On May 1-4, 2025, 91㽶Ƶ University will hold its annual commemoration to honor the memory of May 4, 1970 – a tragic day when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on 91㽶Ƶ students during an anti-war protest on campus, killing four students and wounding nine others. May 4, 1970, marked a pivotal moment in American history.
While reflecting on the past, 91㽶Ƶ also looks forward, recognizing the enduring impact of May 4 on the university today and its future.
“The Power of Our Voices” continues to serve as the theme for the May 4 Commemoration.
This year’s May 4 Commemoration events include:
PEACE MURAL UNVEILING AND RECEPTION
11 a.m. on May 1
Center for Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement, Room 103
The unveiling of an original peace mural created by BZTAT and Friends for the School of Peace and Conflict Studies at 91㽶Ƶ will take place in the Center for Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement. The event includes remarks, the artists revealing the mural via livestream and light refreshments. Afterward, guests can go across the street to the offices of the School of Peace and Conflict Studies in McGilvrey Hall to view the mural in person and enjoy dessert. BZTAT and Friends is an artist collective led by Canton artist Vicki Boatright and features students from a Stark County Educational Service Center course taught by Jay Liedel. Learn more about the peace mural.
JERRY M. LEWIS MAY 4 LECTURE SERIES AND LUNCHEON
11:30 a.m. on May 2
Kent Student Center Ballroom
This year’s lecture and luncheon will feature Jennifer Mapes, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Geography, who will present “It Was Time for Me to Go Home”: Finding Shared Humanity in the May 4 Oral History Collection and Community Geography. This ticketed event is free and open to the public. The lecture will be .
THE POLITICS OF PROTEST: WHAT THE HARDHAT RIOT TELLS US ABOUT AMERICA THEN AND NOW
3 p.m. on May 2
Kent Student Center Kiva
Author David Paul Kuhn will discuss his book “The Hardhat Riot: Nixon, New York City and the Dawn of the White Working-Class Revolution.” Kuhn will be joined by historians Thomas Grace, Ph.D., Mary Ann Heiss, Ph.D., and , for a moderated panel discussion that explores the significance of the 1970 Hardhat Riot and its lasting impact. This panel will examine the intersection of protest, politics and class conflict – then and now – drawing connections between past and present divisions in American society. This ticketed event is free and open to the public. This discussion will be .
OPERATION BABYLIFT: A 50-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE AND PERSONAL HISTORY
1 p.m. on May 3
Kent Student Center Kiva
The event explores the lasting impact of the Vietnam War through the perspectives of adoptee Mahli Xuan Mechenbier, J.D., and retired Maj. Gen. Ed Mechenbier, a Vietnam prisoner of war, connecting the war’s humanitarian and historical consequences to 91㽶Ƶ’s legacy. This ticketed event is free and open to the public. This event will be .
ANNUAL CANDLELIGHT WALK AND VIGIL
11 p.m. on May 3
91㽶Ƶ Commons
This cornerstone of the commemoration began in 1971. Light refreshments will be available before the Candlelight Walk on the 91㽶Ƶ Commons and in the Prentice Hall parking lot.
MAY 4 COMMEMORATION
Noon on May 4
91㽶Ƶ Commons
The campus community and visitors will gather on the May 4 site to commemorate the moment that gunfire erupted 55 years ago. The annual commemoration will include remarks from university students and administrators, the ringing of the Victory Bell and a moment of silence at 12:24 p.m.
The commemoration remembers those killed – Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder – and those wounded – Alan Canfora, John Cleary, Thomas Grace, Dean Kahler, Joseph Lewis, Donald Mackenzie, James Russell, Robert Stamps and Douglas Wrentmore – on May 4, 1970.
The May 4 Commemoration will be .
MORE INFORMATION:
For the latest information about the commemoration and events planned to honor and remember May 4, 1970, visit www.kent.edu/may4.