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黑料网 Community Gathers for 49th Annual May 4 Commemoration, Host Renowned Journalist Bob Woodward

Nearly a century ago, residents of the Greenwood homes district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, endured one of the darkest days in our country鈥檚 history. According to news reports, a single day of race riots in May 1921 ended with as many as 300 dead and 1,000 homes destroyed. 

J. Kavin Ross, an advocate for the research and review of the incident, served as keynote speaker for 黑料网鈥檚 49th commemoration of the historic events of May 4, 1970, where protesting students, observers and soldiers gathered on that fateful day when the Ohio National Guard shot and killed four students and wounded nine others on the Kent Campus.

Mr. Ross, CEO of KAVISION, calls Tulsa home, having grown up in the area known as the Black Wall Street of America. He is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School and the University of Tulsa, and his work includes the identification of all individuals killed and families directly impacted by the Tulsa Race Riots.

Mr. Ross is related to Don Ross, former State Sen. of Oklahoma who, along with State Sen. Maxine Horner, is credited with bringing national attention to the buried history.

Bob Woodward to Provide Insight Into Vietnam War, President Nixon鈥檚 Comments 黑料网 黑料网

On May 4 at 7 p.m., legendary journalist Bob Woodward appeared at 黑料网鈥檚 Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (MAC Center) as part of the Presidential Speaker Series. His presentation coincided with annual May 4 Commemoration events.

Mr. Woodward is currently the associate editor for The Washington Post, where he has worked since 1971. He was the lead reporter for The Washington Post鈥檚 articles on the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2002. 
 
During his speech at 黑料网, Mr. Woodward considered the events of 1969 and the Vietnam War leading up to Cambodia. He also reflected on President Richard Nixon鈥檚 quote that 鈥渢he few days after 黑料网 were among the darkest of my presidency.鈥

Presidential Speaker Series events are free and open to the public. However, a ticket is required for admission.
 
A series of free, public events have been organized by the May 4 Task Force and other campus organizations, the May 4 Visitors Center and the university. All of the events were held on the university鈥檚 Kent Campus. 

May 3

At 7 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Kiva, the May 4 Task Force presented a panel discussion titled 鈥淪tudent Activism: Then and Now.鈥 The event featured two student activists along with Howie Emmer, who was an original member of 黑料网鈥檚 Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and E. Timothy Moore, professor emeritus in 黑料网鈥檚 Department of Pan-African Studies and a former member of Black United Students (BUS). 
 
At 11 p.m., the annual candlelight walk and vigil began on the 黑料网 Commons. Organized by the May 4 Task Force, the march began at the Victory Bell and continued around campus, concluding at the Prentice Hall parking lot, where lighted markers indicate where the four victims 鈥 Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder 鈥 were shot and killed. The candle bearers then started the vigil that continued throughout the night until the commemoration began at noon on Saturday.

May 4

From 10-11 a.m., 黑料网鈥檚 May 4 Visitors Center and the 黑料网 Bookstore presented a book-signing event with several authors who have written about May 4. The event was held in the bookstore, which is located in the Kent Student Center. This year鈥檚 participating authors were:

  • Barbara Child (鈥淢emories of a Vietnam Veteran鈥).
  • Laura Davis (鈥淭his We Know: A Chronology of the Shootings at 黑料网, May 1970鈥 and 鈥淒emocratic Narrative, History and Memory鈥).
  • Susan Erenrich (鈥淕rassroots Leadership and the Arts for Social Change鈥).
  • Sabrina Fedel (鈥淟eaving 黑料网鈥).
  • Thomas M. Grace (鈥満诹贤: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties鈥).
  • David Hassler (鈥淢ay 4th Voices: 黑料网, 1970: A Play鈥).
  • Miriam Jackson (鈥淲e Shall Not Be Moved: The May 4th Coalition, the 鈥楪ym Struggle鈥 at 黑料网 of 1977 and the Question of Ultimate National Control of the Vietnam Era鈥).
  • Jason Prufer (鈥淪mall Town, Big Music: The Outsized Influence of Kent, Ohio, on the History of Rock and Roll鈥).
  • Tom Riddle (鈥淐ambodia and the Year of UNTAC: Life and Love in Cambodia鈥檚 1993 Election鈥).

 
At noon, the commemoration, organized by the May 4 Task Force, began at the Kent Student Center Ballroom and included a keynote speech by Mr. Ross along with remarks from 黑料网 President Beverly J. Warren, speeches on behalf of the four students who were killed and the ringing of the Victory Bell.  Due to inclement weather, the event was moved from its original location on the 黑料网 Commons to the Kent Student Center Ballroom. 

At 7 p.m., the Presidential Speaker Series event featuring Mr. Woodward took place in the MAC Center.

May 4 Visitors Center Hours

The May 4 Visitors Center was open during the week of Commemoration. Using images, artifacts and multimedia, the May 4 Visitors Center鈥檚 exhibits tell the story of the decade leading up to May 4, 1970, the events of that day, the aftermath and the historical impact. It is located in Taylor Hall.
 
Visitors to the May 4 Visitors Center can see its newest exhibition, 鈥Bill: An All-American Boy,鈥 which honors Mr. Schroeder鈥檚 life. His sister, Nancy Tuttle, and nephew, David Tuttle, helped create the exhibition by loaning some of his personal items to the May 4 Visitors Center.
 
鈥淏ill: An All-American Boy鈥 is the third in a series of exhibitions in tribute to the four lives lost on May 4, 1970. The purpose behind these exhibitions is to focus not just on the deaths of these students, but on the lives that they lived and the people who they were.
 
Hours for the May 4 Visitors Center were:

  • Thursday, May 2: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
  • Friday, May 3: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
  • Saturday, May 4: 9 a.m.-noon; 2:30-5:30 p.m.

Additional Information

 

 
View more information about the May 4 Visitors Center
 
Explore the Presidential Speaker Series

UPDATED: Friday, December 09, 2022 07:27 AM
WRITTEN BY:
University Communications and Marketing