The Daily Gamecock

Issue date: 2/13/08 Section: News

On Sept. 11, 1963, Henrie Montieth Treadwell, James Solomon and Robert Anderson became the first black students to enroll at USC since Reconstruction.

Montieth Treadwell, who attended the university from 1963 to 1965, said the reintegration of the university has improved the journey for many black students today.

"I believe that the University of South Carolina is one of the most successfully integrated public institutions in the United States," Montieth Treadwell said. "I am always impressed with the numbers of students that are now able to choose USC as their higher education institution of choice … I believe that my ability to enter the university, to complete my studies and other interactions with integrity paved the way for future generations to enroll if they so chose and to excel in a manner consistent with their dreams and goals."

Now the senior social scientist and associate director of development in the National Primary Care at Morehouse School of Medicine, Montieth Treadwell said she initiated the process by which the university was reintegrated.

"I filed the lawsuit that resulted in a court order to have the university be integrated," Montieith Treadwell said. "The university initially rejected me so I attended only after a court order required that the university enroll me as a student."

Montieth Treadwell said she was involved for a brief time with the Debate Club but did not persist because of the time it took from her studies.

"At Carolina I also wanted to finish college in three years total (one year at a college in Baltimore and two years at Carolina) so I stayed focused so that I could and did graduate in three years," Montieth Treadwell said.

Solomon, the 77-year-old president of Solomon & Associates, a management consultant firm, said the three students were escorted by an attorney and taken to the Osborne Building to register for school and attend a press conference.

He said his Carolina experience was unique. Solomon said that getting into the university required him sending in an application, receiving a letter back from the dean of the graduate school and taking the GRE for admission. He said by the fall of 1962, he was already admitted.

"It was a unique one being the fact that I was the only black student in graduate school at that time," Solomon said. "I was aware of the difficulties that Robert was having living on campus. Only men graduate students were in the doctorate program at that time."

Continued...

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