Cecil Williams

Cecil Williams is a photographer, civil rights documentarian, and living witness whose camera captured some of the most important moments of the Southern freedom struggle. His photographs of the 1968 Orangeburg Massacre — in which South Carolina Highway Patrol officers shot and killed three Black students during a civil rights protest at South Carolina State College — became critical evidence of what happened that night, contradicting the official state narrative.

Born in 1937 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Williams began photographing the civil rights movement in his community as a young man. He documented sit-ins, marches, and the everyday acts of courage and resistance that defined the movement in the Deep South. His camera was both a creative instrument and a tool of accountability — his images preserved truths that powerful people tried to bury.

Williams has spent decades working to ensure the Orangeburg Massacre is not forgotten. He has published books of his photography, spoken at universities and museums, and advocated for official recognition of the event. His archive represents one of the most important photographic records of the civil rights movement in South Carolina, and his lifelong commitment to bearing witness through his lens has made him an indispensable chronicler of Black history.