Dean Livingston

The Times and Democrat
Orangeburg, SC

Newsman first to report shots fired on black students at S.C. State

Livingston recalls his newspaper’s coverage of the Orangeburg Massacre, one of the defining moments of the Civil Rights Movement and to this day a controversial event. Livingston takes you behind the scenes to history.

Video Interview

This video has been edited for length. If you’d like to listen to the full raw audio from our interview with Dean Livingston, contact SCPA.

Biography

Born: 1933, North, S.C.
Died: May 20, 2014 

Newspaper History:

  • Bicycle Carrier, The Times and Democrat, 1942
  • Production employee and columnist, Orangeburg Observer, 1946
  • Managing Editor, The Times and Democrat, 1959-1962
  • Publisher, The Times and Democrat,1962-1999

Honors and Awards:

  • President of the S.C. Press Association, 1969
  • President of the Greater Orangeburg Chamber of Commerce, 1967
  • President of the Frank Mundy Newspaper Foundation, 1982-1984
  • S.C. State College Distinguished Achievement Award, 1989

Education: University of South Carolina, 1955

Military Service: US Air Force

Family: Married to Grace Dukes Livingston, has a daughter, son and four grandchildren

Books: Yesteryears: A newsman’s look back at events and people who have influenced the histories of Orangeburg and Calhoun counties by Dean B. Livingston, 2006

Notes: Livingston was one of the longest serving publishers of an American daily newspaper.

SCPA's oral history project is dedicated to preserving the heritage of our state's journalists and newspapers.

This program is funded by the South Carolina Humanities Council, whose mission is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. This program is co-sponsored by the University of South Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications.