The Daily Gamecock

Pioneering African American student returns to campus

When USC ended segregation in 1963, Dr. Henrie Monteith Treadwell was one of the first of three African-American students to be admitted since Reconstruction, and on Tuesday she returned to the university to speak to students about the African-American experience and the importance of voting.

“We haven’t reached liberty-land yet, and we have to somehow keep moving in that direction,” Treadwell said. 

Treadwell graduated with a degree in biology with the class of 1965 after a lawsuit against the university ended segregation. She was admitted with two other students. Since then she received her master’s degree from Boston University, her Ph.D. from Atlantic University and continued to study her studies at Harvard University. At the beginning of her education, Treadwell said she was unsure of what her journey would would look like, but she knew she wanted an education.

“I walked up to the University of South Carolina guided by hands I could not see,” Treadwell said. 

Treadwell’s talk began and ended with a call to action for students to actively push for racial equality. She brought up the history of the civil rights movement and reminded students that the fight is not over.

“We had a dreamer whose spirit lives with us, but now every one of us must be dreamers,” Treadwell said. 

A major part of the night was the push for voter registration. Wednesday, Oct. 17 is the final day for voter registration in South Carolina, so the NPHC fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha was on hand to register attendees. Treadwell reminded students that every single vote counts in an election, citing her own story to show how an individual can make a difference.

“This university was integrated because of one lawsuit filed by one person,” Treadwell said. 

Alpha Phi Alpha invited Treadwell to speak at USC and presented her with a plaque that recognized her contributions to USC and to improving the lives of the African-American community. Sam Wilson, community service chair and fourth-year electrical engineering student, is thankful for the way Treadwell represents the community.

“I think it’s just good to see that representation — basically her coming back and … giving us advice, being a voice for specifically African-American students here,” Wilson said.

Students in attendance were inspired by someone who made history at USC and was willing to come and speak to them. Glory Owiriwa, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student from Nigeria, wants to learn from Treadwell and find ways to integrate her words into his life.

“The speaker is like the first black student to come here so, I mean, there’s always knowledge I can gain from whatever the speaker wants to get,” Owiriwa said. 

Alisa Parker, a third-year psychology student, works on Student Government initiatives geared towards diversity and equality and came to the event to learn more about those topics.

“It’s good to know about history and it’s good to create a space where people can talk and learn about the history of USC and stuff like that,” Parker said.

Treadwell said she meant for her talk to inspire all students to do more for the causes they care about, regardless of the career path they choose. 

“I was not born to something special that I knew about, but there was something about the way I grew up and the fact that I was raised in a family that said there’s always something to do,” Treadwell said. “There’s always something more to be done.” 


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