I was walking to get a new parking permit for the campus and came across a memorial for Harvey Gantt, the first black attendee at Clemson University in 1963. The area, covered with azaleas and indigenous plants enshrining the event, was created in 2017. I wondered why it took over fifty years to landmark this historic event! As a note, he was admitted after the US Court of Appeals ordered Clemson to admit him.
I walked down toward the stadium and could see the colors flying. It reminded me of my youth, playing baseball, being in musicals, going to Hanauma Bay with friends on Friday afternoon after acting classes . .
It does seem worth it to be part of the team even if joining is hard . . and it’s hard to be the first, that for sure. But, it’s clear that power comes from sticking together and making a common effort for, hopefully, the greater good.
I walked over faded names in the concrete of people who have graduated from Clemson through the years. . . each person was celebrated. But, now many of those names have been ground away by the footsteps of newer generations. There were spots where the names were unreadable. What would be left in a hundred years? Will anyone beyond the circle at Clemson remember Harvey Gantt in 500 years? Will his name remain or will it be ground down by time and the footprints of new generations?
There is no question in my mind that people are great and do great things. We will never know all or even most of the great things that people do and have done through the centuries. And, the great things we do will be lost, for most of us, in years, or, at most, decades. A memory and perhaps a digital image will be all that’s left.
So, it is only now, that we have to do the things that make sense to us, no matter how small or insignificant, or great. History won’t remember or care. It is only those around us who will care and appreciate the kindnesses and love that we give.
One day, soon, the name of Harvey Gantt will erode from the sand, limestone and steel that memorialize his accomplishments. His great contribution to the people of South Carolina and the United States will not be recognized for what it was. His name will fade from the concrete pathways at Clemson. But, mankind will be better for him having been here.