May 4, 2000, 30th Commemoration Page

I cannot imagine having spent a more emotional week in my life than the one I just spent here in Kent, Ohio. The poem you see below was one of the highlights for me on the Commons on May 4. A number of you who were also present e-mailed Kendra and I and requested the words to Barry's poem for Allison. I have also included a transcript of Mumia Abu-Jamal's taped speech. Eventually, I hope to transcribe the entire 30th Commemoration on the Commons and, of course put it up here. Kendra and I will also post most of the photos we took throughout the week, including those from the Task Force panel on May 3, Kent State :A Requiem on May 4 and some from the concert on May 5 and some from the SDS reunion on May 6.

Who Killed Allison? Why? What had she done?

Written by Barry Levine and read by Barry Levine in honor of Allison Krause during the 30th Commemoration ceremonies. "Who Killed Allison" was inspired by the works of Robert Zimmerman, one of Allison's favorite poets.

Who Killed Allison? Why? What had she done? Not us says the Kent Townsfolk. Those rotten students thought this was some kind of joke Marchin and yellin, and singing those songs, Why wasn't she in class where she belonged? Her parents shoulda learned her better. Those stinkin kids-don't appreciate what they've got If it had been up to us, they would have all been shot. You can say what you want, and say what you must Just don't point your fingers at us We're not the ones who made her fall No, you can't blame us at all.	Allison Krause by Barry Levine
Barry Levine reciting poem for Allison on May 4, 2000 at Kent State.	Who Killed Allison? Why? What had she done? Not us says the University That girl was here to get a degree To Inquire, To Learn, To reflect, and debate. It wasn't her place to demonstrate - against the State If she had something to say, She should have said it clear In a paper, or in the classroom, where free speech is dear. And no one can hear, and no one can hear. Sure she was an honor student, but she should have known better Than to stand up and speak out in public, where did that get her? There is a time and a place for freedom of speech She should have known that because that's what we teach Here at Kent State University. But please, don't' point your finger at us We are not the ones that made her fall, No, you can't blame us at all.
Who Killed Allison? Why? What had she done? Not me says the Mayor of Kent If only those kids knew what it had meant To burn down ROTC- they left me no choice They were all chanting "End the war" in one loud voice I had to call the Guard- it was hard, it was hard, But I tell you, we needed Law and Order And anyway, she wasn't my daughter It's a a shame she had to die that day But when you throw rocks, well, that's just the American way. I feel bad, I do, but I didn't pull that trigger It wasn't me that made her fall No, you can't blame me at all.	Memorial Plaque to May 4, 1970 shooting victims
	Who Killed Allison? Why? What had she done? Not me says Tricky Dick I listened to my advisors, take your pick Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean Agnew, and Colson, they all knew the scene Those college kids were bums-they needed a lesson So I put out the word around this great land To stop those damn hoodlums any way that you can And Rhodes, he heard me, thank g-d for that He knew exactly what to do with that group of brats But you can't pin it on me, don't' you see? It wasn't' me that made her fall No, you can't blame me at all.
Who Killed Allison? Why? What had she done? Not me says Governor Rhodes The man who made this whole thing explode Yes, I'm the son of a bitch who pounded the table and ranted and raved until everyone was able to hear me call those students Brown Shirts, the worst element that we harbor in America today But that was my job, to incite the Guard, and I did it OK If those kids wanted a riot to create, They picked the wrong town, they picked the wrong state. There will be no riots in the State of Ohio, not on my watch, not on this date Look, the Guard got my meaning , the Guard got my drift They did what they had to- they laid 'em out stiff. Its a shame it had to be that way, but who's to know and who's to say It might have been different had it not been election day. So what are you going to do? Sue me? I'm not the one that made the call And I'm not the one that made her fall So Fuck You, you can't blame me at all.	Bullet Hole in Sculpture overlooking Parking Lot where Allison was shot
	Who Killed Allison? Why? What had she done? Not us says the National Guard Who chased those kids across the yard, And through the fields so thick with gas With our bayonets fixed, it became certain, there was no doubt We would teach those little bastards what Law and Order was all about Yes, we're the ones that climbed the hill and turned in our tracks And aimed our rifles dead center in her back But if we didn't act, she would have overrun us for sure, There were snipers, she had rocks, and those curses that we endured. We had no choice, we had to act- it was her life or ours Yes we shot her in cold blood, it's true, it's true, But that is what we were told to do Don't say "murder," don't' say "kill" We were only following orders, it was God's will.

Taped Speech by Mumia Abu-Jamal presented at the 30th
May 4, 1970 Commemoration at Kent State.

"When I was asked to write some words about the Kent State massacre of May
4, 1970 in Ohio, my mind's eye filled like a bucket under a dripping sink.
Each word a drop not of water, but of blood. Each drop a shimmering round
crimson mirror which plops into a reddened basin and overflows. Each drop
is a bright place name that communicates a world in a word. My Lai. Kent
State. Hiroshima. Philadelphia. Tulsa. Jackson State. Rosewood. Haymarket
Square. Waco. Wounded Knee. Sand Creek. Fort Pillow. Attica. Of course for
any student of history this list could go on and on and on, for massacres
are integral to the American enterprise. What these blood stained markers
of history, and somewhat fairly recent twentieth century history I might
add, teach us is the ubiquity of state violence, as well as the impunity of
state actors who commit what could be called, if it happened anywhere else,
crimes against humanity. How much time in prison did the trained killers of
Kent State do? How about the trained killers of the students at Jackson
State? I think they received the same sentence as the bombers of the MOVE
house in Philadelphia, the exact same one as the highly trained killers at
Waco, and ultimately the same as the killers of Amadou Diallo, and the
vicious killers of Attica. No time, no sentence, for the system saw this as
no crime. Kent State teaches that a so-called free society will slaughter
students who are exercising their alleged constitutional right of
demonstrating for peace and give awards to the killers, and do so with
impunity. The passions that drove over a quarter of a million people into
the streets against the Vietnam War have cooled in 30 years. Bot for many,
for the poor, for radical dissidents, for prisoners and increasingly for
Black youth that war has come home. Kent State was indeed a vile and bloody
marker, but as Amadou Diallo show us, the blood spilled by the state
continues to run. It also teaches us the very real limits of the law. When
it is the state itself that commits criminal acts, all these absolutely
awesome examples scream to us from the charnel house of history. And none
of these vicious, premeditated mass murderers spent a single hour in a jail
cell. What does this tell you of the nature of things? In truth, weren't
those four kids at Kent State in fact liquidated because they were
exercising their alleged constitutional rights? What does this reveal
about the true nature of the state? Of America? Of the Constitution? My
Lai. Kent State. Hiroshima. Philadelphia. Tulsa. Jackson State. Rosewood.
Haymarket Square. Waco. Wounded Knee. Sand Creek. Fort Pillow. Attica.
Place names of mass murder. Blood drops falling into a vast red stained
bucket, a bucket called America.

Ona Move!
Long Live John Africa!

from death row this is Mumia Abu-Jamal

	An article written by Mac Lajowsky, former Kent Student and May 4 Task Force member for the American Humanist. Includes another type of May 4 chronology and a report on the Task Force's program on May 4, 2000.
	Some of Mike's photos from the commons and other programs from the 30th annual May 4, 1970 Commemoration.
	Ralph Solonitz was on campus on May 4, 2000 as well as May 4, 1970. Photos from 1970, artwork from 2000 and and his story from this years commemoration: "Meet me at the Victory Bell".
	The history of Kent State:A Requiem, the premiere stage production on the events of May, 1970. Performed this year by the Youngstown Playhouse for the 30th annual Commemoration. Photos included.
	Speeches from May 4, 2000. As soon as I transcribe, I will post. So far I have done the Introduction by Wendy Semon, Barry Levine, Julliette Beck, Ramona Africa , Julia Butterfly Hill, Vernon Bellecourt and Noam Chomsky.
	WHO OWNS MAY 4? 30 YEARS OF REMEMBRANCE EDITORIAL BY MIKE