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2002 NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS from alancanfora.com
Ohio National Guard barbarian dies Myron Pryor is dead -- a leader of Kent State death squad in 1970 The AKRON BEACON JOURNAL has reported the August 1, 2002, death of 71-year-old Myron C. "Mike" Pryor, a leader of the death squad of killer National Guardsmen at Kent State University on May 4, 1970. Pryor was photographed firing his pistol left-handed in front of the other rifle-killers of Troop G at Kent State. Too bad the newspaper obituary failed to even mention he was in the Ohio National Guard and only mentioned his 30 years experience in the "US Army". Fortunately, some of us remember and know the pitiful history of this guy, the late Sgt. Myron "Mike" Pryor. Here is a more proper obituary for this despicable, wasted person named Myron J. "Mike" Pryor: Sgt. Myron Pryor was a beady-eyed, bald, 41-year-old Ohio National Guardsman in 1970. He was an experienced military "leader" with previous deadly action against African-Americans in bloodshed during Cleveland's ghetto "riots" in the mid-1960s. Pryor was one of many very experienced, older guardsmen at Kent State which disproves the myth that the Kent State killers were just young, inexperienced triggermen. This hard-core guy was later plagued by severe guilt which contributed to his hard-drinking habit. After 1970, "Uncle Mike" Pryor was in charge of the Ohio National Guard unit's headquarters in Barberton. Sometimes he would frequent bars in my Barberton hometown where he was known to drunkenly approach strangers and proclaim his "innocence" at Kent State. Pryor claimed he never fired his powerful .45 caliber pistol during the 13 seconds of deadly mayhem when 67 shots were fired into our crowd of unarmed students. However, photographs indicate he fired his weapon and ejected spent .45 caliber bullet-shell cartridges there at the scene of the crime. Others claim he fired his weapon and then switched guns with another guardsman to conceal his guilt. Ohio National Guardsman Sgt. Myron Pryor has gone to hell where he joins others responsible for the Kent State massacre, including former Ohio Governor James Rhodes and Ohio National Guard generals Robert Canterbury and Silvester Del Corso. In Kent, Ohio, people remain hopeful that other guardsmen still alive will not also take the truth about Kent State to their graves. To see the late Sgt. Myron Pryor in action firing his pistol out in front of his fellow-killers during the Kent State massacre, check this well-known photograph taken by KSU journalism student John Darnell on May 4, 1970: http://www.library.kent.edu/exhibits/4may95/box113/113exhibit34.html / BBC internet radio: Kent State 2002
The series is called "From This Moment On." Thanks very much to Nigel Wrench and friends at BBC News Centre, London! Check it out. Hear this great BBC radio programme now on the internet by RealAudio at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/thismoment.shtml PS: Here's a message posted recently at my alancanfora.com guestbook from a young British woman, Rachel, age 28: "I am 28 years old and live in the UK. I listened to a BBC radio programme yesterday about the May 4 massacre. I was very moved and shocked. It was something that I had never really heard about before. It will stick in my memory now for ever." Check it out now... / new book features TOM GRACE, wounded at Kent 1970
Reviewed by Fredrik Logevall WASHINGTON POST book review Sunday, June 1, 2003; Page BW09 PATRIOTS The Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides By Christian G. Appy Viking. 574 pp. $34.95 ++++ "Christian G. Appy does not tell us when precisely he hit upon the idea of producing a full-fledged oral history of the Vietnam War, but an inspired moment it was. Five years in the making and based on hundreds of interviews with Americans and Vietnamese, Patriots is a gem of a book, as informative and compulsively readable as it is timely…" ---- new book features Alan & Chic Canfora
Among the many interviews featured are: Alan Canfora and sister Chic Canfora speaking in detail about Kent State's anti-war movement and the 1970 massacre. Here's info from the text of the web site announcing this excellent book: http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/8978.html ------------------------------------------------------- Bud Schultz and Ruth Schultz THE PRICE OF DISSENT Testimonies to Political Repression in America ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Publication Date:November 2001 479 pages, 6 x 9 inches, 45 b/w photographsSubjects:American Studies; Anthropology; Literature; Law; Politics; Public Policy; Ethnic Studies; Sociology; Social Problems; Social ProblemsRights:WorldClothbound:$65.00 0-520-22401-9 £45.00Paperback:$24.95 0-520-22402-7 £17.95Description | Short Excerpt | Table of Contents | About the Author | Related Books CONTENTS Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Targets of Political Repression in Twentieth-Century America -- 1. Part One: Subverting the Organization of Labor Prologue: Attacks on Labor Before the Triumph of Industrial Unions The Unrelenting Campaign Against the Industrial Workers of the World -- Fred Thompson-- African American Sharecroppers: Repression as a Way of Life -- George Stith-- Ideological Assaults: Labor at Mid-Century-- Prewar Red Scare: Holding Militant-- Teamsters at Bay-- Harry DeBoer and Jake Cooper-- Postwar Tests of Loyalty: Attempts to Silence an Auto Workers' Spokesman Stanley Nowak-- Imposing Cold War Orthodoxy: A Teachers Union Under Attack-- Mildred Grossman-- The Purge of the Left: Expelling International Unions from the CIO-- Ernest DeMaio-- A Pittsburgh Story: Two Rank-and-File Labor Leaders and a Labor Priest -- Margaret (Peg) Stasik-- Monsignor Charles Owen Rice-- Joseph (Sonny) Robinson-- Epilogue: Cracking Down on New Voices of Union Militancy-- The Local P-9 Meatpackers Strike, Austin, Minnesota -- Local P-9 Strikers and Supporters: Cecil Cain, Pete Winkels, Jim Guyette, Denny Mealy, Ray Rogers, Carol Kough, and Emily Bass-- 2. Part Two: Suppressing the Black Freedom Struggle Prologue: Cold War Constraints on African Americans' Demands for Freedom-- Eradicating a Powerful, Defiant Voice from the American Consciousness -- Paul Robeson Jr.-- The Black Freedom Movement Under Siege-- Facing Up to Southern Terror -- Walter Bergman-- John Lewis-- Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth-- In the Midst of the Storm -- Anne Braden-- The Crucible of Lowndes County, Alabama, and Emergent Black Power -- Johnny Jackson-- Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael)-- The Assault on the Black Panther Party: The Murder of Fred Hampton -- Ron Satchel-- Akua Njeri (Deborah Johnson)-- Flint Taylor-- Epilogue: Voter Rights Revisited-- Undercutting African American Elected Officials -- Mervyn Dymally-- 3. Part Three: Silencing Opponents of War Prologue: Tainting the Antinuclear Movement-- HUAC and the Irrepressible Women Strike for Peace -- Dagmar Wilson-- The Vietnam Era: The War Against the Peacemakers-- Berkeley's Free Speech Movement: A Prelude-- Jackie Goldberg-- Harassing Antiwar Demonstrators -- Norma Becker-- HUAC, the Police, the FBI, the Courts: Containing an Extraordinary Generation -- Abbie Hoffman-- Retribution for Acts of Conscience -- Daniel Ellsberg-- Samuel Popkin-- The Shootings at Kent State -- Roseann (Chic) Canfora and Alan Canfora -- Epilogue: The Heresy of a Modern-Day Social Gospel-- The FBI and the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador -- Jack Ryan and Peggy Ryan-- Linda Hajek and Jose Rinaldi-Jovet-- 4. Part Four: Preserving the Right to Dissent -- A Notable Reversal: Holding the Chicago Red Squad Accountable -- Chicago Red Squad Targets: Richard (Rick) Gutman, John Hill, Jack Spiegel, Janet Nolan, and Father Donald Headley-- Notes Index ABOUT THE AUTHOR (back to top) Bud Schultz is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Trinity College, and Ruth Schultz is an independent scholar. They are the authors of It Did Happen Here: Recollections of Political Repression in America (California, 1989). ---- Jackson State University -- 2002 events
It was my honor to join the students, faculty and administration in tribute to the Jackson State martyrs -- Phillip Gibbs and James Earl Green. In particular, it was meaningful to spend time with Demetrius Gibbs, the son of Phillip Gibbs, as well as Gloria Green-Macray, the sister of James Earl Green. In addition, the comments of several of the 1970 wounded Jackson State students meant very much to me as I listened and spoke with those who also shed their blood in May of 1970. I'm glad to also finally meet Dr. John Peoples, Jr., the 1970 president at Jackson State, as well as the current fine JSU President, Dr. Ronald Mason. President Mason is determined to promote these solemn observances each year in the future. *** see below for 2002 JSU schedule of events and internet info *** LONG LIVE THE SPIRIT OF KENT AND JACKSON STATE! ***internet Jackson State info: http://www.jsums.edu/~www/gg02.htm http://www.burr.kent.edu/may4/jackson/jackson1.html http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/051400-03.htm ***for 2002 JSU info, see details below*** _____________________________ Gibbs/Green Week April 21-27, 2002 Schedule of Events Sunday, April 21, 2002, 5:00 p.m. Vesper Service Campus Union - General Purpose Room Featuring The Reverend Emmett C. Burns, Alan Canfora, Jackson State University Choir, Greater Mount Calvary Choir Monday, April 22, 2002, 10:00-11:30 “Lest We Forget: Historic Perspectives of the Gibbs/Green Incident” University Park Auditorium Gene Young, Gladys Dinkins Johnson, Ivory Phillips, John Peoples, Jr., Eddie Jean Carr, Melvene Coney, Vernon Steve Weakley. Tuesday, April 23, 2002, 10:00-11:30 “Trying Times: Gibbs/Green and the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi” University Park Auditorium Jerry Ward, Hollis Watkins, Charles Sallis, Constance Slaughter-Harvey, Bennie Thompson. Thursday, April 25, 2002, 7:00 p.m. “The Spirit of Survival: A Showcase of Student Talent” University Park Auditorium Friday, April 26, 2002, 1:30 3:30 pm. Presidential Forum: Unity and Diversity in Mississippi’s Schools Campus Union - General Purpose Room Ronald Mason, Jackson State University Frances Lucas-Tauchar, Millsaps College Robert Khayat, University of Mississippi David Porter, Delta State University Bill Crawford, Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees. Friday, April 26, 2002, 8:00 10:00 p.m. Keynote Address: Herman Boone University Park Auditorium Saturday, April 27, 2002 6:00 p.m. Candlelight March City Hall to Gibbs/Green Plaza at Jackson State / ---- 2002 Kent State commemoration
________________________________________________________ CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER -- Anti-war rally to follow event marking May 4 KSU shootings 05/03/02 Staff and wire reports Kent - The May 4 Task Force will begin a candlelight vigil tonight at Kent State University and tomorrow will mark the anniversary of the shootings that occurred there May 4, 1970. A group opposed to the U.S. war on terrorism is planning a protest tomorrow shortly after the commemoration. May 4 has come to symbolize "repression of dissent," said Kent State student Anders Brooks, an organizer of the anti-war rally. He pointed out that the Kent State shootings occurred during a protest against the Vietnam War, and that he believes criticism of the U.S. military action in Afghanistan has been limited. "We wanted this event to reach as many people as it could," he said. The May 4 Task Force, the student group that for years has organized programs to honor the memory of the four slain students, doesn't like the timing of the rally. "I would say that some of us are upset" that the protest has been scheduled for the same day, said Adria Crannell, a member of the task force. "But as a whole, the group [May 4 Task Force] is OK with them." The task force's vigil will begin at midnight at the Taylor/Prentice parking lot. A memorial service is tomorrow at noon. The Kent State Anti-War Committee rally will follow. © 2002 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission. ______________________________________________________________ AKRON BEACON JOURNAL Posted on Sun, May. 05, 2002 KSU remembers May 4 Questions still unanswered for 500 attending ceremonies honoring the 4 dead, 9 wounded By Katie Byard Beacon Journal staff writer For many, the May 4, 1970, shootings at Kent State University are a fading memory. For 14-year old Aaron Greiner, the tragedy is a school project that came to life yesterday. Aaron traveled to Kent State from Muncie, Ind., with his father yesterday for the annual remembrance of the 1970 shootings. Roughly 500 attended the event. His father, Jim Greiner, had promised his son the trip to Kent if the boy did well on his school project. Aaron's multimedia presentation on the fatal shootings of four students garnered a first place award in a state competition. ``This is a lot better than researching in books -- you get an eye-witness view,'' Aaron said. Indeed, Aaron got to meet with former students who were at Kent on May 4, 1970, when during a protest against the Vietnam War, a line of Ohio National Guardsmen turned and fired a steady barrage from M-1s and pistols for 13 seconds. Four students were killed and nine others were wounded. Killed were Sandra Scheuer, Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller and William Schroeder. Among the former students Aaron talked with yesterday were three of those who were wounded: Dean Kahler, Joe Lewis and Jim Russell. Lewis and Russell, both from Oregon, spoke at the commemoration -- on the Kent State Commons, near the parking lot where the slain students fell. Lewis and Russell stood on a stage, flanked with pictures of the four slain students. In back of them was a big sign that read, ``May 4, 1970 -- Unnecessary, Inexcusable, Unwarranted, Unforgettable.'' The two men talked about being shot and revealed in their speeches that they are still searching for answers. Lewis said he has studied pictures and has noticed that only two of the 13 students who were killed or wounded ``were facing the direction of the National Guard -- everyone else was running or looking elsewhere.'' Russell said, ``Four kids did not have to die -- that's the message of Kent State.'' Aaron, the 14-year-old, reflected on the commemoration speeches and said that questions -- such as why did the Guardsmen open fire -- helped draw him into studying the tragedy. ``There are so many different viewpoints, controversies about what happened that day,'' he said. Tom Grace, another of the the nine former students who were wounded, also was on hand for the commemoration. Grace said that earlier yesterday he attended a memorial service for Mike Brock, a former Kent State student, who came to his aid after he was shot May 4, 1970. Brock, who lived in Alaska, died in November, but his friends and family decided to honor him yesterday. At the commemoration, baby boomers appeared to outnumber current students. This is even though the event is organized by a student group, the May 4 Task Force. Carol Meyer, a resident of West Palm Beach, Fla., said he has been to every commemoration since 1988. He went to some in the 1970s, too. ``I guess there's like a spiritual interaction with our missing brothers and sisters,'' he said, referring to the four slain students. Meyer scanned the groups of people gathered on the Commons' grassy hill yesterday and said the crowd seemed relatively small. He wondered if the surge of patriotism after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 has made it unpopular to ``criticize the government for killing kids.'' Kent State student Cherisse Figueroa, 21, recently moved to the area from Maryland and said she was surprised that more students don't attend the commemoration. She sees the event as a learning experience. ``I want to know more about it, differentiate between the myths and what really happened.'' Figueroa and fellow student Kay Homer, 19, said they both planned on stopping by the anti-war rally that began on campus after the commemoration. Some students and others had earlier said the anti-war event would diminish the solemnity of the commemoration. Others noted that May 4 holds great symbolism for anti-war activists. About 250 people had shown up for the anti-war rally by about 3:30 p.m. Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com ___________________________________________________________ CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER -- Memorial marks May 1970 deaths on Kent campus 05/05/02 John Caniglia Plain Dealer Reporter Kent - Joseph Lewis stood 71 feet from members of the Ohio National Guard in 1970 when he gave them a hand gesture that got their attention. Lewis stood still as his friends ran. "I was hit by a bullet that felt like someone swung a sledgehammer and hit me in the gut," he said. As he lay convulsing, he was shot again, this time in the foot. On May 4, 1970, guardsmen fired 67 shots in 13 seconds at Kent State University. Lewis and eight others were wounded. Four - Allison Krause, William Schroeder, Jeffrey Miller and Sandra Scheurer - died. "They didn't deserve that," Lewis said yesterday. Under a cloudless sky, Lewis and James Russell, another student wounded, returned for the commemoration of the day students died protesting the Vietnam War. "We're living proof that we were targets that day," Russell said. "All of us were targets." They highlighted a ceremony before 600 people that featured a 90-minute performance by singer Richie Havens. He ended it with a classic, a cappella version of Pink Floyd's "The Turning Away," a song that brought the crowd to its feet and many to tears. "We have a chance to turn this crazy world into something special," Havens said. The government "wants the 1950s back. They want it back because we didn't know anything then. It was all covered up." The day also included two brief confrontations, one with police downtown. Police made a few arrests during the evening, mostly for disorderly conduct and underage drinking. Members of the May 4th Task Force began the day by giving a chronology of events leading up to the shootings and the backgrounds of the students killed. Some included poems, others passionate speeches. Elyria resident Thomas Callahan spoke about the guardsman who killed Schroeder. "Even though he was not held accountable in a court of law, someday he'll be held accountable in a higher court." The words brought cheers. Across campus at a different ceremony, a confrontation flared briefly between peace demonstrators and a Kent student wearing camouflage and combat boots and waving the American flag. The shouting came during an anti-war demonstration that followed Havens' concert. "I'm here for America, and you're here for peace," said Jonathan Rettman, a Kent senior. "You're not going to change my mind, and I'm not going to change yours." The anti-war demonstration drew an estimated 300 people, including a Kent student from Palestine who lost six of her cousins to violence. The demonstration was made up mostly of college students, many of whom missed the May 4th ceremony less than a mile away. "It's ancient history, man," said Gordon Vars, a retired professor of education at Kent State. "Young people have difficulty connecting with things they haven't experienced, and that's natural." Some, like emeritus Professor Jerry Lewis, said they wanted to see the two events on separate days. Lewis said the demonstration by the Kent State Anti-War Committee involved two very different themes. About 7:15 p.m., an estimated 150 students and others began marching down Main Street and moved to a small plaza at Water Street. Five minutes later, police wearing riot helmets closed off nearby downtown streets. The demonstrators chanted "1,2,3,4, we don't want your (expletive) war." As many as 45 police officers put on gas masks, but the crowd dispersed about 20 minutes later without any trouble. "Any time people are reminded of something that needs to be done and people come together under a common cause, it's definitely a good thing," said Naomi Worthington, a junior on the anti-war committee. "It was nonconfrontational because there was no need for that." Contact John Caniglia at: jcaniglia@plaind.com, 216-999-4128 © 2002 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission. __________________________________________________________________ DAILY KENT STATER 5/6/02 Task force remembers four students By Leana Donofrio Daily Kent Stater This May 4, the death of four students shot and killed at Kent State was commemorated in an atmosphere of anti-war protests and drunken year-end parties. While some people partied at Townhomes or prepared for a protest against the war in Afghanistan, others tried to remember. They gathered in the Commons to honor the four Kent State students killed by the National Guard during an anti-war protest on May 4, 1970. They remembered the life of Allison Krause, who was killed while standing up against what she believed was an unjust war in Vietnam. They remembered William Schroeder, who was killed while observing the protest on the day he took his ROTC test. They remembered protester Jeffrey Miller, who can be seen in an infamous photo, laying face down in the Prentice Hall parking lot after being shot. And they remembered Sandra Scheuer, who was walking to take a test when she was killed. Members of the May 4 Task Force -- Tom Callahan, Danielle Devore, Adria Crannell and Kelley Gorbett -- spoke in honor of the students who died. Crannell spoke about reading about Miller's death and May 4 in high school. "I was shocked that I could not have cared," she said. She said she now wants to help educate others so they can realize the importance of May 4. She said while standing vigil last May in the spot were Miller died, she wrote a poem about him, saying "I am standing here for you, Jeff." Devore told the crowd about Krause's activism and disgust with the Vietnam war. "Allison, during the protest, began to cry because of disappointment and sorrow over the violence she knew would come from the protest," she said. "Her beliefs and character will be everlasting." Callahan gave an emotional speech about the friend he lost on May 4. "Bill Schroeder would have been a valued member of society and would have contributed in a positive way, much more so than the man who shot and killed him," Callahan said. And Gorbett spoke about Scheuer and the justifications of her death that came after the shooting. "There is nothing anyone can say to convince me four college students deserve to die," Gorbett said. Schroeder, Krause, Miller and Scheuer were shot when National Guard troops fired enough bullets into a crowd of hundreds to hit 13 students, killing four. Joseph Lewis and James Russell were two of the students shot that day. They now live in Oregon and talk to high school students about May 4. They returned to campus this year to speak at the commemoration. They talked about the importance of remembering May 4, the four dead, and the message it left. "Four students didn't have to die," Russell said, "That's our message of Kent State." E-mail: ldonofri@kent.edu Copyright 2002 The Daily Kent Stater / __________________________________________________________________ DAILY KENT STATER 5/6/02 May 4 survivor remembers his unconventional hero By Jessica Coomes Daily Kent Stater Thirteen seconds of shooting in 1970 left Tom Grace with a hole in his foot. In the minutes that followed, fellow student and complete stranger Mike Brock came up to Grace, threw him over his shoulder and carried him into Prentice Hall. Grace said he was on the first ambulance because of Brock's quick action. "Relax, buddy, I'm gonna get you out of here," Brock said, according to Grace. Brock, 50, died in November, and Grace organized a memorial service for him, held in the Newman Center Saturday morning. About 30 people came to remember the man who "typified what a radical would be," Grace said. When Grace returned to school in the fall semester after the shootings, he wanted to find the man who helped him. Grace said he saw Brock at the first anti-war rally of the year, and they met and stayed in communication for years. Brock's friends remember him as a big, tough man with a gentle side. Bemis Black, who was Brock's roommate in college, said he remembers watching Brock pick a butterfly out of cobwebs to set it free. Joe Cullun, another of Brock's friends, said he was a "colorful nonconformist" whose house during college was a "communal place where social norms were not always considered." Brock was convicted of flag desecration while in college, Grace said. He said there was a protest on front campus when the United States invaded Laos in 1971, and someone pulled a flag down from the flag pole. Brock was convicted of the crime, although Grace said he believes he wasn't guilty. Brock never returned to college after his conviction. Black said Brock's exercising his right to free speech showed respect for the flag, not desecration. "To me, Mike Brock honored the flag," Black said. Brock lived in Fairbanks, Alaska, where he managed the Howling Dog Saloon. He was a steel worker after college and also worked on the Alaska pipeline, where he lost part of one leg and one foot in an accident. During the memorial service Grace played a documentary about Fairbanks that Brock was interviewed for. The crowd laughed when the FBI warning came on the screen because Brock was such a radical. Cullun said Brock didn't take off his shirt on May 4 because he had blood on it -- Grace's blood -- and he wanted people to see the atrocities he experienced. "Though he had been spared that day, he had blood on him nevertheless," Cullun said. E-mail: jcoomes@kent.edu __________________________________________________________________ DAILY KENT STATER 5/6/02 Solemn crowd gathers to commemorate By Jason Gallagher Daily Kent Stater A solemn crowd of about 600 gathered on Blanket Hill Saturday to remember the victims of May 4, 1970. The crowd remained quiet throughout the proceedings, save for the occasional round of polite applause. Some people used the event to reflect on their own memories of the shootings. "I remember when it happened. It was tragic, very tragic. It never should have happened," said Virginia Toney, of Norwalk, Ohio. Toney's son, Chris Toney, a former Kent State student, said even though he wasn't alive when the shootings occurred, he still feels for the victims. "My last year here, I really had an emotional experience. It really hit me. We're making it a tradition (to attend every year)," he said. Some people were impressed with the efforts of the May 4 Task Force in organizing the event. "The students do a nice job every year. It's nice to see that they still care," said Joe Whisman, a 1995 graduate and former member of the Task Force. "People from all across the country come here every year. It's like a family reunion. As soon as we forget the injustice, it can be redone." While it has been reported some people were upset an anti-war protest was held on campus the same day, Whisman, who resides in Lakewood, said he didn't see anything wrong with it. "I think it's totally appropriate. May 4 is all about anti-war. As long as it's peaceful, it's a beautiful thing," he said. "It's more important today than it's ever been. People have to stand up and say, 'Here we are'." Others said anti-war protesting could cause an event like May 4 to happen again. "It's bound to occur again, especially with the events in the Middle East," said Jeffrey Negrea, of Pittsburgh, Penn. While most people thought the commemoration went smoothly, some said it still had a few technical problems. "My only complaint is they could use a better sound system," Chris Toney said. "It was hard to hear." E-mail: jmgallag@kent.edu Copyright 2002 The Daily Kent Stater __________________________________________________________________ DAILY KENT STATER 5/6/02 Wounded students speak for the dead By Clare Jellick Daily Kent Stater Joe Lewis and James Russell became friends through tragedy. Both were Kent State students on May 4, 1970 -- two among the nine wounded by National Guard gunfire. The nine, who stay in constant contact with each other, have come to call themselves "the woundees." "We are a fraternity of nine men, where the hazing ritual was being shot," Lewis said. "We've become closer and closer, and we are family." Lewis and Russell, both from Oregon, spoke together at the May 4 commemoration Saturday. "On May 4, 1970, four kids didn't have to die," Russell said. "That's our message of Kent State." Russell was walking to Bowman Hall when he was shot. A shotgun blast tore through his thigh. "One of the guardsmen turned 90 degrees and picked me off as I was running between trees," Russell said. Lewis thought the guardsmen's rifles were loaded with blanks until he felt a bullet hit his midsection. "I flew back, having been shot deliberately," he said. Lewis was lying on the ground when he was shot again in the foot by another guardsman. "We're living proof that we were targets that day," Russell said. For the last 12 years, Russell and Lewis have spoken to high school and college classes in Portland, Ore., about the incident. Lewis said he speaks out about May 4 because any of the four killed would have done the same. "If my picture were next to Sandy's, Allison would come to speak for me," Lewis said of two of the students killed. And even though the shootings happened over 30 years ago, reliving the day is still grueling for both. "Each year the tragedy becomes worse because as my life experiences become greater, they (the dead) stay frozen in time," Lewis said. E-mail: cjellick@kent.edu Copyright 2002 The Daily Kent Stater __________________________________________________________________ DAILY KENT STATER of the Daily Kent Stater. go to home news sports opinion features DKS archives special sections digital u calendar advertise classifieds contact staff kentertainment 5/6/02 Musician parallels the past with today By Andy Netzel Daily Kent Stater About 400 people were lying on Blanket Hill when Richie Havens strummed his first chord. Sprawled out in the warm sun, people sat up and pulled down their shirts, which had hiked up during the cat naps many people had decided to take. Comments like, "Woodstock 2, huh?" and "Finally! This is going to be great!" flew through the audience as the former Woodstock performer got ready to play. LUIS SANCHEZ SATURNO | DAILY KENT STATER Richie Havens performs during the May 4 commemeration. In between songs, Havens paralleled the political climate of the 1950s to today. He said people then, just as today, were too trusting of the government line, and challenged the audience to ask more questions and stand up for what's right. "The 1950s, what a time," Havens said. "It was when the entire planet was dumb. We believed what we were taught." As he progressed through his set of songs, a small crowd of middle-school-aged children playing with a hackey sack grew from three to eight. His impassioned political messages excited the crowd nearly as much as his songs did. Havens took his hands off the strings of the guitar and leaned close to the microphone in between songs to draw attention to the seriousness of his words. "I remember Social Studies class. We actually believed everything they said. They told us we would change the world, and we believed them. They never expected what we gave them," he said, and the crowd burst into a stream of clapping. Havens drew the largest cheers from the crowd of the entire commemoration -- attributed by many in the audience to the fact that he was combining his social messages with rock 'n' roll. Andy Britton, of Kent, said Havens' messages were effective and spoke a truth that isn't often spoken. "I was here in the '60s more than the '50s, but that was just a tough time in life for everyone," he said. "It's the same situation now -- probably a little worse because we have nuclear weapons around." Britton said he took a stand against the Vietnam War and hopes others do the same with causes they believe in. "Got my draft card in 1971, burnt it on May 4, 1972," he said. Chuck Ayers, a Kent State alumnus and cartoonist who has featured the May 4 commemoration in his comic strip, Crankshaft, stood alone listening carefully throughout the performance. He reflected on the afternoon, saying it's up to his generation -- the ones who made it through the 1960s and 1970s -- to stand up for what's right. "Folks that went through the '60s and early '70s, people weren't accepting as much as other people," he said. "Let's show them how it's done." E-mail: anetzel@kent.edu Copyright 2002 The Daily Kent Stater __________________________________________________________________ DAILY KENT STATER 5/6/02 Cartwright reflects and looks forward By Jason Gallagher Daily Kent Stater President Carol Cartwright attended the May 4 commemoration over the weekend, earning the respect of May 4 victims and many people in the crowd. "I'm absolutely amazed about how respectful President Carol Cartwright has been in doing appropriate things to remember her students. I wish she were here in the beginning because we were made out to be criminals," said Jim Russell, one of nine students wounded in the shootings. "For years they just wanted us to go away and forget about it." Joe Whisman, a 1995 graduate of Kent State, agreed. "(Cartwright) comes back as a person who is legitimately concerned, not as the president of the university. I admire that," he said. "It's nice to see her here. (Former President) Michael Schwartz never gave a damn." Whisman said Cartwright might feel obligated to attend the commemoration due to the lack of respect past presidents have shown it. "Nobody has been held accountable," he said. "The university barely acknowledges anything ever happened here." Cartwright said she enjoys attending the commemoration. "My practice has been to attend the vigil very consistently. I really prefer to spend the majority of my time there. I think it's the part of the commemoration most conducive to reflecting," she said. "I found this year was particularly good in that respect because the crowd was very solemn, very respectful." Cartwright said she appreciates the comments from the commemorators, but tries not to look into the past. "I think it's very hard to imagine what it might have been like. It was a very different time," she said. "I may have not had any better insight than the people who were trying to provide leadership at that time. My job is now and looking forward." E-mail: jmgallag@kent.edu Copyright 2002 The Daily Kent Stater __________________________________________________________________
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