A relative of Allison Krause looks to the sky while
standing in silent vigil on the location in the Taylor Hall
parking lot, on the campus of Kent State University,
where Krause and three others were killed during the
May 4, 1970, shootings by Ohio National Guardsmen.

Kent State University holds its 45th annual commemoration of May 4, 1970, with events from April 30-May 4. The annual commemoration, hosted by the May 4 Task Force, provides an opportunity for the university community to gather and remember those who were lost and injured during the tragedy and also reflect on what May 4 means today.

The May 4 Task Force, a student organization on campus, hosted a series of workshops, panel discussions, musical performances and a documentary screening. There will be a keynote presentation by Dick Gregory, an influential comedian, civil rights activist, and author. Kent State President Beverly Warren also will speak at the commemoration on May 4.

The annual candlelight vigil march took place at 11 p.m. on May 3. The march began at the Victory Bell and continued around campus, concluding at the Prentice Hall parking lot, where lighted markers indicate where the four victims – Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder – were killed. The candle bearers started the vigil that continued throughout the night until the commemoration.

The 45th Commemoration starts at noon on May 4 at the Kent State Commons and will include a keynote presentation by Gregory. Warren, Paul Chappell and Ken Hammond, Ph.D., professor of history at New Mexico State University (and Students for a Democratic Society leader at Kent State from 1967-70) also will speak at the commemoration.

“May 4th is an event which carries with it not only tragedy and pain but also an undeniable legacy of persistence, struggles for justice and student activism,” says Ashley Manning, Kent State junior English major and president of the May 4 Task Force, who got involved after attending the 43rd commemoration during her freshmen year. “This is a legacy which we have worked to keep alive all these years by planning the annual commemorations and which, this year, is reflected in our program theme ‘The Persistence of Memory.’

“What is particularly noteworthy of the Task Force is that it is a student-led organization and that even 45 years later, students still keep that memory alive for past, present and future generations,” Manning adds. “I think this really shows just what an impact these events have had, not only for the Kent community, but also on a national and global scale, and is a testament to the power left behind by the students who were demonstrating and/or killed on May 4, 1970.”

The May 4 Visitors Center will have extended hours on Monday, May 4, from 8 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5 p.m.

For more information about events commemorating May 4, visit the May 4 Task Force Facebook page or contact Manning, president of May 4 Task Force, at amannin7@kent.edu or Idris “Kabir” Syed, faculty advisor of the May 4 Task Force, at isyed@kent.edu.

For more information about Kent State’s May 4 Visitors Center, visit www.kent.edu/may4.