We can discuss race and the mood of South Carolina at the turn of the 20th century at leisure, but before anyone argues taking the name Tillman off a building, they should consider his role as the bedrock for what became the first state college in South Carolina to enroll a black student 60 years later.
You DO realize that, were it not for Tillman, there would be no buildings here to name. The land for what would become Clemson came from Thomas Green Clemson. But the political muscle required to create an agricultural school in the state, wresting it from the Bourbon powers that had set it aside to languish beneath the auspices of the University of South Carolina came from Tillman.
The creation of Clemson, not race, was his primary campaign platform in 1890. It was part of his progressive vision of agriculture in the state.
And when he enrolled in January of 1963, the first building Harvey Gantt entered was Tillman Hall. He didn't object to the name then, and he doesn't now.