You Are Here:
Statement by President Dillard on Shaw Traffic Incident
Shaw U Public Relations logo sqaure
On October 5, an incident occurred on a highway in South Carolina when 18 Shaw University student scholars and two staff advisors were traveling from Raleigh, North Carolina, to attend the Center for Financial Advancement Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Official Statement from President Dillard to the Shaw University Community

To the University Community:

On October 5, an incident occurred on a highway in South Carolina when 18 Shaw University student scholars and two staff advisors were traveling from Raleigh, North Carolina, to attend the Center for Financial Advancement Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Traveling by contract bus, South Carolina Law Enforcement stopped the team in Spartanburg County under the pretext of a minor traffic violation. A couple of officers boarded the bus and asked the driver where he was headed. Multiple sheriff deputies and drug-sniffing dogs searched the suitcases of the students and staff located in the luggage racks beneath the bus.

In a word, I am “outraged.” This behavior of targeting Black students is unacceptable and will not be ignored nor tolerated. Had the students been White, I doubt this detention and search would have occurred.

It’s 2022.

However, this scene is reminiscent of the 1950s and 1960s—armed police, interrogating innocent Black students, conducting searches without probable cause, and blood-thirsty dogs. It’s hard to imagine. Yet, it happened to the Shaw University community, and it is happening throughout this nation in alarming fashion. It must be stopped.

To be clear, nothing illegal was discovered in this search by South Carolina Law Enforcement officers. The officers said they stopped the bus because it was swerving and issued the driver a warning ticket for “improper lane use.” Throughout this unnerving and potentially dangerous situation, our students and staff conducted themselves calmly and with tremendous restraint.

I will modernize the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with my own, “The ultimate measure of a man and woman is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy.”

Our students stood tall amid an unnerving and humiliating experience and because of their dignified and professional response, the situation did not escalate into something far more sinister.

So, I am extremely proud of our students and staff and how they responded under very trying circumstances. I am pleased to report they arrived safely in Atlanta to take full advantage of the Center for Financial Advancement Conference, where they actively engaged in sessions about financial literacy and home ownership. And they returned home safely to campus without incident.

We are eternally grateful.

However, I wish to be perfectly clear. The action taken by South Carolina Law Enforcement in Spartanburg County was unfair and unjust. I firmly believe had the bus been occupied by White students, they would not have been detained.

I have asked our Shaw University General Counsel to investigate this situation as we explore options for recourse— legal and otherwise—available to our students and the university.

Paulette Dillard, Ph.D. President

###

Related Articles:

"My cancer journey hasn’t been easy. There has been a lot to deal with, but I’m daily reminded of the Lord’s blessings TO ME . . . and so I smile."
RALEIGH, N.C., March 27, 2023 – The journey to the 34th Honda Campus All‐Star Challenge (HCASC) National Championship Tournament is underway for the team of scholars from Shaw University.
The Health of Black Women & Girls From a Womanists Perspective. Aravia Patterson was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, where her family resides except for her younger sister. She is the eldest of 5 children aged 23-6. She graduated salutatorian from Eau Claire
Welcome to the second edition of the SASH Report, a monthly newsletter highlighting what’s happening in the School of Arts, Sciences, and Humanities. This is where we spotlight our incredible SASH students, faculty, and staff, announce upcoming events, and share ideas.
Join us on April 14th, for HBCU Night at the NC Opera for The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess.
A story about the power of love for one’s family and community to triumph over even the largest forces of injustice.