‘His legacy lives on’: James Solomon Jr., one of 3 Black students to desegregate USC, dies
James Solomon Jr., a local civil rights icon and one of three Black students to desegregate the University of South Carolina, died Friday. He was 94.
Solomon, along with Henrie Monteith Treadwell and Robert Anderson, descended the steps of USC’s Osborne Administration Building in 1963 and walked toward Hamilton College to register for classes. With their admission, the three desegregated the university as its first students of color in more than a century.
Born in McDonough, Georgia, Solomon graduated high school at 16 and attended college for a year before leaving to serve in the Air Force in Japan during the Korean War. When he left the service, he met his wife, Helen, in Sumter and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Morris College and a master’s degree from Atlanta University.
While he was a professor at his alma mater, Solomon began considering applying to USC. After Anderson and Monteith were admitted, he applied to and enrolled in USC’s graduate program in mathematics.
The USC College of Arts and Sciences and the mathematics department honored Solomon with a plaque in LeConte College in 2019. And more than 60 years after Solomon first stepped on campus, his role in desegregating USC was celebrated with a 12-foot bronze monument on the historic Horseshoe in April.
“The University of South Carolina family is saddened by the death of James L. Solomon Jr. His legacy of bravery and service to community is an enduring inspiration to us all,” a university spokesman said in a statement. “His role in desegregating the Columbia campus, along with Henrie Monteith Treadwell and Robert G. Anderson, is immortalized on our campus as a testament to his personal courage and an unwavering commitment to justice. We share our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and everyone who was affected by his life of selfless sacrifice.”
While many remember Solomon as a trailblazer for students at USC, his service to the community spanned much further.
He became the first Black elected official in Sumter since the Reconstruction era of the 19th century when he was elected to the Sumter District 17 school board.
After being a dean and a vice president at Morris College, Solomon was a leader for the state’s Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Social Services. Solomon was also involved with the Columbia Urban League, United Way of the Midlands and the American Public Welfare Association, among others, and was elected to Richland County Council and Richland School District 1’s school board — of which he became the first Black chairman.
Solomon’s civic dedication twice earned him the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor in South Carolina, awarded by former governors Richard Riley and Carroll Campbell.
“He will be missed but his legacy lives on,” state Sen. Tameika Isaac Devine, D-Richland, wrote on social media.
This story was originally published November 30, 2024 at 3:20 PM with the headline "‘His legacy lives on’: James Solomon Jr., one of 3 Black students to desegregate USC, dies."
