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DENMARK, S.C. - Dr. Cleveland L. Sellers, a political activist, civil rights pioneer, educator and administrator, has been named the next president of Voorhees College.
As a young man, the Denmark native aligned himself with the veterans of the civil rights movement.
Joining the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, he traveled throughout the South in the 1960s urging African-Americans to register to vote. He also worked as an advocate for justice and human rights.
He was injured in the events that came to be known as the Orangeburg Massacre, and was the only person ever convicted in connection with them. He was later pardoned.
Sellers went on to serve as director of the African-American Studies program at the University of South Carolina.
His son Bakari is a state representative serving District 90.