Fifty years later, and the image is still as haunting as the day it happened.
A young girl kneeling on the ground over the body of a slain college student, her arms open in disbelief and her face frozen in horror. May 4, 1970. Four dead in Ohio.
The iconic photo from the shootings by National Guard members at Kent State University became emblematic of a nation divided by the Vietnam War and embroiled in a cultural divide. Student protests against the war raged on college campuses. Unrest in the nation’s poorest communities often ignited in violence. A wide chasm seemed to grow daily between the “haves” and the “have-nots.”
A half-century removed from the unimaginable event — armed soldiers firing on unarmed students — and we likely haven’t come as far as a nation as we’d like to believe. The shootings may have impacted public opinion on the Vietnam War back in 1970 — both for and against — but we seem as divided today as during that chaotic time.
We don’t protest a senseless war today, but other issues divide us deeply — immigration, abortion, assault-style weapons and mass shootings, economic policies, etc. Political affiliations have become so divisive that we have lost the ability to hear the other side, let alone discuss and debate opposing viewpoints.
The Kent State shootings grew out of the political divide of the time, and the reflection today is troublingly familiar.
Still, we find hope in that the 50-year commemoration of the events at Kent State comes at a time of a worldwide pandemic and shutdowns throughout the nation. In the past several weeks, we have learned to depend on one another, to look out for neighbors, to maintain social distancing as a show of respect for life — ours and that of our community. Lawmakers have put aside political ideologies for the moment and focused on the nation’s needs.
As we reflect today on the events of 50 years ago, we can only hope that we will find ways to bridge our differences, to encourage and hear opposing views, to accept peaceful protest as a way to build a better America.
First Published: May 4, 2020, 10:00 a.m.
