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

[babylonsister]

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/04/23

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2010
9:41 AM

CONTACT: Kent State Truth Tribunal
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Michael Moore to Broadcast Kent State Truth Tribunal for 1970 Campus Shootings of War Protesters
Kent State Tribunal is First American Truth-seeking Initiative to Livecast on the Internet


KENT, Ohio - April 23 - 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, 1979 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 & 4, 2010, marking the 40th anniversary of the events of 1970, and held at Franklin Square Deli Building, at the corner of Water & 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.

[stevedeshazer]

1. A friend of mine was shot there.

This should be interesting.

[AnArmyVeteran]

2. Michael Moore is a NATIONAL TREASURE!

[Renegades of Funk]

3. Ohio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI7-m919ynU

[Festivito]

4. That last paragraph is not true ... enough.

They fired upon a groups of students passing by and upon those in protest killing indiscriminately.

(They did not only kill protesters.)

(The guns were then randomized such that bullet forensics that can identify a source gun, could not identify the shooter.)

I wonder how well those shooters have slept since that date.

[upi402]

5. If they were conservatives...

like babies (that have no conscience).

[Festivito]

6. Indeed, I feel saddest for them if they can sleep.

Upsetting there are so many Conservatives who seem to feel nothing and even conserve nothing. They need to come forward and ask forgiveness and accept punishment.

[gleaner]

7. I remember Kent State ....

I was 23 years old that July, after the murders. Because they were murders. I was an antiwar protester too, and I will never forget what I felt. I knew they would start killing us sooner or later, our putative government headed by one of the worst presidents we have ever had, Richard Nixon, and they did. At Kent State and Jackson State too.

I thank you for this post and this information. I will be waiting to see what they find. Rumor had it that there was a tape of one of the National Guard officers giving the order to shoot, but no one ever produced it and I don't know if it was real, or only a rumor. It amounts to the same thing. People died at the hands of those who were supposed to protect us in time of emergency. Maybe free speech was more of an emergency than Nixon could handle.

K&R