And I remember the blood-curling scream of Mary Gibbs when somebody told her it was her brother, Phillip Gibbs, who was one of the students who had been killed that evening. And then there are some other activities that are happening - I mean, just a whole host of things. We devoutly wish that a means had been found to avoid the May 4th events culminating in the Guard shootings and the irreversible deaths and injuries. Basically, I think that that person was mouthing or following up on the comments that had been made by Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew, Governor Rhodes. Students were advised to study independently until they were contacted by individual professors. And all of a sudden, they formed up and then they shot about 15 - 10, 15 tear gas canisters at us and dispersed the several thousand students that were there. At the time the building burned down, there were virtually no students at that site. Yes, there were some students who were throwing stones. However, the faculty voted before the week was out to help students complete the quarter in any way possible. This book presents a harsh analysis of the communications problems that permeated the University during May 1970. The next day, Saturday, May 2, Mayor Satrom met with other city officials and a representative of the Ohio National Guard who had been dispatched to Kent. I went around the building, down the other side of the hill, across the parking lot, across the street into another parking lot. In 2010, after undeniable forensic evidence emerged pointing to direct U.S. government involvement in the killings, Emily Kunstler and I founded the Kent State Truth Tribunal (KSTT). (1988). And I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. He's a professor emeritus of sociology at Kent State University. The Guardsmen in their signed statement at the end of the civil trials recognized that better ways have to be found to deal with these types of confrontations. At Kent State University, an anti-war rally was held at noon on the Commons, a large, grassy area in the middle of campus which had traditionally been the site for various types of rallies and demonstrations. The Kent Shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre, was the result of a clash between And then I got hit. It's one of the myths of the burning of the ROTC building. It thus seems important to ask what are the most significant questions which yet remain unanswered about the May 4events. Thank you so much. From that day forward, I began to immerse myself in national and international news and politics and have never since allowed myself to be so ignorant of what's going on as I was before that day. Mr. GENE YOUNG (Former Professor, Jackson State University): Good afternoon. Casale, Ottavio M. & Paskoff, Louis (Eds.) So it radicalized me at the same time, to the point where I became very involved in politics. This decision was announced on national television and radio on April 30, l970, by President Nixon, who stated that the invasion of Cambodia was designed to attack the headquarters of the Viet Cong, which had been using Cambodian territory as a sanctuary. And Judy(ph) adds a similar memory. Better ways must be found to deal with such a confrontation. Peoples ended the semester at Jackson State in 1970. Bills, Scott. In fact, there were only two Guardsmen injured and one was from a hyperventilation. And I thought, well, I'll follow along. Two quite different answers have been advanced to this question: (1) the Guardsmen fired in self-defense, and the shootings were therefore justified and (2) the Guardsmen were not in immediate danger, and therefore the shootings were unjustified. But when I saw my government killing innocent students who were just walking to class, I was radicalized, totally radicalized. But only one of them hit me and then the shooting stopped, and I was relieved. No group or individual has been held accountable. And was getting a little tired at that point in time. Dr. LEWIS: Well, Governor Rhodes said in his famous press conference on Sunday, May 3rd, that the campus would not be closed. We saw people standing around. Why Did the Kent State Shooting Happen? A Look Back 50 Years They're demanding on us emotionally, but they're very important to our knowledge about May 4th, because people come forward and tell things that they haven't told for years. There has not been a credible, independent, impartial investigation into Kent State. Answer (1 of 7): Profoundly. Dean Kahler was the most seriously wounded of the nine students. Okay, I just turned off the car. 1970 Jackson State Shootings Widely Forgotten, Explore WKSU's Online Archive Of Audio, Photographs And Video. (2) Should the Guard have been called to Kent and Kent State University? The Kent State Coverup . And shortly after midnight, a bottle broke on the pavement and law enforcement officials fired over 200 rounds of bullets into a women's dormitory from the bottom floor to the top floor. Where are they going to go? But that is precisely Mr. YOUNG: Well, okay. ROBERTS: Right now, we're talking about what happened on May 4th, 1970, the shootings at Kent State University. There was they just shut down all the classes. The decision to close the bars early increased the size of the angry crowd. Ten days later, a similar tragedy played out on the campus of Jackson State University in Miss. By May 5, a photograph taken by John The May 4 shootings at Kent State need to be remembered for several reasons. And we collected the data two years after the shootings, and we found that exactly that had happened. The University was ordered closed immediately, first by President Robert White and then indefinitely by Portage County Prosecutor Ronald Kane under an injunction from Common Pleas Judge Albert Caris. For instance, on the 20th anniversary, I had a student walk up to me and hand me some brass from an M-1 bullet that she had kept in her drawer for 20 years. Some authors (e.g., Stone, 1971; Davies, 1973; and Kelner and Munves, 1980) argue that the Guardsmen's lives were not in danger. Westport, CONN: Greenwood Press. The only thing they did, when the civil suit was settled, and Dean can talk about that later on, was they issued a statement of regret, which was pretty weak. Further tragedy was prevented by the actions of a number of Kent State University faculty marshals, who had organized hastily when trouble began several days earlier. What do these events tell us about the role of the university in todays climate of student protest? Its almost 12:20 or so. Several Guardsmen could be seen huddling together, and some Guardsmen knelt and pointed their guns, but no weapons were shot at this time. Richard Nixon was elected president of the United States in 1968 based in part on his promise to bring an end to the war in Vietnam. At the conclusion of the anti-war rally on Friday, May 1, student protest leaders had called for another rally to be held on the Commons at noon on Monday, May 4. (3) Did the Kent State University administration respond appropriately in their reactions to the demonstrations and with Ohio political officials and Guard officials? So there was - but, you see, that's a classic example of blaming the victim. (1973). ROBERTS: Can you tell us the story of what happened that day? When I realized what she was watching, I was horrified and started crying and asked why, why, why? Healing will not occur if events are either forgotten or distorted, and hence it is important to continue to search for the truth behind the events of May 4at Kent State. He - both of them are joining us from WKSU, our member station in Kent, Ohio. Little evidence exists as to who were the leaders of the rally and what activities were planned, but initially the rally was peaceful. People are coming forth with material. In the aftermath, how did you keep total chaos from erupting? Go to npr.org and click on TALK OF THE NATION. Kent State Shootings During an antiwar demonstration that spotlighted young Americans' disapproval of expanded participation in the Vietnam War , four students were killed and nine For example, a prominent college-level United States history book by Mary Beth Norton et al. How the Kent State massacre marked the start of America's The book provides a rather sketchy overview of the May 4 events, presents excerpts from letters written by participants in the events, and discusses the made-for-TV movie on May 4 to which Payne served as a consultant. And I'm thinking, why are they shooting at me? If you were under 30, you looked at - at least I tried to read and be logical about it. We are also joined by Jerry Lewis, a professor emeritus of sociology at Kent State University. Hensley, Thomas R. (1981). Dr. LEWIS: Well, the major thing was the announcement by President Nixon that the troops had invaded Cambodia, which signaled to students, particularly students but all males who were eligible for the draft, that the war was not only not ending, but it was spreading. Our number here in Washington is 800-989-8255. The incident on May 4, 1970, now known as the Kent State massacre, dramatically changed the nation. 2. His graduate students made films of laboratory sessions and mailed them to students. Thus, University leaders printed and distributed on Monday morning 12,000 leaflets indicating that all rallies, including the May 4rally scheduled for noon, were prohibited as long as the Guard was in control of the campus. This collection brings together a number of previous articles on May 4 that were published in social science journals, but articles covering the Kent State litigation and the 1977 gymnasium controversy were written specifically for this volume. I had a three-month-old baby, a husband who turned in a master's degree and was arrested during that time. States. John was worried about the FBI confiscating his camera, so he drove over to a small paper in Pennsylvania where he had interned. Why do you think that it wasn't sort of seared into public consciousness as Kent State was? Jackson State and Orangeburg were black colleges in the South. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. An excellent book chapter on the shootings is by James J. (l971). How the Kent State Shootings Changed Protests Forever It was a construction site, a supply depot, and there was gravel there. William Schroeder was 390 feet from the Guard in the Prentice Hall parking lot when he was shot in the left side of his back. And yes, Governor Rhodes has a tremendous amount of responsibility for this, and no, justice has not been served in this particular matter yet. Grant, Edward J. I would say probably eight or nine bullets hit the ground around me. BRENDA: Oh my gosh, okay. There was a thousand or a couple of thousand people with a bullhorn talking about the isms, but probably only about maybe 50 of them were actually involved in that little discussion. The closest student was Jeffrey Miller, who was shot in the mouth while standing in an access road leading into the Prentice Hall parking lot, a distance of approximately 270 feet from the Guard. In its attempt to disperse the unarmed crowds, the Ohio National Guard shot and killed four people, and wounded nine others. The only book written by members of the Ohio National Guard, the authors provide a view of the hostile environment in which the Guardsmen found themselves. And yes, Governor Rhodes was one of the major perpetrators of this. What did the event mean to you? The victims or the students were being blamed for the shootings and, therefore, the National Guard had to protect schoolchildren from the students, but in fact, the killing was done by the National Guard. It was a beautiful day. Go to npr.org and click on TALK OF THE NATION. We have posted an audio slideshow of the events of that day with the help of WKSU, our member station at Kent State. A series of articles by noted peace activist Paul Hare as well as many Kent State faculty members. Prof. LEWIS: Well, we certainly understood immediately that there were injuries and deaths, but not the scope of - I only - I took field notes three hours after shootings and I identified three people who were down, one who I thought was killed, that was Sandy Scheuer. So, many of townspeople thought the Guardsmen had been killed by students, and of course, that was not the case. Mr. DEAN KAHLER (Former Student, Kent State University): Yes, I am. Instead, these authors argue that the evidence shows that certain members of the Guard conspired on the practice football field to fire when they reached the top of Blanket Hill. And we didn't realize as one of the major documentaries said, it was the day that war came home. Kent State shootings:A day of tragedy. ROBERTS: You mentioned the burned out ROTC building. ROBERTS: Do we know why the Guardsmen fired? Allison Krause was in the Prentice Hall parking lot; she was 330 feet from the Guardsmen and was shot in the left side of her body. The event triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close. Members of the Ohio National Guard were already on duty in Northeast Ohio, and thus they were able to be mobilized quickly to move to Kent. Kelner was the chief legal counsel for the students and parents in the 1975 federal civil trial. Insofar as this has happened, lessons have been learned, and the deaths of four young Kent State students have not been in vain. Our email address is talk@npr.org, and you can join the conversation at our website. Richard Nixon, Spiro Agnew had called us bums, effete snobs, and I think Spiro Agnew had called us nattering nabobs of negatism. (1970). He joins us now also from member station WKSU in Kent. In the aftermath of the massacre, people sought answers to why the Guard fired into the crowd, and protests in response to the shooting cropped across the nation on campuses and in a massive protest in Washington D.C. to both the war and the Kent State student deaths. I remember the guard coming into town and I believe it was that day they took us out of school. And the prevailing feeling on the part of most of the country when we got shot was that we deserved it because of the language that was used by our political leaders. Saturday, an ROTC building was attacked. And then I saw them gathering together - near the burned out ROTC building. This would heighten the climate of fear in violence. Fourth Edition. We are going to talk about Jackson State, where students were killed 10 days later in just a minute. I was 20. Lima, OH: C.S.S. Gene Young, former professor at Jackson State University. I don't have the schedule in front of me and I didn't memorize it. We see it today. On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard fired on Kent State University students during an antiwar protest, killing four students and wounding nine others. Ill work my way over to the Student Union, get a cup of coffee to go to my 1:00 class. Best (1978). The Kent State killings, by contrast, were shocking because they happened in the very heart of middle America. As the Guard arrived in Kent at about 10 p.m., they encountered a tumultuous scene. Are we going crazy or what? On May 14-15, 1970, Jackson State students were protesting these issues as well as the May 4, 1970 tragedy at Kent State University in Ohio. I was a Navy ROTC. So, Dean, you want to tell them about your ROBERTS: I should introduce Dean Kahler.
Baron Herzog Pinot Grigio, Why Do Dogs And Bears Look Alike, Keeping The Brain Alive After Death, Joy Harjo Reading Remember, Articles H