Kent State seeks photos for Visitors Center gallery

Staff report

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Your photo memories can be a part of the Kent State University May 4 Visitors Center exhibit.

Send your photos that show what people looked like, what they experienced and what they cared about in the 1960s. The deadline to submit photos is July 31.

“Selected photos will be displayed in the May 4 Visitors Center’s gallery, which sets the May 4 story in its time,” said Laura Davis, professor of English and faculty coordinator for May 4 initiatives at Kent State. “We’re looking for home photos taken between 1950 and 1970. We’d like to show people from all walks of life, engaging in their everyday lives in the ’60s.”

On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired at demonstrators, wounding 13 Kent State students, four of them fatally. Some consider May 4 a turning point in the course of the Vietnam War and the Nixon presidency.

The 10-year legal battle that followed May 4 raised important constitutional questions and set precedent in the U.S. Supreme Court. The event also led to reform in military policy.

Opening this fall, the May 4 Visitors Center at Kent State will tell the May 4 story, set against the political and cultural changes of the 1960s. The center will be located in Taylor Hall, adjacent to the May 4 Memorial on the Kent Campus.

For information about submitting your photos, visit www.kent.edu/about/history/may4/virtualtour/photos.