He may be the mind behind French Drinking Ticket, a parody Twitter account, but fifth-year political science student Regan Freeman has been doing more than just tweeting with a French accent. For the past year, Freeman has been working to help his hometown reflect on past racial tensions in the community. It is that work that brought him to the set of the Megyn Kelly's hour of "Today" on Monday, Oct. 1.
Freeman gained notoriety on campus when he launched a parody Twitter account of the popular account Drinking Ticket, known for tweeting USC news and the location of SLED officers in Five Points. While the drama surrounding French Drinking Ticket and Drinking Ticket administrator Alex Waelde's potential lawsuit went viral within the USC community, Freeman's main focus is on a project in his hometown of Clinton, South Carolina.
After seeing an Oprah Winfrey special on a lynching memorial, Freeman decided to do some research on lynchings in his native Laurens County, where Clinton is located. He found records of 11 lynchings within Laurens, the third highest in the state. He remembered a closed-down movie theater in Clinton which had been converted into The Redneck Shop. The Redneck Shop was a gift shop that sold Confederate paraphernalia and served as a meeting space for the Ku Klux Klan. It was also the site of a meeting for the Aryan Nations Congress in 2006. It has since been shut down, due to the efforts of the Rev. David Kennedy, the current owner and an African American.
A film about Kennedy's acquisition of the property called “Burden” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, starring Forest Whitaker and Usher. The movie won the Audience Award at the festival. It detailed the story of Ku Klux Klan member and owner of The Redneck Shop Michael Burden leaving the klan for love, being kicked out of his home and taken in by an African American man. Burden then sold the property to Kennedy for $1,000 and eventually shut the store down.
It has been vacant since, which Freeman said inspired him to get involved.
Freeman approached Kennedy last year about turning the empty space, which still has faded Nazi symbols stained on the wall, into a diversity center or event space. Kennedy liked the idea and gave him full reigns on the project.
“We want to make sure this is a place where the entire community can come together,” Freeman said.
Freeman is traveling to New York City with Kennedy and Burden, where they will be interviewed by Megyn Kelly on her hour of "Today" on Monday, Oct. 1.
“I’m pretty much gonna be right behind the camera making sure everything goes smoothly,” Freeman said. “I wanna see this come into fruition.”
Kennedy, Burden and Freeman will promote their Crowdfund page to raise money to renovate The Redneck Shop and turn it into a building that supports diversity.
“This building effectively was hatred. It was everything that we do not want to be if you're a genuine person,” Freeman said. “And to try and take the past of this building that still has a Nazi flag painted on the wall and to try to turn that into something to move not only Clinton, but ideally South Carolina forward is compelling and I want to definitely be part of that.”
Despite the Twitter drama that unfolded before USC students’ eyes in September, Freeman said he is focused on an exciting part of the renovation and redefinition of his hometown’s history.
“This is very real, and it’s a very compelling tale,” Freeman said. “It’s been exciting seeing this become real.”
Editor's Note: Regan Freeman worked for The Daily Gamecock as a photographer from Fall 2015 to Fall 2016. He did not work with the reporter or photographer who reported this story.