General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forumskent state--4 may 1970
Kent State shootings
(clciking on this will direct you to the slide show, worth seeing.)
John Filo's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Mary Ann Vecchio, a 14-year-old runaway kneeling over the body of Jeffrey Miller minutes after he was shot by the Ohio National Guard
Location Kent, Ohio, US
Date May 4, 1970
12:24 pm[1] (Eastern)
Target Kent State University students
Weapons
M1 Garand rifles
.45 caliber pistol
12-gauge shotgun
Deaths 4
Non-fatal injuries
9
Perpetrators Ohio Army National Guard
The Kent State shootings (also known as the May 4 massacre or the Kent State massacre)[2][3][4] occurred at Kent State University in the US city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970. The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis.[5][6] Some of the students who were shot had been protesting the Cambodian Campaign, which President Richard Nixon announced during a television address on April 30. Other students who were shot had been walking nearby or observing the protest from a distance.[7][8]
There was a significant national response to the shootings: hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools closed throughout the United States due to a student strike of four million students,[9] and the event further affected public opinionat an already socially contentious timeover the role of the United States in the Vietnam War.[10]
Richard Nixon was elected President of the United States in 1968, promising to end the Vietnam War. In November 1969, the My Lai Massacre by American troops of between 347 and 504 civilians in a Vietnamese village was exposed, leading to increased public opposition in the United States to the war. The nature of the draft also changed in December 1969, with the first draft lottery since World War II. This eliminated deferments allowed in the prior draft process, affecting many college students and teachers.
The war had appeared to be winding down throughout 1969, so the new invasion of Cambodia angered those who believed it only exacerbated the conflict. Across the country, campuses erupted in protests in what Time called "a nation-wide student strike", setting the stage for the events of early May 1970.
. . . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings
NoJusticeNoPeace
(5,018 posts)how many are dead?
How many are not white? Still a huge disparity I assume, but getting to the point where even that wont be the story.
I dont know, I am asking.
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cops-killed-8-hours-2015-early-graves-day/
Let that sink in. Law enforcement in the US killed 92 times more people than a country with nearly 1.4 billion people.
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cops-killed-8-hours-2015-early-graves-day/#HipmTxIPXsEpr5r4.99
niyad
(113,095 posts)marym625
(17,997 posts)I asked at the end, with the link to the video Ohio, look familiar?
raging moderate
(4,292 posts)One of those murdered near the site of the Jackson State protest was a young Black man, a whole block away, totally unrelated to the protesters, probably not really aware of them, returning after a hard day's work to his wife and NEW baby.
niyad
(113,095 posts)I Wasn't Surprised
:47
Kristin Lems
2005-01-19
words and music by Kristin Lems c 2005
This song is dedicated to the families of two black college students slain at Jackson State University, one week after the slaying of four white students at Kent State university in 1970. Written in 1975, the song is an early attempt to address the many double standards of racism.
Lyrics
1. When our towns were in flame and yet we got the blame I wasn't surprised When police stormed the streets and no one came to our needs I wasn't surprised
Well it wasn't our last and it wasn't our first My people are killed even right in our church And maybe I'm wise from too many cries But I wasn't surprised.
2. When they shot Fred and Mark as they slept in the dark, I wasn't surprised When the commission contends it was in "self defense," I wasn't surprised Well it wasn't our last and it wasn't our first My people are killed in their sleep, in the church And maybe I'm wise from hearing his cries, But I wasn't surprised.
3. In a Southern jail cell, a guard gave a girl hell, and I wasn't surprised She fought back and defied, became an outlaw statewide And I wasn't surprised Well it wasn't our last and it wasn't our first My people are killed in the prisons and church And maybe I'm wise from too many cries But I wasn't surprised.
4. Well right down the block, a young boy picked a lock And I wasn't surprised The police shot him dead, he was hungry, how he bled! I wasn't surprised It wasn't our last and it wasn't our first My people are killed down the block, in the church And maybe I'm wise from hearing his cries But I wasn't surprised.
5. When they shot down my son, nothing wrong had he done I wasn't surprised He was walking to class 'cross the Jackson State grass And I wasn't surprised Well it wasn't our first and it wasn't our last My family is killed even crossing the grass And maybe I'm wise from hearing his cries But I wasn't surprised.
6. I've seen your children fall and I grieve for you all, But I wasn't surprised. I have known all along that they're mean and they're strong, So don't be surprised Well it wasn't your last, it was only your first - The day will come round that they'll kill you in church And maybe I'm wise from too many lies But I wasn't surprised.
7. Well I'm bitter as hell, but one thing I'll tell you. You might be surprised. If we stand side by side to stop this genocide They will be surprised. For as long as we're silent, as long as we're still They'll gun us and shun us, you know that they will! So raise your voices high in one unified cry And we'll see who's surprised!
c 1975, 2000, 2014 Kleine Ding Music. words and music by Kristin Lems.
Tom_Foolery
(4,691 posts)But I remember it like it were yesterday.