‘People should be ashamed.’ Racism ruins Black History Month for two SC police departments
February is Black History Month, a fact being celebrated across South Carolina and the nation.
February has been set aside for decades to “recognize the heritage and achievements of African Americans” as President Donald Trump himself wrote in 2017 in a proclamation for the month and to “celebrate the contributions of so many black American patriots who have indelibly shaped our Nation’s history,” as Trump wrote last month in a new proclamation for February.
Yet recently two South Carolina police departments that set out to celebrate Black History Month on their social media feeds — in North Charleston and to the north in Goose Creek — experienced such racist replies on their posts that they had to stop what they’d been doing.
At 12:32 p.m. on Thursday, the North Charleston Police Department cut off comments on all the Black History Month posts on its Facebook page to prevent racism from rearing its ugly head.
“The North Charleston Police Department takes pride in being an all-inclusive agency, hiring people of all faiths, colors, and creeds,” reads a post shared nearly 200 times. “That includes recognizing sworn and non-sworn employees during the celebration of Black History Month.
“Unfortunately, we have seen many racist comments on our Black History Month posts. These are totally unacceptable. On the advice of our attorneys, we are turning off the comment section on Facebook and all our other social media platforms.
“We hope at some point to reopen the comment section on these platforms. Our agency thanks you for your understanding and your support.”
Five hours later, facing a similar problem, Goose Creek Police took an even more drastic step.
“The Goose Creek Police Department prides itself on being a culturally diverse organization, mirroring the community in which we serve, while hiring the most qualified candidates for positions,” reads a post shared more than 750 times. “During this, Black History Month, we have attempted to highlight our African American employees. We asked them to provide a snippet that they wanted to share so we could in turn share it with our community. Unfortunately, the amount of hatred, racism and negativity that has been received on these posts is unfathomable. Honestly, people should be ashamed.
“Due to the fact our employees have come forward upset about the comments, we have decided to discontinue the Black History Month posts. Our employees do not deserve to be the subject of social media outrage. We will internally celebrate and appreciate the different view points, perspectives, and cultures our employees have to offer, not only to the Police Department but the City as a whole.”
Unfortunately…. Unacceptable…. Unfathomable…. Honestly, people should be ashamed….
Two departments that set out to praise teammates in public had to protect them by cutting the public out of the process because of hateful commenters. Celebrations turned to sadness, anger and disbelief.
Suddenly, longtime efforts to appreciate differences are under attack. Suddenly, trolls are more emboldened. Suddenly, Black History Month is a target.
It’s horrible people would think things so terrible, let alone post them for all to see. It’s especially horrible here because while Black History Month celebrates so much good in South Carolina, the month of February is also marred by tragic events that scar the history of the state.
On Feb. 12, 1946, Sgt. Isaac Woodard, a World War II veteran who had been honorably discharged from the service, boarded a Greyhound bus in Georgia to meet his wife in South Carolina. A book by Richard Gergel titled “Unexample Courage” relays that Sgt. Woodard had “sergeant stripes on his sleeve and battle medals on his chest.” Yet an argument with the driver over Sgt. Woodard leaving the vehicle to use a bathroom escalated into a war of words between the two and later led to a white police chief in Batesburg beating the Black military man blind.
On Feb. 8, 1968, state police shot and killed three Black students and wounded 28 others on the campus of South Carolina State College during a protest against segregation at a bowling alley in Orangeburg. That day, as students of history know, is called the Orangeburg Massacre.
All Americans, but especially South Carolinians, should know of these horrors of history to help prevent anything similar from happening ever again. History is replete with racism, of course.
That’s one of the reasons why all but a few states in our (still) United States have passed hate crime laws that can add additional years in prison to the sentences of someone convicted of murder, assault or other violent crimes that spring from hatred of race or other sorts of hatred.
Only three states — Arkansas, South Carolina and Wyoming — have no state law to punish those who commit heinous crimes on the basis of race. South Carolina lawmakers keep failing to pass a broader bill named the Clementa C. Pinckney Hate Crimes Act after a state senator who was among nine Black people shot and killed in 2015 at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.
That’s overdue.
Bridges connecting past, present and future are everywhere in South Carolina. At the International African American Museum in Charleston on Gadsden’s Wharf, known as the largest single point of entry for enslaved Africans in American history. At the Penn Center on St. Helena Island, one of the first schools for free slaves in the nation. At the African American History Monument depicting struggles and achievements outside the South Carolina Statehouse.
Passing the Clementa C. Pinckney Hate Crimes Act would likewise help ensure less racism sees the light of day. In this state, as in any state, we should be able to honor those we want on Facebook — such as Black police officers — and throw the book at those we want — such as racist murderers.
It will be a better day when celebratory Facebook posts and stricter punishments alike deter racism in South Carolina.
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "‘People should be ashamed.’ Racism ruins Black History Month for two SC police departments."