Michael Moore to Webcast Kent State Truth Tribunal

Saturday, 24 April 2010 16:45

Sandra Scheuer, one of four unarmed students gunned down by Ohio National Guardsmen at Kent State University, 05/04/70. (photo: Scheuer Family)

Michael Moore to Broadcast Kent State Truth Tribunal
for 1970 Campus Shootings of War Protesters

ent, Ohio - On May 1-4, 2010, filmmaker Michael Moore will livecast the hearings of the Kent State Truth Tribunal, streaming in real time the accounts of participants, witnesses and family members of the 1970 Kent State shootings that left four students dead and nine injured. The livecast is the first real-time broadcast of a truth-seeking initiative of this kind and will air on www.MichaelMoore.com from 10am-7pm daily eastern.

The Kent State Truth Tribunal was convened by family members of students killed at Kent State in order to record and honor the stories of those directly affected by the shootings. The Ohio National Guard who opened fire on the protesters has never publicized the findings of its investigation of command responsibility for the shootings. And there has never been a public inquiry to hear, record and preserve the stories of those directly impacted by what happened on May 4th, 1970, at Kent State.

"It is an honor to work with the families of the victims and the participants in the May 4, 1970, protest at Kent State University to bring you their stories, beamed in from the Kent State Truth Tribunal through my website. We have never been told the whole truth about these killings and we deserve to hear that truth," said Mr. Moore.

The Truth Tribunal will generate a comprehensive historical record of the Kent State massacre. Interviews will be recorded by award-winning filmmaker Emily Kunstler and will be simultaneously livecast on the home page of www.MichaelMoore.com. The footage and mementos collected by the participants will then be archived and available for viewing by the public. The archive will be preserved as part of the permanent collection at the renowned Tamiment Library at New York University.

The tribunal will take place on four consecutive days, May 1, 2, 3 and 4, 2010, marking the 40th anniversary of the events of 1970, and held at Franklin Square Deli Building, at the corner of Water and Main Streets, 110 S. Water Street, in downtown Kent, Ohio. Organizers are asking for all original participants and witnesses of the 1970 Kent State shootings to pre-register at www.TruthTribunal.org.

On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed students protesting America's bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War. In a day that changed America, four students were killed and nine were wounded as they protested against the war. The incident triggered national outrage in a country already divided. In response to the Kent State shootings, more than four million students rose up in dissent across 900 campuses, generating the only nationwide student protest in U.S. history. Fearing civil unrest, President Nixon was taken to Camp David for his protection. No one has been held criminally responsible for the deaths and injuries that resulted from the shootings.

For more information, visit: http://www.truthtribunal.org

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+16 # Guest 2010-04-24 21:15

It's about bloody time. Will it always take this long to get the truth out? Will Bush's war crimes finally be condemned in 40 years? Is this what it takes?

I remember Kent State as vividly as just yesterday and it's time the truth be exposed once and for all. Let this generation learn and be inspired by that time.

+8 # Guest 2010-04-24 22:31

This affected me more than my whole tour of Viet Nam as a Combat Infantryman & WIA - Kent State is one of the most disgraceful things that ever happened in America and in my life.
Just like Lt Calley and Capt Medina at Mai Lai it was covered by the Brass IE Colin traitor Powell.
Arrest these paid killer and incarcerate them till they die.

-15 # Guest 2010-04-24 22:55

Mr Moore: I'm sorry ....NO

+4 # Guest 2010-04-27 08:59

Quoting

Mr Moore: I'm sorry ....NO

In this day and age as we are hoodwinked on a daily basis, it is distressing to see that some still believe that ignorance is bliss. Many are living a very unblissful life these days because of their choice for ignorance. You have that right but those of us who wish to KNOW are frightfully shorted on sources for this knowledge that is so important to a democracy.

+12 # Guest 2010-04-25 02:02

I think the National Guard shooters should be part of the memorial documents. What happened to these young men as a result of the incident? How were their lives changed?

+6 # Guest 2010-04-25 08:00

If we knew who these four shooters were, we might not be surprised, plus if we knew, they should also be behind bars.

+4 # Guest 2010-04-25 08:27

How do you know that there were only four shooters? How many bullets were in their bodies? If more than one in each body, there may have been more than four shooters that actually aimed to kill, to murder.

+3 # Guest 2010-04-26 07:23

Don't forget the nine wounded...

+3 # Guest 2010-04-26 21:11

Don't forget the two students shot and killed that same week at Jackson State.

+4 # Guest 2010-04-25 08:02

I think these National Guard shooters should be behind bars...it's from there they can tell their story.

-21 # Guest 2010-04-25 03:48

Michael Moore = RED HERRING ambulance chasing

'Though he would probably still be an improvement on all but 3 or 4 Congress'men' in Washington these days.

-11 # Guest 2010-04-25 05:20

A nice idea. Here's the problem. Most of us can't remember accurately what happened yesterday. If we were videotaped and compared our recollections to that videotape, we find that we would do a combination of the following:

1. remember some things accurately
2. remember some things inaccurately
3. make up things that didn't happen at all
4. completely forget things to did actually happen.

So, this may be a healing exercise for all concerned and that will be a blessing. However, it will be a compilation of generally not very reliable stories so let's not, Mr. Moore, call it a comprehensive historical record, nor will it be the whole truth. It will be a tender blend of fact and fiction and should be considered as such. Don't believe me? Read the psychological research on memory.

+9 # Guest 2010-04-25 14:02

So let's not rely on memory mara evans...let's open the records, do some document research, etc. We pursue historical documentation so that we don't have to guess. Don't you trust our ability to discern the historical truth of anything?

+6 # Guest 2010-04-26 07:30

Unless they were deliberately destroyed, the National Guard should have a paper trail of the issuance first of the weapons, and second of the ammunition.

There is supposed to be a record kept of who gave the order to open fire. Whether it ever was recorded, or if it was not destroyed, should be investigated.

I would be surprised if any records of such heinous behavior survived.

+5 # Guest 2010-04-25 05:53

"FOUR DEAD IN O-H-I-O" Neil Young !!!

+5 # Guest 2010-04-25 06:12

Hopefully, Micahel will make a movie of this. How can we hear all the interviews, etc?

+10 # Guest 2010-04-25 06:13

It's surely time that we took serious and sustained account of this horrific incident and its Southern counterpart at Jackson State. These events didn't "just happen," and the nation needs to know why and how they did occur. There's no healing without truthful history.

+11 # Guest 2010-04-25 06:14

George W. Bush had more 'Uhmeruhkunz' killed as victims of the Halliburton Whore Oil wars brought on by lies, greed, graft, and violations of international law. Too bad USA College students bought into Bush doctrine; and refused to protest, and voice outrage at Bush/Cheney/Rummy as their fathers and mothers did against another impeachable,Cor rupt,out of touch, GOP president..
4 Dead in Ohio
Ohio put Bush in White House twice!
Don Hudson, lest we forget!

+7 # Guest 2010-04-25 06:57

The coup de etat in the U.S. of (greed and power) A.(ddiction) had its roots in the late 40's, caused a warning to go out to us from departing Pres. Ike in '60, was verified at Kent State, etc., and came into full power during the past decade. We need to 1. recognize it (thank you, Michael Moore, for helping us in this), and 2. undo it in a strong but non-violent manner. Yes, it is possible - 'twill be hard to out the greed and power addicts, but we must to UNDO THE COUP!

+4 # Guest 2010-04-26 07:32

Google Smedley Butler. He busted a coup against FDR in the 30s.

+2 # Guest 2010-04-27 09:08

Read Howard Zinn's Peoples History of the United States, he illustrates how these chicken s**t tactics have been used over and over again throughout this Country's "discovery" and "development". Treachery is forever when adopted (bought) by leadership of the self-proclaimed 'ruling class'. When the people hit the wall and rebel, they are 'dealt with' and put in their place. Old instincts do not die.

+4 # Guest 2010-04-25 07:03

Thank you, Michael Moore, for once again waking us up. The coup de etat in the U.S. of (greed and power) A.(ddiction) began in the late 40's, caused Pres. Ike to give us warning as he departed office, was behind the Kent State massacre, and came into full bloody bloom in the last decade. 'Twill be hard, but we must: 1. recognize it, and 2. change it in a strong yet non-violent way. Yes we can UNDO THE COUP!

+4 # Guest 2010-04-25 07:18

Yes, the Kent State massacre needs to go on a To Do Someday list--the day a passion for justice sweeps through this sleepwalking nation.

+5 # Guest 2010-04-25 07:42

Tin soldiers and Michael Mnoore'coming, were finally on our own.

Powerful incidents of nonviolence are often initiated by by the leadership of the opposition.

+4 # Guest 2010-04-25 08:22

Michael Moore in resurrecting the "Lost Generation" - and I don't mean WWI.

Quake, liars, quake.

-6 # Guest 2010-04-25 19:02

I'm responding in quote because I hit the wrong color square. OK U stupid bitch go ahead and re-do history. Obviously you don't understand what we did for you and your generation. And O BTW do use the new birth control devises so you can have ectopic pregnancies and bleed to death and/or almost death (if you had the money o pay for real doctors in hospitals).

Quoting

Michael Moore in resurrecting the "Lost Generation" - and I don't mean WWI.

Quake, liars, quake.

+10 # Guest 2010-04-25 08:48

If you think that Kent state was bad, the U.S. today, at all levels of our govt, national, state, & local, is infinitely worse than it was in 1970. What gets me so angry is that most people, when they have been violated & abused by law enforcement of any kind, simply whine & complain, but do nothing about it, like suing the organization & the individuals involved for all that they got. Like the Hispanic truck driver, a U.S. citizen by birth, who was stopped & interrogated by a police officer without any probable cause at a weighing station here in AZ, who was arrested, put in chains, stuffed unceremoniously into a police car, and taken to jail, even after showing his commercial drivers license & social security card. His wife, afraid & distraught, had to find his birth certificate as well as her own, just to make sure that she didn't get arrested, to get him out of jail. The U.S. has become, for all intents and purposes, a police state.

+3 # Guest 2010-04-27 09:24

"...all intents and purposes..." with the abuses of the Constitution in the name of security i.e. the Patriot Act and other measures taken by the fearful (so much for the 'land of the free, home of the brave), this is a police state. What else can it be called with the percentage of our population that is behind bars (a lucrative private venture I might add).

+6 # Guest 2010-04-25 08:56

I'll never forget Nixon calling the murdered students 'bums".

+8 # Guest 2010-04-25 09:18

We watch these atrocities on TV, everyday in other countries and are outraged at the barbarism of other governments, using dogs against it's citizens, but, we refuse to address it honestly and justly, at home. It's healthy to correct our errors, as they happen, make the appropriate changes and move on. This matter of destroying evidence, protecting wrongdoers, avoiding taking responsibility for our actions does irreparable harm and damage to our people and nation.

+8 # Guest 2010-04-25 09:25

Read James Michner's "Kent State: How and Why it Happened." It's a very old book. In it you will find a very frightening picture - a national guard soldier taking dead aim at the photographer. The picture is literally looking dead center down the barrel of a rifle. There are other photos and Michner does a great job explaining what happened. It was the murder of unarmed students on an American campus by American soldiers. The years have not changed that fact.

+6 # Guest 2010-04-25 12:16

Anyone in this country who thinks something like Kent State cannot happen again, and on a far, far larger scale, does so at his/her own risk. I have no doubt that what happened at Kent State was burned into the memories/consciousness of everyone affected: the family members and friends of those murdered, those who were standing nearby and witnessed the blood and gore, those pulling the trigger and committing murder. Time does not dull that sort of memory.

+3 # Guest 2010-04-25 17:07

I live 10 min from Kent State and plan to attend the events. I am sure that these events, as the events happening today have drastic impacts on both the civilian and military populations. As a combat veteran of both OIF and OEF that neither the era nor the years in between has diminished the horror of war, and the nightmares that never go away. You might think that those OHNG soldiers that fired those fatal shots that day should be brought to some sort of justice as defined by society, but I can tell you that they have most likely lived of a punishment than any court could ever have doled out to them. I will continue to keep all of the survivors of these tragic events in my prayers and I hope you all would do the same.

+4 # Guest 2010-04-25 17:46

We are grateful for the Truth Tribunal. The whole truth needs to be told; I'm afraid even with this, it won't be. Moreover, the chance for actual justice to be achieved is nearly nil. Previous legal actions saw to it that summary execution done by the state will not be punished. From the shooters to Governor Rhodes, they ALL got away with murder. Sure, read Michener. More importantly, read THE KENT STATE COVER-UP/ Joe Kelner. What do we do with this reality? We recognize that our constitutionall y "guaranteed" freedoms can be abrogated, with impunity, by agents of the state, and that could result in our death at their hands-it CAN happen here. We must not let this intimidate or silence us. We must speak out all the more. I am from Kent. My wife is KSU alumna, '74. She was there on campus that day, physically protected by the hero of the day, her geology prof the late Dr. Glen Frank. We'll never forget. We live with the memory every day and it informs who we are as artists and political activists.

+3 # Guest 2010-04-25 19:36

The Dean of Kent State at the time, after the shootings & the deaths, begged the students protesting to leave the campus, implying that, if they didn’t, that more shootings & more deaths could occur. It was the Dean himself who contacted the state governor, to get the national guard in the 1st place to stop the protest. He's as guilty of the murders as the national guard. What gets me so angry is that the parents of the murdered students as well as the parents of the wounded students didn’t quote the riot act to the perps of the crime, the national guard & the state govt, that they didn’t file such a massive lawsuit against the perps, that it would have bankrupted the state. In the same vein, it’s unfortunate that most victims of police abuse, in general, like at anti-govt protests, or when they're Tasered when they're no threat, why the victims of these crimes are unable to sue the police officer(s) who have violated their civil rights.

+3 # Guest 2010-04-25 21:11

Harold, you remind me again of just how like sheep most are. I remember the day the shootings occured and I was a very confused young man. I didn't think such a thing could happen in America, but it did and subsequently I began to study just how violent our nation is at times to our own people. I learned about the murder of labor activists and protestors by authorities, a topic never mentioned in high school, the long history of overlooked lynchings (also not taught in high school).
The American people, for all the guns out there, are really a very meek and maleable people, easily distracted, easily frightened and easily hearded like cows to the slaughter house.
I don't think that a lack of militancy among many public advocacy groups has nearly as much to do with a desire for peaceful persuation as it is an inbred timidity resulting in massive cowardice. My main regret is that I wasn't there, with others, armed so I could fire back. To think I was raised a Quaker!

+2 # Guest 2010-04-26 05:10

After living in Columbus and Cincinnati for a while, I can understand why none of the victims' parents or Kent students sued the state, the Dean and Gov Rhodes. Where were the legal advocates in Ohio at the time? If this happened in Chicago or NYC, there would be hell to pay in the court system. However, the tendency in Ohio is to just blame it on the "bums", or just sweep it under the rug and accept the police state.

+3 # Guest 2010-04-26 15:43

Actually, there was a civil case and the guard was convicted. However another judge through the case out on appeal.

+2 # Lucrecia Guerrero 2010-04-26 06:11

For an interesting alternative take on the shootings, see "The Killing of Strangers," by Jerry Holt (2006, Lucky Press). It's a novel, but it deals in a very plausible way with the agent provocateur theory. Exciting read, too.

-6 # Guest 2010-04-26 15:36

Now hold on a minute. You want the truth? The truth is these guardsmen were tired, sweaty and walking back to their smoldering barracks while Kent students were hurling rocks at them. That doesn't justify murder, but there are two sides to every story. Don't be so quick to judge

+5 # Guest 2010-04-26 17:23

So being tired and sweaty and having rocks thrown at you at the same time is justification for opening fire on a crowd of unarmed people? Can we assume you're one of those teabaggers?

+3 # Guest 2010-04-27 09:22

The truth is that somebody gave these Guardsmen the order to fire.

And what's this bullshit about the barracks smoldering? typical rightwing hysteria, I'm willing to bet.

+3 # Guest 2010-04-27 10:34

The psychology of guardsmen and police, in general was heavily studied during the sixties due to protests, riots, etc. Some wondered exactly what both sides imagined when facing off in the street or on campuses. Were guardsmen seeing kids in a position they could not be; were the kids seeing their parents in the authoritarian faces of the guardsmen? Violence is a great study.

As in every other violent situation, though, EVERYBODY needs to remember who has the biggest weapons. Obviously, the kids at Kent State, never imagined it could happen to them. Bet the guardsmen, many of them, didn't think they were capable of murdering other kids, either.

This can and will happen again.

+2 # Guest 2010-04-27 09:51

I just googled it... yes the students did attempt to set the ROTC barracks on fire on Saturday May 2... but the actual shootings took place two days later, on Monday May 4.

Nice try, but another beautiful wingnut hypothesis is killed by an ugly little fact.

+2 # Guest 2010-04-27 16:51

Chad,
Walking back to their smoldering barracks? Really? The guard was housed on the Kent State campus? In what alternate universe did that happen?

0 # Guest 2010-04-30 11:52

I fondly remember playing with Allison Krause on my front lawn when we were teenagers in Cleveland. She was such a sweetie. I will never forget seeing her on the cover of Newsweek. It was the that I realized it was her that was murdered. I still have three pictures of her that I cherish. Unsuccessfully, I have tried to get them to her Mom, but KSU refused to give me a mailing address.

0 # Guest 2010-05-02 22:01

Chad and Max, FYI, there were three trials, the first a criminal trial which resulted in a directed verdict exonerating the Guardsmen. The second was a wrongful death and injury trial, and the jury did not award the victims and their families damages. The verdict in the civil trial was overthrown because someone tried to intimidate a juror, and the retrial ended with a brokered settlement that paid the victims a grand total of $675,000. I detailed the various reasons why all the Guardsmen (and the people who burned the ROTC building) escaped punishment in my book "Four Dead in Ohio: Was There a Conspiracy at Kent State?"

0 # Marieta 2010-05-06 22:16

As the 40th anniversary of the Kent State shootings arrived, the Kent students and many other who knows about it commemorates and remembers the crime that killed innocent people. For those of us who don't know about this sad time in American Historical past; 40 years back at Kent State University, there was a protest against the Vietnam War. Nixon was in office, and numerous were upset by the way he was running the show. The National Guard was called to Kent State University to keep the crowds of people in order, when they opened fire on the protesters. Numerous people were harmed, but 4 were murdered. What's worse is that two of the students murdered were not even a part of the demonstration, but were merely walking by on their way to class, and none of those shot was over 21 years of age.

0 # Marieta 2010-05-06 22:57

I guess most of us reading this weren't even born when the shooting at Kent State University took place. For those of us who do not know about this sad time in American Background; 40 years back atKent StateUniversity , there was a demonstration in opposition to the Vietnam War. Nixon was in office, and numerous were upset by the way he was running the show. The National Guard was called to Kent State University to keep the crowds in order, when they opened fire on the demonstrators. Numerous individuals were hurt, but 4 were killed. What's a whole lot worse is that two of the students killed weren't even a part of the protest, but were simply walking by on their way to class, and none of those shot was over 21 years of age.

0 # Gary Okupant 2010-10-09 08:13

So NOW Canfora's 'tape' conspiracy BACKFIRED; and there Were other shooters at Kent. But then so was Bill Ayers!
IF Terry Norman was an informant, taking pictures of subversive, socialist activisits; and then THEY the activists tried to attack Terry; as the tape shows. Then all these May 4th Task Force speakers and members; should be charged with aiding and inciting 'murder' of Kent State students!!! Yes, Alan Canfora and the Kent 25; should be charged with MURDER, four counts! Because the tape and FBI reports show, that Bill Ayers and SDS didn't want just a protest; they wanted to jump in and Cause Real results to benefit them. The Krause sister' and other women brought in to Kent that 1970's day, were underaged! and from the FBI report, and individual report filings made by students; it appears, that Alan Canfora, was having sex with one if not both of these underaged girls; THEY kept in their Kent apartment! So go on; show the truth. Alan Canfora was never shot!

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