The Jackson State killings occurred on May 15, 1970, at Jackson State College (now

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...

) in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. On May 14, 1970,

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and state police confronted a group of students outside a campus dormitory. Shortly after midnight, the police opened fire, killing two students and injuring twelve. The event happened 11 days after the

Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings (also known as the Kent State massacre or May 4 massacre"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years before (Ma ...

, in which National Guardsmen killed four students at

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

in Ohio during a protest against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. The Kent State event had first captured national attention.

Timeline

On the evening of Thursday, May 14, a group of around 100 black students had gathered on Lynch Street (named after the black

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

US Representative

John R. Lynch John Roy Lynch (September 10, 1847 – November 2, 1939) was an American writer, attorney, military officer, author, and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who served as Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives ...

), which bisected the campus. African-American youths were reportedly pelting rocks at white motorists driving down this road—frequently the site of confrontations between white and black Jackson residents. Tensions rose higher when a rumor spread around campus that Charles Evers—a local politician, civil rights leader and the brother of slain activist

Medgar Evers Medgar Wiley Evers (; July 2, 1925June 12, 1963) was an American civil rights activist and soldier who was the NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi. Evers, a United States Army veteran who served in World War II, was engaged in efforts ...

—and his wife had been killed, according to ''Lynch Street: The May 1970 Slayings at Jackson State College''. The situation escalated when a non-Jackson State student set a dump truck on fire." The police responded in force. At least 75 police officers from the city of Jackson and the Mississippi Highway Patrol attempted to control the crowd while firemen extinguished the fires.The Report of the President's Commission on Campus Unrest
W. Scranton, Chairman, US Government Printing Office, 1970, pg. 422-424. Retrieved August 15, 2009 from ERIC.ed.gov After firefighters left the scene shortly before midnight, the police moved to disperse the crowd that had gathered in front of Alexander Hall, a women's

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

. Advancing to within 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 m) of the crowd, officers at roughly 12:05 a.m opened fire on the dormitory. The exact cause of the shooting and the moments leading up to it are unclear. Authorities say they saw a

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

on one of the building's upper floors and were being shot at from all directions. Later, two city policemen and one state patrolman reported minor injuries from flying glass. An FBI search for evidence of sniper fire found none. Students later claimed that they had not provoked the officers. The gunfire lasted for 30 seconds, with more than 460 shots being fired by a reported 40 state highway patrolmen, who used shotguns from a distance of 30 to 50 feet. Every window was shattered by gunfire on the narrow side of the building facing Lynch Street. The crowd scattered, and a number of people were trampled, or cut by falling glass. Phillip Lafayette Gibbs, 21, a junior, and James Earl Green, 17, a senior and miler at nearby Jim Hill High School, were killed, and twelve others were wounded. Gibbs was fatally shot near Alexander Hall by buckshot, and Green was killed behind the police line in front of B. F. Roberts Hall, also by shotgun.

Aftermath

President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

established the

President's Commission on Campus Unrest On June 13, 1970, President Richard Nixon established the President's Commission on Campus unrest, which became known as the Scranton Commission after its chairman, former Pennsylvania governor William Scranton. Scranton was asked to study the di ...

to investigate both the Jackson State and Kent State events. Public hearings were held in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and at Kent State. No arrests were made in connection with the deaths at Jackson State, but the Commission concluded "that the 28-second fusillade from police officers was an unreasonable, unjustified overreaction.... A broad barrage of gunfire in response to reported and unconfirmed sniper fire is never warranted." The university has memorialized the occurrence by naming the area of the shootings the Gibbs-Green Plaza, after the two young men killed. The plaza is a large, multi-level brick and concrete patio and mall on the eastern side of the school's campus; it borders J. R. Lynch Street and links Alexander Hall to the University Green. A large stone monument in front of Alexander Hall near the plaza also honors the two victims. Damage is still visible on the façade of Alexander Hall; it was caused by the rounds fired by the police. In December 1970, a

federal grand jury Grand juries in the United States are groups of citizens empowered by United States federal or state law to conduct legal proceedings, chiefly investigating potential criminal conduct and determining whether criminal charges should be brought. ...

was discharged after it had failed to produce an

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...

or written findings in a five-month recess. It had summoned about 40 state patrolmen and 26 city police officers. A long-awaited formal public apology was granted at Jackson State University's 2021 commencement. The apology reflected 51 years of contemplation regarding the event, now historically known as "The Jackson State Killings." Gibbs and Green were awarded posthumous honorary doctorate degrees at the ceremony, which were accepted by family members on their behalf. Commencement speakers represented local and state leaders of Mississippi: Mayor

Chokwe Antar Lumumba Chokwe Antar Lumumba (born March 29, 1983) is an American attorney, activist, and politician serving as the 53rd mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, the 7th consecutive African-American to hold the position. In 2024, Lumumba and other officials in t ...

of Jackson, and State Senator

Hillman Terome Frazier Hillman Terome Frazier (born July 17, 1950) is an American politician who is a Democratic member of the Mississippi Senate; he has represented the 27th District since 1993. A Protestant, he is married to the former Jean Clayton. From 1980 until ...

. The leaders said that the formal apology was to "…publicly atone for the sins of our past and proclaim a new identity of dignity, equity and justice".Emily Wagster Pettus
"‘Sins of Our Past’: Apologies for 1970 Jackson St. Shootings,"
''St. Louis Post-Dispatch,'' May 15, 2021.

References

External links

"Jackson State May 1970."
Text from "The May 1970 Tragedy at Jackson State University 'Lest We Forget...'," Jackson State University, ccaix.jsums.edu, May 10, 2006, with new photos by Mike, www.may41970.com
"40 Years Ago: Police Kill Two Students at Jackson State in Mississippi,"
''

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long TV, radio, and Internet news program based in Manhattan and hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live ...

Timeline

Aftermath

See also

References

Further reading

External links