Past Exhibits
Teach Peace: The Life and Legacy of Jerry Lewis
March - October 2025
Jerry Lewis was professor of sociology at Kent State University from 1966 to 1996. He witnessed the May 4 shootings as a faculty marshal and dedicated much of his career to researching, memorializing, and lecturing about the events of May 4, 1970. This exhibit explores Lewis’ career as a teacher, academic, faculty marshal, collector and chronicler who was driven by his dedication to May 4 and passion for its preservation.
The Truth Demands Justice: 50 Years of the May 4 Task Force
March - October 2025
From penning letters to presidents and famous activists to setting up pallet stages and drafting press releases and op-ed pieces, the power and potential of Kent State students is no more evident than in the work of the May 4 Task Force.
Upon forming in 1975, the initial goals of the May 4 Task Force were educating students about the events of May 4, 1970, and acting as a liaison between the student body and the families of the victims., Organizing educational events, designing swag, advocating for memorials and class cancellations, and engaging in the occasional political protest have been among the Task Force accomplishments over the past 50 years.
This exhibition highlights the history of the May 4 Task Force through posters, artifacts, ephemera, and the words of Task Force members themselves as they kept the spirit of May 4 alive.
Then and Now
Fall/Winter 2024
Exhibit by Jeremy Ritch and Alison Caplan
The tragedies of May 4, 1970, when four students lost their lives during a protest against the Vietnam War, serve as a poignant reminder of the consequences of civic engagement and the importance of vehemently advocating for one's beliefs.
Today’s students carry the torch of activism, drawing inspiration from those who fought before them. Current movements on campus reflect a mosaic of issues, from racial equality to divestment campaigns, echoing the past struggles against injustice. There is a palpable energy as students rally together, employing social media platforms to organize and amplify their voices.
The cycle of protest at Kent State is not just a footnote in history; it is an ongoing narrative that challenges students to confront injustice boldly and creatively. Kent State University continues to be a pivotal site for student activism, underscoring the importance of standing up for one’s beliefs in the pursuit of social change.
Exhibitions like this one serve a crucial purpose—they act as a bridge between past and present, reminding students that their voices still matter.
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Vote 18
“Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote:” Student Activism and Presidential Politics
Fall 2024
The events of May 4, 1970 at Kent State became the cornerstone for the ratification of the 26th Amendment, expanding voting rights to 18-20 year olds. In response to the Vietnam war draft, young Americans organized to lower the voting age from 21 to 18; working toward a constitutional amendment.
In 1969, Ohio voters were faced with a state amendment to lower the voting age from 21 to 19, the issue failed by 1.9%. Protesting remained the most effective way for young voices to be heard, four of which were killed on the Kent State campus by the Ohio National Guard, bringing the Vietnam War home on American soil. In response, the proposed 26th Amendment saw rapidly increased support and was ratified on July 1, 1971. Newly enfranchised citizens cast their first votes in the 1972 presidential election between incumbent President Richard Nixon, and George McGovern, the anti-war senator from South Dakota.
This exhibit explored the material culture of the youth fight for suffrage and the 1972 campaign.
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Graphic Content: Comics of May 4
Spring 2024
From comic strips and political cartoons to comic books and graphic novels, the events of May 4, 1970 have been inked by numerous illustrators over the years. The exhibition “Graphic Content: Cartoons of May 4” examined graphic art depictions of May 4 from three generations of acclaimed artists, including Chuck Ayers, Derf Backderf, and Katherine Wirick.
Each artist contributed a unique component to this emotionally stirring exhibition. Ayers' illustrations, which were published in the Daily Kent Stater and the Akron Beacon Journal, are drawn from his personal experiences as a Kent State student in 1970. See Ayers' reflections on May 4 in this Kent Stater article.
Backderf's graphic novel "Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio" was produced through laborious research of Kent State's Special Collections and Archives' extensive May 4 Collection. "No One is Safe,", Wirick's poster-sized storyboards, are a cathartic account inspired by her father who took a ROTC exam next to Bill Schroeder on May 4, 1970, just hours before he was killed.
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Snapshots in Time: The Lives of Four Students
Fall 2023
The exhibition provided snapshots of the lives of Jeff Miller, Sandy Scheuer, Allison Krause, and Bill Schroeder, the four students killed on Kent State’s campus on May 4, 1970. Visitors got to know the students through photographs, artifacts and memories in four rotating exhibitions.
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The Vocal Majority: 1969
Spring 2023
Exhibit by Skylar Wrisley
This exhibit was meant to complement Kent State's story of May 4, 1970 by presenting some of the preceding events in the fall of 1969. While The Vocal Majority highlights the experiences of Kent State students, this story has national significance and massive participation in a series of the largest anti war demonstrations in U.S. history. These experiences are captured in photos, newspaper articles, flyers, posters, and artifacts. The protest in the Fall Antiwar Offensive in 1969 can be used to better understand what prompted the following events in the Spring of 1970.
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Everlasting Ephemera
Fall 2022
Print media, such as posters, pamphlets, and printed t-shirts and buttons, have a long history of being used by the public to respond to major events. Kent State University students and community members are no exception, using print media to respond to the May 4th Shootings in 1970, and following related events including the National Student Strike of 1970, Tent City/Gym Annex Protest of 1977, and Memorial Protest of 1986.
In this exhibition of print media from Kent State University’s Special Collections and Archives’ Kent State Shootings: May 4 Collection, viewers explored a sense of urgency in the print-based work, as students and others affected by these tragic events took matters into their own hands, utilizing print media’s inherent ability to make multiples to share their assertions and emotions with the masses.
Though most of the pieces in this exhibition were intended to be used and consumed for a short period of time, the ephemeral printed works have been archived and preserved for future generations to learn from and be inspired by.