USC’s board of trustees renames dorm in honor of prominent, Black Columbia educator

The University of South Carolina has named a campus building in honor of a prominent, Black Columbia educator following public outcry against buildings named for slave owners, racists and segregationists.

The building, previously named 700 Lincoln Street after its street address, will be named in honor of Celia Dial Saxon, an educator and civil rights activist who spent 57 years teaching in Columbia. USC’s board of trustees approved the motion unanimously during a Friday meeting. The exact name of the building is to be decided.

USC Board of Trustees Chair Dorn Smith called Saxon a “stalwart of the university community” and someone with a “remarkable personal and professional trajectory.”

“Although the city and its communities have honored Celia Dial Saxon… the University of South Carolina has been slower to honor Ms. Saxon and her ties to the university,” Smith said. “The university hopes to remedy this omission today by naming 700 Lincoln St. in honor of Ms. Saxon.”

Saxon, who was born enslaved in 1857, spent 57 years as an educator in Columbia. She taught at Booker T. Washington school.

Saxon’s contributions to Columbia extended outside the classroom as well. Saxon co-founded the S.C. Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs and founded Wilkinson Orphanage for Negro Children, according to USC’s website.

By the time of her death in 1935, “She truly was a national figure,” USC History Professor Walter Edgar said at the board meeting.

Saxon’s time teaching and organizing “inspired thousands of students,” said USC History Professor Bobby Donaldson, who specializes in the civil rights movement.

The Saxon building is a mixed-use building that primarily consists of dormitories, but also commercial spaces on the first floor that are currently occupied by fast food restaurants. Roughly 300 students are housed in the 135,000 square feet building, said USC Architect Derek Gruner.

Since the building is named after an address, not a historical figure, USC does not need legislative approval through the state’s Heritage Act law to change the name. The Heritage Act prevents public entities from changing the names of buildings named for historic figures without legislative approval.

USC was one of the many institutions throughout the country that saw public backlash against monuments or buildings named for Confederates, segregationists, slave owners, etc. following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in 2020.

But even before that, former USC President Robert Caslen created the Presidential Commission on University History, a group of academics, students, community leaders and more. The commission was charged with, in part, researching the origins of campus building names and recommending new names for buildings.

After the commission released its report calling for the university to rename several campus buildings, including one named for late S.C. Sen. Strom Thurmond, an ardent segregationist in the ‘40s and ‘50s who changed his stance later in life.

Going forward, USC President Harris Pastides said the tribute was overdue and that the university plans to honor more outstanding people of color in the future.

“It will certainly not be the last tribute of this kind,” Pastides said.

This story was originally published January 7, 2022 at 12:03 PM.