The current protests and civil unrest on college campuses have some comparing the tension to the anti-war protests of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Saturday marks the 54th anniversary of the shootings at Kent State when Ohio National Guard soldiers opened fire on an anti-war protest on May 4, 1970, killing four students and wounding nine others.
President Richard Nixon had promised on the campaign trail to end the war in Vietnam. But on April 30, 1970, Nixon announced that the United States invaded Cambodia and expanded the war. The move set of angry protests by students at campuses nationwide.
Ohio Governor James Rhodes had called up the National Guard at the request of the mayor of Kent to help deal with unrest.
Dr. Roseann “Chic” Canfora joined Ideastream Public Media’s “Sound of Ideas” this week to talk about her experiences as an eyewitness and survivor of the May 4 shootings. Her brother, Alan Canfora, was among the nine injured in the shootings. He passed away in 2020.
Guest
-Roseann “Chic,” Canfora, Ph.D. Chair, May 4 Commemoration Committee
