May 4, 2020 is the 50th anniversary of the massacre at Kent State University when the Ohio National Guard opened fire upon peaceful protesters against America's military attacks upon Cambodia. Four students dead, nine wounded, one paralyzed for life.
Miss Allison Krause, 19, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Miss Sandy Lee Scheuer, 20, Youngstown, Ohio; Jeffrey G. Miller, 20, Plainview, N.Y., and William K. Schroeder, 19, Lorain, Ohio.
Miss Allison Krause, 19, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Miss Sandy Lee Scheuer, 20, Youngstown, Ohio; Jeffrey G. Miller, 20, Plainview, N.Y., and William K. Schroeder, 19, Lorain, Ohio.
The invasion of Cambodia and killings at Kent sparked an unprecedented national student strike. Over 400 campuses were shut down and occupied by the students. Millions of people joined street demonstrations demanding an end to the war.
Over 58,000 US soldiers died in Vietnam. Over 300,000 were wounded. Over 2,000,000 Vietnamese, Laotians and Kampucheans died under 15,500,000 tons of bombs and millions of gallons of defoliants that devastated an entire part of the planet.
Ten days later, Mississippi state police opened fired into a dormitory at protesting students at Jackson State University that left two dead and many wounded.
On May 11, 1970, in Augusta, Georgia the burned and tortured body of an incarcerated 16-year old black youth was dumped by his jailers at a local hospital. The resulting protest left six African-American men dead.
No comments:
Post a Comment