May 4
Against the backdrop of a new generation of student activism, the Kent State community gathered to reflect and remember the student protesters killed and wounded on May 4, 1970.
Commemorative landscapes and how they help produce a sense of empathy and place and foster a connection to help us learn from our past was a theme explored Friday, May 3, by Kent State University Professor Chris Post, Ph.D., speaker for the annual Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series and Luncheon.
Tonight, the annual candlelight walk and vigil continues a 53-year tradition as part of this week's May 4 Commemoration.
A refreshed May 4 National Historic Landmark Site Tour will premiere during the 2024 May 4 commemoration this weekend. The outdoor tour signs, which debuted in 2010 during the 40th commemoration, allow Kent State visitors to trace the steps of history of the events of May 4, 1970, through text, video, image, and narration.
Writer and author Will Bunch of the Philadelphia Enquirer, provides historical context and Kent State President Todd Diacon shares the experience of following values to navigate today’s divided culture, using lessons learned from May 4 1970.
Kent State University will hold its 54th annual commemoration honoring the memory of May 4, 1970, a tragic day when the Ohio National Guard fired on Kent State students during an anti-war protest on campus, killing four students, wounding nine others and sparking a turning point in American history.
The School of Peace and Conflict Studies originated at Kent State as a response to May 4. Today it’s central in Kent State’s global presence. We travel to Rwanda, where Kent State convened a global peace education conference and, through the Kigali Summer Institute, immerses students in peace-building centered on reconciliation, in a place that experienced the unimaginable 1994 genocide.
Listen to episode two of May 4: Legacy, which continues with the story of Kent State fraternity brothers drive to the nation’s capital in the hours after the shootings and make their way to an Oval Office meeting with President Richard Nixon. We also move into the 21st century with Associate Dean and retired Lt. Col. Mo McFarland on the May 4 legacy.
What’s past is prologue. Let the history of May 4, 1970, be heard this week.
In her first year as the director of the May 4 Visitor Center, Alison Caplan has enjoyed uniquely wonderful and "magical" experiences in how Kent State's history creates connections and inspiration.