Hard to believe it’s been 50 years.
On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on unarmed students at Kent State University.
In 13 seconds, four Kent State students were killed and nine students were injured during the campus protest against the Vietnam War.
The shootings were memorialized in the lyrics of the anti-war protest song Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young:
Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We’re finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio…
The massacre set off a nationwide strike by millions of students across the country, forcing many colleges and universities to close.
I hope you’ll take a moment of silence today to honor and commemorate the people who died and the people injured on that day.
Walking the Steps of History
I remember talking about the Kent State shootings in school and with my family. The news was horrifying to my friends and teachers. My dad was shocked that college students were killed at a protest.
The shootings influenced how I felt about the war and while I never participated in any anti-war rallies, I supported my friends who did.
In June 2016, I traced the steps of history by taking the May 4 Walking Tour on the Kent State University campus.
I took the tour on a spring weekend when there was no activity on campus other than a conference I attended.
Quietly, I walked the tour alone.
Reading the signs and listening to the audio of Julian Bond narrating the tour, I stopped at each of the seven waypoints.
Learned about the Kent State student protests, how city officials responded to the protest and burned-down ROTC building, and how the National Guard fired on the students with live ammunition.
It was a solemn and horrifying experience to walk the campus grounds, view photos, and envision the terror of the day.
News of the killings shocked people throughout the United States, causing many to join anti-war protests at the unwarranted shootings.
It was a turning point for the Vietnam War protests in the United States and the beginning of “May the Fourth” to mark the anniversary.
