Professor to document African-American lives in Clemson

A $100,000 gift allows an English professor at Clemson University to conduct research on African-Americans who lived and labored on Clemson land during the pre-1963 integration period. Rhondda Robinson Thomas received a $50,000 gift from James and Edith Bostic of Atlanta, which was matched by the university. Thomas teaches African-American literature at Clemson University. Her research focuses on enslaved African-Americans who worked at Clemson University and black wage laborers who were employed by the college prior to the integration of the university in 1963.