Dr. Margaree Seawright Crosby made history when she became the first African American woman professor to earn tenure at Clemson University’s College of Education.
Crosby, who was 82, died last week. 
Dr. Margaree Seawright Crosby
A committed activist who was part of the “Greenville 8”, Crosby participated in sit-ins in the 1960s to protest segregation at the Greenville library while she was a student at South Carolina State University. She and seven of her peers including famed civil rights activist, the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, selected a book and sat down to read it and was handcuffed and jailed by the local police.
Crosby was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated and the first female member of the board of trustees at the Greenville Hospital System.
“Dr. Crosby made history as a young girl and part of the “Greenville 8″ who challenged segregation, then lived a long life of community service,” said Greenville’s mayor, Knox White. “Her legacy of service helped make Greenville a better place.”
