In order to compare the shootings at Kent State and Jackson State you most first understand the motives behind the protesters that led to the unfortunate deaths and injuries of many of them. Although both of these incidences occurred in close proximity date wise, they had very little to do with one another. Kent State’s shooting was in reaction to President Nixon’s announcement to expand the Vietnam War by bombing Cambodia, while Jackson State was on an issue of civil rights. The only clear similarities between them are that both were started on college campuses, excessive police force, date and deaths of students.

When word came out about President Nixon’s plan to broaden the Vietnam War by beginning to bomb Cambodia, many college and universities broke out in protest of his decision. The reason behind the protests was that the youth of America felt betrayed, because President Nixon had earlier promised that he was not planning to escalate the Vietnam War. Among the many protesting campuses was Kent State.

In order to understand why this tragedy occurred at Kent State, you must understand the underlying culture in the town o

Unlike the Kent State massacre, the Jackson State shooting was racially motivated and not a Vietnam protest. The JSU campus was on Lynch Street and since the early 60’s a mini-riot had been held every spring to try and push the civil rights movement in Mississippi. The local students would line up on the street and throw rocks and bottles while yelling racial slurs at the by-passing motorists. On May 13, 1970 a popular black student had been struck by a white motorist, after the incident passing white motorists began shouting racial slurs at the students. They retaliated by throwing rocks and bottles. These events could not have come at a worse time for a nation that was already on edge after last weeks Kent State debacle. In reaction to these events a rally began to assemble on Lynch Street, after Governor Williams ordered the Highway Patrol to help get the crowd under control. The crowd dispersed without event until the following evening when news of Charles Evers (Medgar Evers brother) death was heard, rioting ensued and the ROTC building was burned to the ground. The local police were very well armed and assembled in front of the men’s dorm to aid in controlling the crowd while the firemen put out the blaze. After the firemen were done the policemen for unknown reasons began to march on the women’s dorm where a crowd of 75-100 had gathered. After the police got to about 100 feet away the crowd began shouting obscenities at them and throwing rocks. Allegedly a bottle or a shot was fired from the crowd and the police advanced and began firing at the crowd. The police claimed only to be firing at dormitory where the shot allegedly came from, but of the 460 rounds dispersed there were only 160 bullets in the building. The aftermath left two students dead and fifteen others injured.

Some topics in this essay:
Governor Rhodes, Kent University, Medgar Evers, Earl Green, Lynch Street, Vietnam War, Lafayette Gibbs, Kent Jackson, Cambodia Jackson, Kent Kent, feet crowd, vietnam war, rotc building, crowd police, cleared wrong doing, president nixon’s, local students, town kent, kent university, racial slurs, rocks bottles,