Kent State Shootings |
On April 20th, 1970 President Richard Nixon went on TV and announced that the United States was to invade Cambodia and the United States was going to need to draft 150,000 new soldiers. This provoked a very strong reaction among kids at school as they would be the ones who were targeted for the draft. Across the country, there were huge protests at campuses. The protest at Kent State University in Ohio went a little farther than other campus strikes and launched a demonstrations and that included setting fire to the ROTC building which resulted in the governor having to dispatch 900 National Guardsmen to the school.
Upon arriving at the school on May 4th, an altercation occurred that resulted in 28 of the guardsmen shooting into the crowd. Nine people were injured and four were killed in the shooting. Almost 500 campuses were closed down following the shootings. Even though the public was clearly in a panic, the Justice Department declined to conduct a grand jury investigation. The shooting was acknowledged by the President’s Commission on Campus Unrest and said that the guardsmen actions were “unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable.” A grand jury eventually indicted eight of the guardsmen involved with the shooting, however they could not stick the charges to them due to a lack of evidence. |
Interview With David Schoen;
Protester
Before I can answer your questions, I feel it is necessary to put things in context. In 1969, I got involved in the Vietnam Anti-War Movement. The movement was made up of many student coalitions across the country mostly based in colleges and universities with names like SDS, The Weathermen, The Yippies, and quite a few others. The tactics used by these groups ranged from peaceful protests to violent anarchism.
The general climate was one of revolution . Other movements such as women’s rights, gay rights, reproductive rights, environmentalism and many others were taking hold. All these causes were adopted by other coalitions. http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/collections/exhibits/arch/1969/Index.html
At the same time, in music and arts, the revolution was helped along tremendously by many of the biggest stars of the time.
So, in 1969 on October 15th the first nationwide moratorium was held with huge rallies in Boston and many other cities. I had heard about it and participated by wearing a black armband to show my solidarity. On November 15th , the second and huge moratorium took place centered in Washington DC and in many other cities and college campuses across the country. I participated in the moratorium in downtown Chicago at the Civic Center.
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/nov-15-1969-anti-vietnam-war-demonstration-held/
By that time, I had gotten involved with a student organization that met with other college organizers at University of Illinois at Chicago Circle. We participated and help raise awareness of other demonstrations using the main tool we had at our disposal at the time, leaflets. We would pass these out at the school entrances and try to get other people involved. It was moderately successful. The main tool at our disposal was a mimeograph machine. This was before Xerox or computers.
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/What-Are-We-Waiting-For.jpg
This went on more or less successfully until May of 1970. On May 4th , four student protesters were shot dead by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings
The shock of that event was horrifying and galvanizing. I met with members of my student organization and in concert with other coalitions across the country, we planned a student strike. We printed leaflets and took them to our respective schools on the morning of the strike and passed them out . The leaflets called for a mass walkout at a planned time. It worked! The entire school walked out! We marched to Loyola University and joined with other schools along the way. There was a big peaceful rally there. Thousands of people attended.
1. What were your reasons for organizing a protest?
2. I was part of the anti-war movement. Our method for getting our message across was by organizing and participating in peaceful protest.
3. Why did you decide to act in a nonviolent way?
I believe that nonviolent protest was the best way to get the message across without alienating those that need to hear it.
3. Do you feel the protest was effective?
Yes I do. It didn’t end the war, but that was the last time our armed forces used lethal force on our people.
4. How many people participated? Were they all students?
The entire student body walked out. I believe that faculty was not allowed to participate but my memory is not clear. Nationwide, more than 450 high schools and colleges participated. More than 4 million people.
5. How did you get people to join the protest?
Really the only options we had at the time was leaflets and word-of-mouth.
6. What did you experience when it was taking place?
It was a totally exhilarating experience.
7. What did you experience when it was over?
As I remember at the rally, being part of a huge group of likeminded people, we really felt that we had accomplished something, that our voices had been heard. Toward the end of the rally we noticed a halo around the sun. Heavenly encouragement?
As it turned out the movement kind of fractured after the strike. The war didn’t end for another 5 years and many people became apathetic including myself.
I’m still glad to have been part of events at the time. I was part of the lottery to be drafted. Luckily my number didn’t come up or I may have gone to Canada.
Since then, I have protested against the war in Iraq here and in Washington DC. I feel it is my duty to make my voice heard whether in the streets or in the voting booth.
The general climate was one of revolution . Other movements such as women’s rights, gay rights, reproductive rights, environmentalism and many others were taking hold. All these causes were adopted by other coalitions. http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/collections/exhibits/arch/1969/Index.html
At the same time, in music and arts, the revolution was helped along tremendously by many of the biggest stars of the time.
So, in 1969 on October 15th the first nationwide moratorium was held with huge rallies in Boston and many other cities. I had heard about it and participated by wearing a black armband to show my solidarity. On November 15th , the second and huge moratorium took place centered in Washington DC and in many other cities and college campuses across the country. I participated in the moratorium in downtown Chicago at the Civic Center.
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/nov-15-1969-anti-vietnam-war-demonstration-held/
By that time, I had gotten involved with a student organization that met with other college organizers at University of Illinois at Chicago Circle. We participated and help raise awareness of other demonstrations using the main tool we had at our disposal at the time, leaflets. We would pass these out at the school entrances and try to get other people involved. It was moderately successful. The main tool at our disposal was a mimeograph machine. This was before Xerox or computers.
http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/What-Are-We-Waiting-For.jpg
This went on more or less successfully until May of 1970. On May 4th , four student protesters were shot dead by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_State_shootings
The shock of that event was horrifying and galvanizing. I met with members of my student organization and in concert with other coalitions across the country, we planned a student strike. We printed leaflets and took them to our respective schools on the morning of the strike and passed them out . The leaflets called for a mass walkout at a planned time. It worked! The entire school walked out! We marched to Loyola University and joined with other schools along the way. There was a big peaceful rally there. Thousands of people attended.
1. What were your reasons for organizing a protest?
2. I was part of the anti-war movement. Our method for getting our message across was by organizing and participating in peaceful protest.
3. Why did you decide to act in a nonviolent way?
I believe that nonviolent protest was the best way to get the message across without alienating those that need to hear it.
3. Do you feel the protest was effective?
Yes I do. It didn’t end the war, but that was the last time our armed forces used lethal force on our people.
4. How many people participated? Were they all students?
The entire student body walked out. I believe that faculty was not allowed to participate but my memory is not clear. Nationwide, more than 450 high schools and colleges participated. More than 4 million people.
5. How did you get people to join the protest?
Really the only options we had at the time was leaflets and word-of-mouth.
6. What did you experience when it was taking place?
It was a totally exhilarating experience.
7. What did you experience when it was over?
As I remember at the rally, being part of a huge group of likeminded people, we really felt that we had accomplished something, that our voices had been heard. Toward the end of the rally we noticed a halo around the sun. Heavenly encouragement?
As it turned out the movement kind of fractured after the strike. The war didn’t end for another 5 years and many people became apathetic including myself.
I’m still glad to have been part of events at the time. I was part of the lottery to be drafted. Luckily my number didn’t come up or I may have gone to Canada.
Since then, I have protested against the war in Iraq here and in Washington DC. I feel it is my duty to make my voice heard whether in the streets or in the voting booth.