Jerry M. Lewis’ Speech about the Kent State Shootings

Today is the 41^st anniversary of the shootings at Kent State University, when members of the Ohio National Guard fired more than 60 rifle bullets at a group of students demonstrating against the American assault in Cambodia. Four students were killed and nine were injured, some very seriously. Some of the students were not even involved in the demonstration and were merely caught in the crossfire.

Retired Kent State Professor Jerry M. Lewis spoke on campus today to commemorate the shootings, to which he was an eyewitness. Like all good ceremonial (or epideictic) speakers, Lewis did not merely honor the fallen, but also drew important lessons from the tragic events. Indeed, he had two lessons to convey, both worth remembering.

First, he reminded his audience that being a social activist carries risks:

“People get hurt. People die. A student shouldn’t become an activist for marijuana rights, women’s rights, voting rights, unless they are willing to take risks.” 

He continued: 

"Students who enter into activism without being aware of those risks are in danger, and it’s our responsibility as teachers to prepare them for those risks.”

That’s an important point. People sometimes think about demonstrations and protest speeches as games. The powerful people who run societies do not, however, like to be challenged. The authorities can fight back at any time, often with extreme violence, and rarely face any consequences. As a case in point, neither the justice system nor army discipline called anyone to account for the May 4^th shootings.  We see this today, of course, with the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, which are often opposed violently even when the demonstrators themselves are peaceful. We saw this during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, as well, when voting rights organizers sometimes paid with their lives.

 Second, Professor Lewis reinforced the importance of free speech:

“In many ways, the commemoration serves to protect democracy and free speech.” 

He also said: 

“When we gather on the Commons every May 4, and we say what happened in 1970 was wrong and shouldn’t have happened, and we honor the suffering of the students and their families, we are fighting for free speech.” 

 

Free Speech on Campus: It Happened Again, at William and Mary!

Don't Fear the Protests! Free Speech on Campus Applies to Everyone

We’ve heard a lot about free speech from the right wing, who often feel that their right to speak is being oppressed, but, in my experience, established authorities more often suppress left-wing speech. The Kent State shootings were not a test case for peaceful demonstrations, since some of the demonstrators were, indeed violent. Still, the indiscriminate shooting, which was disproportionate to the threat, was obviously intended to end the demonstrations. 

Cait Christenson Not Allowed to Speak about Equity

Ceremonial speeches like the one that Professor Lewis delivered remind us about the past. But they do more. Lewis gave admonitions about values and how those values should affect the future. That is why he said:

“It is essential that Kent State continues to remember May 4 because it honors the four and the nine and comforts the parents and relatives, but more importantly, it provides a medium for protest and study on social problems.”

I particularly identify with Lewis’ speech because I lived in Kent from 1984 to 2005. I became friends with the legendary bearded professor who had led a group of students to safety. I have seen the bullet holes that were never repaired. I can attest that hard feelings from May 4 lingered for a long time. Although the huge university was the town’s major employer, many residents deeply resented the students. Students who had not even been born in 1970 sometimes faced open hostility. 

Conservatives, by their nature, often prefer a stable social order. Social justice demonstrations threaten that order. The demonstrators’ purpose was to call public attention to a military action that many people felt was illegal. It was an attempt to arouse conscience. It was particularly poignant because we still had the military draft in 1970, and young male students could be called up at any time to fight in a cause they might not support. 

The spiritual wounds from the Vietnam War still afflict us today. Also, let us not forget that, only 11 days after May 4, 1970, a group of police overreacted against a similar demonstration at Jackson State University, a historically Black university, killing two students. 

Speech might be free, but it can carry a penalty.