HOLLYWOOD, S.C. (WCSC) — Herbert Gadson, the first African American mayor of the town of Hollywood, died in the early hours of Friday morning at the age of 77.
Gadson’s trailblazing began long before his time as mayor. In 1968, he and a dozen other South Carolina State University students attempted to desegregate Orangeburg’s All Star Bowling Alley, and he was beaten with a club by police. Days later, in the Orangeburg Massacre on Feb. 8, 1968, he was shot by police. His children said he died decades later with that bullet still lodged in his hip.
Breaking barriers in local government
In 1989, Gadson was elected the first African American mayor of Hollywood. He battled the crack cocaine crisis gripping the county and his town. He also played a large role in building Hollywood’s infrastructure.
“Herbert Gadson brought water and sewer services to Hollywood when nobody thought it was possible, absolutely nobody thought it was possible. He fought an uphill battle in 1993 and brought water and sewer services to Hollywood, South Carolina. He was a man for all seasons, a titan in this town, a titan in the neck of the woods, and his touch affected so many lives,” Shaytee Gadson, son of the late Herbert Gadson, said.
Legacy of service
Rev. Telley Lynnette Gadson, the daughter of the late Herbert Gadson, said she uses the wisdom he passed on through his leadership to this day. She spoke of what he taught her.
“There is a right way to do things, and there is a way to do things right. What he believed in because he knew he served people in a rural community, a forgotten community, people who were often put in spaces of disadvantage, of course not by their own choosing, not by their own volition. But he worked in such a way to make everybody feel like they had a place at the table,” Telley Lynnette Gadson said.
The Lowcountry legends leadership echoed throughout the community and at home, where he’s missed most.
“He taught us how to love, how to be affectionate, and if we had any sort of disagreement, you know he’d be there to bring us back together,” Reginald Gadson, son of the late Herbert Gadson, said.
The only intersection with a stoplight in Hollywood is named after him, keeping his legacy alive.
Here is an interview Live 5 News did with then-mayor Gadson.
In this video, Gadson himself tells his story of being beaten and shot by the police in the Orangeburg Massacre.
There will be a wake service on Jan. 9 at 6 p.m. at their home church, Wesley United Methodist Church at 5100 Baptist Hill Road.
Jan. 10 will be the formal celebration of life at Sand Hill United Methodist Church on Summer Drive in Ridgeville.