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Speech by Jane Fonda highlights events at Kent State on 50th anniversary of May 4 shootings

Posted at 11:00 AM, Feb 21, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-21 11:00:45-05

KENT, Ohio — Actress and anti-war activist Jane Fonda will speak at an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the May 4, 1970 shootings at Kent State University, the school announced earlier this month.

Fonda will speak at a free event at the school on May 3. She'll reflect on Kent State shootings and discuss her life and activism.

Fonda, who has always been a staunch anti-war activist, received considerable criticism in the 1960s for her visits to Vietnam. During one visit to Vietnam, she was photographed on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun. The photo outraged many Americans. She later said the photo was her one regret about her trips to Vietnam.

Fonda's appearance is just one of a series of events planned by the Kent State's May 4 50th Commemoration Advisory Committee that will take place between May 1 and 4.

May 1 will feature a focus on the Vietnam anti-war movement that took place between 1968 and 1970, featuring two panels and documentary screenings.

On May 2, the focus will shift to the impact of student activism, which will feature panel discussions and a 50th Commemoration concert that will benefit the newly created May 4 Legacy Scholarships.

On May 4. the day of the anniversary, the focus will shift to the 50th Commemoration to honor and remember the lives lost and forever changed by the event.

On May 4, 1970, during a mass protest on Kent State's campus against the bombing of Cambodia by U.S. military forces, 28 National Guard soldiers fired 67 rounds in 13 seconds into a crowd of anti-war protesters, killing four students and injuring nine others.

For more information on the Kent State May 4 50th Commemoration events, click here.

This story was originally published by Camryn Justice on WEWS in Cleveland.