COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Authorities are investigating after someone left black nylon stockings filled with dirt hanging from trees outside a South Carolina university hall named for an avowed racist.
A Winthrop University Police report says 18 stockings were found Sunday outside Tillman Hall, with a sign taped over a plaque reading “Tillman’s Legacy.”
Tillman was a South Carolina governor and a U.S. senator. He helped lead a mob that killed four blacks in July 1876 and said African-Americans were barbarians and savages.
The police report says the stockings appeared to be placed overnight. There was no security camera footage.
Winthrop president Dan Mahony says the university doesn’t know the reason for the display and will fully investigate the actions.
The university can’t change the name of Tillman Hall without legislative approval.
