Forgotten Tragedy

May 15, 2005 7:35 AM

1970 shootings at Jackson State were successfully covered up at the time. They remain a footnote to the Kent State shootings to this day. Memorials are rare. And news coverage is limited to a brief almanac item.
posted by warbaby (14 comments total)

Each window facing the police in the five story dormitory was shattered. At least 460 rounds were fired on the building, while investigators counted over 160 bullet holes on the outside of the stairwell alone.

Ambulances were not called for the injured students for twenty minutes while officers picked up their shell casings. Police also attempted to remove the shattered glass...

"At Kent State there are photographs from the beginning of the incident on," comments current Jackson State University archivist Juanita Murray. "There are no photographs of that night at Jackson State. There are no photographs of the bodies lying on the ground... there was enough time to cover up what happened before the next newscast."

from the second link above
posted by warbaby at 7:40 AM on May 15, 2005

http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/29755
posted by mischief at 8:19 AM on May 15, 2005

*blushes*
I missed it. Dunno how. The link on that 2003 FPP has gone 404. Still, this is embarassing....
posted by warbaby at 8:42 AM on May 15, 2005

I missed it. Dunno how. The link on that 2003 FPP has gone 404. Still, this is embarassing....

Very slightly embarrassing, as the earlier post was two YEARS ago. Pay no attention to the carpers on this "issue"; consider instead what these posts were about. Two posts about the Jackson State police riot is worth more than one on doggie dildos, ain't it?
posted by davy at 9:03 AM on May 15, 2005

There's no way my dog could afford a dildo. He doesn't even have a job.
posted by Balisong at 9:10 AM on May 15, 2005

Can we please not hijack this thread with garbage? Hmkay?

Thirty-five years ago, we had a White House almost as scary as the one now. Rights were routinely abrogated by law enforcement--and things are not much different now, only the spin is better. That the Jackson State killings are ignored in Trent Lott and Haley Barbour's state is not surprising, but the memory of those times still lingers for many of us who marched against racism and against the war (where again, blacks and the poor in disproportionate number fought to keep secure the rights of the ruling class).
posted by beelzbubba at 9:31 AM on May 15, 2005

Dead black college student protesters are even less photogenic than dead white college student protesters.

But thanks for mentioning it again, warbaby. Some things are worth repeating, and this is one.

(And I try: whenever I mention Kent State, I mention Jackson State too.)
posted by orthogonality at 9:41 AM on May 15, 2005

Thanks for this, warbaby.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:59 AM on May 15, 2005

I had heard about this before, but agree that it needs to be more widely publicized. Count me in with those who think this post was worth repeating Besides, the links are new to metafilter (and working), even if the subject is not.
posted by TedW at 10:05 AM on May 15, 2005

Yes. Thanks, warbaby. I didn't know about Jackson State. Now I do -- and yes, I missed the last time.

Can we please not hijack this thread with garbage? Hmkay?

Yes. Agreed.

However, as Advocatus Diaboli, I must state that "There's no way my dog could afford a dildo. He doesn't even have a job." made me laugh out loud.
posted by eriko at 10:08 AM on May 15, 2005

I've been trying to remember the song about Jackson State, but I can't remember either the group or the title. I remember hearing it played on FM underground stations in 1970 - 71, but the details elude me.

Jeez, that sure types me: remembering FM underground stations.... These were commercial AM rock broadcasters who had bought FM licenses, but there weren't enough listeners to get advertising. So the stations ran commercial free and free-form so they could keep the frequency. In Seattle, one was KOL-FM. John Chambliss (author of On The Take) was a DJ.

*startles and wakes up in the 21st Century*
posted by warbaby at 10:31 AM on May 15, 2005

(We were never really able to get this widely understood, but we did decide long ago that only doubles within one year were deserving of a true call-out. Pointing to prior discussion is always encouraged. You've got no reason to feel bad, warbaby, and I doubt mischief intended that.)

I've been trying to remember the song about Jackson State, but I can't remember either the group or the title. I remember hearing it played on FM underground stations in 1970 - 71, but the details elude me.

Was it Student Demonstration Time, by Mike Love and those radicals, the Beach Boys? Presumably before Nancy Reagan's imprimatur.
posted by dhartung at 9:47 PM on May 15, 2005

Had never heard of this. Thanks warbaby.
posted by spock at 10:03 PM on May 15, 2005

Thirty-five years ago, we had a White House almost as scary as the one now.

That's exactly why it's important to remember Kent State and Jackson State. Thanks, warbaby.
posted by tizzie at 1:50 PM on May 17, 2005