The president of Shaw University is speaking out after what she called an “unfair and unjust” traffic stop involving students of the historically Black university.
On Monday, Shaw President Paulette Dillard released a statement saying students from the university in Raleigh were subjected to a racially motivated police encounter on a South Carolina highway while traveling to a conference.
Last Wednesday, 18 students and two advisers were traveling by bus from Raleigh to Atlanta to attend the Center for Financial Advancement Conference, according to Dillard’s statement. While driving through Spartanburg County, South Carolina, the bus was stopped for a “minor traffic violation,” Dillard said in the statement.
Multiple officers and drug-sniffing dogs then boarded the bus and began searching the students and advisers, she continued.
“To be clear, nothing illegal was discovered in this search by South Carolina law enforcement officers,” Dillard said.
Scottie Kay Blackwell, a spokesperson for Spartanburg County, said nearly 1,000 stops were made last week as part of the department’s annual “Operation Rolling Thunder,” a blitz of traffic stops along the interstate aimed at seizing illicit drugs.
Spartanburg County worked with nearly a dozen other law enforcement agencies to carry out these stops.
On Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper referred to the encounter through a spokesperson, in comments first reported by WRAL.
“The Governor shares the deep concern of Shaw University leaders about the treatment and safety of their students and has asked North Carolina Public Safety officials to discuss this matter with South Carolina law enforcement officials and express that concern,” Press Secretary Sam Chan said.
Dillard believes race was a factor in the decision to search the bus.
“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,” she said.
The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to The News & Observer’s requests for comment. The South Carolina Highway Patrol was not involved in the incident, according to a spokesperson.
Dillard said in the statement this incident resembles the violence and bigotry perpetrated by police against Black students in the 1950s and ‘60s.
“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,” Dillard said.
Dillard said she has reached out to Shaw University’s general counsel and is exploring legal action against South Carolina law enforcement.
“In a word, I am outraged. This behavior of targeting Black students is unacceptable and will not be ignored nor tolerated,” Dillard said. “Had the students been white, I doubt this detention and search would have occurred.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 11:00 AM.