KSU’s 50th Anniversary Commemoration of May 4, 1970 Shootings Cancelled

Photo by Steve Grant/Creative Commons

While many of this summer’s landmark events will be taking the year off — the Cleveland Museum of Art has announced that both its annual Solstice Party and the beloved Parade the Circle, which requires months of preparation, have been wiped from the June calendar — and other, such as Rooms to Let CLE, postponed until the fall, nothing is as heartbreaking as the cancellation of the events around the annual Kent State University May 4 celebration scheduled to take place May 1-4.

That’s because this year is the 50th anniversary of the May 4, 1970 shootings of students by the National Guard, who opened fire on a crowd of anti-war protestors, killing two protestors and two student bystanders. Among other events planned were a speech by Jane Fonda (over which Ohio secretary of state Frank LaRose tried to score political points by urging its cancellation) and a concert by Joe Walsh, who was living in Kent during that time, and David Crosby.

“A meaningful virtual May 4 Commemoration program is under development, and details will be announced at a later time,” says the KSU press release. “This online program will honor and remember Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder who were killed and nine other Kent State students who were wounded on May 4, 1970, when the Ohio National Guard fired on students during an anti-war protest.”

KSU president Todd Diacon said that the planning process around this year’s events offers a foundation for future commemorations and ongoing educational efforts, due to the uniting of various factions that in the past had disagreement over how to commemorate this particular, often controversial, history.

To get the latest information, go to kent.edu/may4kentstate50.

 

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