In the spring of 1970, college and university students across the country protested against the Vietnam War, racism, gender oppression, and a host of other issues, at times leading to violent and deadly confrontations with police and national guard troops. On May 14th, 1970, students at Jackson State College staged a demonstration condemning racial discrimination in Mississippi and the killing of four students at Kent State University by the Ohio National Guard on May 4th. The demonstration continued into the night. Shortly after midnight on May 15th, police, who claimed they had been shot at, opened fire on students gathered outside Alexander Hall, a campus dormitory. When the shooting stopped, 21-year-old Phillip Gibbs and 17-year-old James Green lay dead. twelve other students were injured.
The 50th anniversary commemoration of the shooting on what is now the campus of Jackson State University will include five major programs. The Student Government Association, Gibbs-Green Commission, and Gibbs-Green Oral History Project developed the programs which will coordinate with Kent State University to link the events on both campuses.
February 27th:
The second event is a reception to open an exhibit that features displays about the lives of the survivors, with pictures, personal papers, and other items that help tell the story about how the experience shaped them in the years following. Vernon Weakley, one of the wounded, and James Lap Baker, Eddie Jan Car, Lee Bernard, Hillman Frazier, Charles Holmes, Gailya Porter, and Quilly Turner, students who were shot at, will speak with the audience about the shooting and how it impacted their lives. The exhibit will remain on display through June 2020.
