stories of slavery were once considered great work by Clemson University until The Men Of Color Having Answers Foundation, discovered the answers to hidden secrets that are able to set generations of people who have suffered from the lack of understanding of a deep and very dark truth.
Pictured above is the Founder of Clemson University, Thomas Green Clemson, who is pictured with my grandmother Nancy Washington Legree (born Nancy Calhoun). Photo credit: CLEMSON UNIVERSITY.
THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE publications involving the stories of my family have since been removed from Clemson University storylines after decades of sales, promotions, and profits that have not been shared with my family. Clemson University also sponsored a pursuit to call the names of those enslaved, yet I question the genuineness of the operation considering the fact that my family was one of the very first interviewed by Clemson student body decades ago. My family was manipulated just like many are today, as they were persuaded into believing by telling their stories of their struggles, that it would somehow bring about awareness and some sort of financial relief to them. However, up until this point, Clemson University has only been concerned with profiting off of the stories of slavery without taking any meaningful actions of progress to remedy the destruction that the University caused to the African American community.
Interview credit: Call My Name (2017)
“HOW IS IT THAT A MAJOR UNIVERSITY THAT WAS BUILT ON THE BACKS OF THE ENSLAVED AND FREE LABOR, NOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR OFFERING SCHOLARSHIPS TO BLACK YOUTH WITH POTENTIAL; WHILE IGNORING THE FAMILIES OF THE ENSLAVED WHO MADE GREATNESS A POSSIBILITY?”
My battles for truth which still exist today with Clemson University were once called bravery by those who have written the story of Slavery at the University. This was until The Men Of Color Having Answers Foundation (M.O.C.H.A.) successfully made an ancestry connection to those who are honored, remembered, and memorialized by Clemson University.
photo cred: Dr. Rhondda R. Thomas CLEMSON UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR
The stories of Sawney’s kids Issey, Sawney jr, Aleck, and others that are not listed are all my Ancestors. Most of their stories have been removed by Clemson University.
There is no doubt that a system of hate first used my Ancestors (family) at Clemson University for over 50 plus years past the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, to create opportunities for everyone but my family. This same system of Confederate hate has also affected the financial capabilities of The M.O.C.H.A. Foundation, as our financial resources have been extremely limited along with our donations, due to our conscious decision to stand against generational obstructions in the state of South Carolina. The Men Of Color Having Answers Foundation (M.O.C.H.A.) is the only organization or movement in America that has successfully written over 50 plus Solutions to End Generational Obstacles Faced By Black People in America.
I must remind you, that it is the intention of a system of hate to ignore the real stories of true triumph and positive change in Black America. The Men Of Color Having Answers Foundation has major plans that are capable of creating immediate change in America, yet we wish to start our monumental missions of change by creating a school of Excellence.
The Nancy Washington Legree Descendants of African Heritage, School Of Arts & Science, H.O.M.E. or HOUSE OF MOTIVATION ENCOURAGEMENT & EDUCATION, and several other INNOVATIVE Plans of Action from The M.O.C.H.A. Foundation require the assistance from all those who stand for TRUTH.
PLEASE DONATE TO OUR EFFECTIVE MISSIONS OF CHANGE HERE AT OUR WEBSITE BELOW.
OR if you would like to send a financial gift to our missions of change through CashApp, you are encouraged to do so by using $MochaMission20 to make your donation.