Tom Dent interviews Dr. M. Maceo Nance, Jr., fifth president of South Carolina State University, in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He is a native of Columbia, South Carolina. He attended Booker T. Washington, Columbia High School, and South Carolina State. He was drafted into the Navy during World War II. He talks about living in Orangeburg, "one of the most conservative communities in South Carolina." The two historical Black colleges in the area may have had an adverse effect in the community rather than being a catalyst for good race relations. He talks about committees which were formed on the state and local level to address race relations in the city. Nance discusses the Orangeburg Massacre shootings. He says the segregation of the bowling alley was simply "the straw that broke the camel's back." There was a bowling alley in Columbia that served Black patron. A group approached the owner of the alley in Orangeburg about the possibility of opening the alley to the Black community two or three nights a week years before the shooting. The other businesses in the area were open to the students. The bowling alley with its "Whites only" sign became a rallying point due to its proximity to these businesses. Nance talks about what could have been done to diffuse the situation before the confrontation. Nance talks about the conflict between the power structure and the community, including under former mayor Robert Jennings, and the uncomfortable relationship between the school and the town. White Senator Marion Gressette ran the Gressette committee, which fought to stop integration, eventually formed a friendship with Nance and helped to move the relationship with South Carolina State University forward. Dent tells a story about Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long. Nance talks about building working relationships with Gressette and those with similar opinions. Governor Robert McNair received poor advice from his "people on the scene" at the demonstrations, which is why things got out of hand. He explains the timeline of events surrounding the Orangeburg Massacre. He talks about when he received the call about the shooting, when he rushed back to campus. It was "almost like a nightmare." He talks about what he faced at campus and at the jail where he went to release a student who had been arrested.
