Thursday, May 6, 2010

The May 1970 Tragedy at Jackson State University "Lest We Forget..."

In the Spring of 1970, campus communities across this country were characterized by a chorus of protests and demonstrations. The issues were the escalation of the war in Vietnam and the U.S. invasion of Cambodia; the ecology; racism and repression; and the inclusion of the experiences of women and minorities in the educational system. No institution of higher education was left untouched by confrontations and continuous calls for change.
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Monument erected at Jackson State to murdered students James Earl Green and Phillip Lafayette Gibbs.

Alexander Hall on the Jackson State campus where police fired on unarmed students in front of the dorm and inside the dorm


At Jackson State College in Jackson, Mississippi, there was the added issue of historical racial intimidation and harassment by white motorists traveling Lynch Street, a major thoroughfare that divided the campus and linked west Jackson to downtown.

On May 14-15, 1970, Jackson State students were protesting these issues as well as the May 4, 1970 tragedy at Kent State University in Ohio. Four Kent State students -- Alison Krause, Sandra Scheuer, Jeffrey Glenn Miller and William K. Schroeder -- were killed by Ohio National Guardsmen.

According to reports, the riot began around 9:30 p.m., May 14, when rumors were spread that Fayette, Mississippi mayor Charles Evers (brother of slain Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers) and his wife had been shot and killed. Upon hearing this rumor, a small group of students rioted.

That night, several white motorists had called the Jackson Police Department to complain that a group of blacks threw rocks at them as they passed along the stretch of Lynch Street that bisected the campus. The rock throwing was later attributed by witnesses to a group of non- students.

The rioting students set several fires and overturned a dump truck that had been left on campus overnight at a sewer line construction site. Jackson firefighters dispatched to the blaze met a hostile crowd that harangued them as they worked to contain the fire. Fearing for their safety, the firemen requested police back-up.

The police, who later told the media that they had received reports of gunfire in the area around the college up to an hour-and-a-half before they responded to the call, blocked off Lynch Street and cordoned off a 30 block area around the campus. National Guardsmen, still on alert from rioting the previous night, massed on the west end of Lynch Street. Mounted on Armored Personnel Carriers, the guardsmen had been issued weapons, but no ammunition.

Seventy-five city policemen and Mississippi State Police officers armed with carbines, submachine guns, shotguns, service revolvers and some personal weapons, responded to the call. Their combined armed presence on the Lynch Street side of Stewart Hall, a men's dormitory, staved off the crowd long enough for the firemen to extinguish the blaze and leave.After the firemen left, the police and state troopers marched along Lynch Street toward Alexander Center, a women's residence, weapons at the ready. No one seems to know why.

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Bullet holes from May 14, 1970 can still be seen on the walls of Alexander Hall;.


Falling back before the approaching officers, the students congregated in a thick not in front of the dormitory. At this point, the crowd numbered 75 to 100 people. Several students allegedly shouted "obscene catcalls" while others chanted and tossed bricks at the officers, who had closed to within 100 feet of the group.

The officers deployed into a line facing the students. Someone in the crowd either threw or dropped a bottle which shattered on the asphalt with a loud pop. At the same time, an officer fell, struck by a piece of thrown debris.

Accounts disagree as to what happened next. Some students said the police advanced in a line, warned them, then opened fire. Others said the police abruptly opened fire on the crowd and the dormitory. Other witnesses reported that the students were under the control of a campus security officer when the police opened fire. Police claimed they spotted a powder flare in the Alexander West Hall third floor stairwell window and opened fire in self-defense on the dormitory only. Two local television news reporters present at the shooting agreed that a shot was fired, but were uncertain of the direction. A radio reporter claimed to have seen an arm and a pistol extending from a dormitory window.

Whatever actually occurred, the police opened fire at approximately 12:05 a.m., May 15, and continued firing for more than 30 seconds. The students scattered, some running for the trees in front of the library, but most scrambling for the Alexander Hall west end door.

There was screaming and cries of terror and pain mingled with the noise of sustained gunfire as the
students struggled en masse to get through glass double doors. A few students were trampled.
Others, struck by buckshot pellets or bullets, fell only to be dragged inside or left moaning in the grass.

When the order to cease fire was given and the gunfire ceased, Phillip Lafayette Gibbs, 21, a junior pre-law major and father of an 18-month-old son, lay dead 50 feet east of the west wing door of Alexander Hall. Two Double-0 buckshot pellets had punched into his head while a third pellet entered just beneath his left eye and a fourth just under his left armpit.

Across the street, behind the line of police and highway patrolmen, James Earl Green, 17, was sprawled dead in front of B. F. Roberts Dining Hall. Green, a senior at Jim Hill High School in Jackson, was walking home from work at a local grocery store when he stopped to watch the action. He was standing in front of B. F. Roberts Hall when a single buckshot blast slammed into the right side of his chest. The police later claimed that they had taken fire from the direction of B. F. Roberts Hall.

Twelve other Jackson State students were struck by gunfire, including at least one who was sitting in the dormitory lobby at the time of the shooting. Several students required treatment for hysteria and injuries from shattered glass. Injured and carried to University Hospital for treatment were Fonzie Coleman, Redd Wilson Jr. , Leroy Kenter, Vernon Steve Weakley, Gloria Mayhorn, Patricia Ann Sanders , Willie Woodard, Andrea Reese, Stella Spinks, Climmie Johnson, Tuwaine Davis and Lonzie Thompson.

The five-story dormitory was riddled by gunfire. FBI investigators estimated that more than 460 rounds struck the building, shattering every window facing the street on each floor. Investigators counted at least 160 bullet holes in the outer walls of the stairwell alone -- bullet holes that can still be seen today.

The injured students, many of whom lay bleeding on the ground outside the dormitory, were transported to University Hospital within 20 minutes of the shooting. But the ambulances were not called until after the officers picked up their shell casings, a U. S. Senate probe conducted by Senators Walter Mondale and Birch Bayh later revealed.

The police and state troopers left the campus shortly after the shooting and were replaced by National Guardsmen. After the incident, Jackson authorities denied that city police took part in the fusillade. That the highway patrolmen fired was never at issue.

On June 13, 1970, then President Richard Nixon, established the president's Commission on Campus
Unrest. The commission held its first meeting June 25, 1970. Subsequently, it conducted thirteen days of public hearings in Jackson, Mississippi; Kent State, Ohio; Washington, DC; and Los Angeles,
California. At the Jackson hearings, the administration, faculty, staff and students testified. There were no convictions and no arrests.

In subsequent action, the Jackson City Council voted to close Lynch Street to through traffic. Mayor Russell Davis and Commissioner Tom Kelly voted in favor of permanently closing the thoroughfare while Commissioner Ed Cates cast the only negative vote. It was during this same council meeting that the initials J. R. were added to the existing street signs, denoting J. R. Lynch Street, named for one of Mississippi's leading black statesmen who served during Reconstruction -- Congressman John R. Lynch.

Shortly after the closing of John R. Lynch Street, a plaza was constructed near Alexander Center. The Gibbs-Green Plaza is a favorite gathering spot for students and the site of many outdoor programs and activities. Just north of the plaza and directly in front of Alexander Hall is the Gibbs-Green Monument, a permanent memorial to the slain students and a tangible reminder to all students that the Jackson State Tragedy must never be forgotten.

In March 1996, a national conference was held at Jackson State University. "From Tragedy to Triumph: Perspectives on the Jackson State University Gibbs/Green Experience" examined the impact the May 1970 tragedy had upon the local, state and national communities, both African American and at
large. With major support from the Mississippi Humanities Council, the conference called for papers and involved middle and high school students, survivors of the tragedy and nationally recognized scholars. The conference opened with Tim Spofford, editor of the Albany Times, who spent several years researching the death of the two students who were slain at Jackson State. His interest and his research led to his writing Lynch Street: The May 1970 Slayings at Jackson State College. Conference materials as well as other
artifacts related to the Gibbs/Green tragedy are housed in the H. T. Sampson Library Archives at Jackson State University.

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LYNCH STREET can be ordered from the
Kent State University Press

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newsrel -- ARB calls for new health report, directs staff to explore regulatory flexibility for small businesses on diesel truck rule

ARB calls for new health report, directs staff to explore
regulatory flexibility for small businesses on diesel truck rule

SACRAMENTO: The Air Resources Board directed its staff today to
return to the Board next April with a new provision that would
provide truck fleets more flexibility in cleaning up their diesel
emissions under the state's Truck and Bus Rule that was adopted
in December of last year, in light of the recession's effect on
the industry.

ARB staff demonstrated that the down economy has reduced the
amount of time trucks have operated, thus reducing harmful diesel
emissions that would have occurred during normal economic times.

The Board also directed staff to withdraw and redo the health
report that carried Hien Tran's name since it was learned last
year that he falsely claimed he held a PhD in statistics from UC
Davis. The implementation of the rule will continue to be carried
out during this period.

The Board also neglected to second a motion by Board Members
John Telles, who wanted to repeal the diesel rule after learning
of a Tran's misconduct.

"With today's set of actions, we confidently set out to
revalidate the science supporting our rules and set up a process
to allow for more flexibility for small businesses in the
regulation given the down economy," ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols
said. "We take the employee misconduct very seriously but it
should not affect an extremely important public health measure
that has been extensively reviewed throughout the scientific
community. We have tightened up our procedures to ensure an
incident like this never happens again."

ARB passed the diesel truck and bus rule last December that
requires truck owners to install diesel exhaust filters on their
rigs by Jan. 1, 2011, with nearly all vehicles upgraded by 2014.
The regulation is estimated to prevent 9,400 premature deaths
over its lifetime.

To reduce diesel emissions and improve air quality and public
health, the ARB adopted a Diesel Risk Reduction Plan in 2000 and
has already passed regulations addressing urban buses, garbage
trucks, school bus and truck idling, stationary engines,
transport refrigeration units, cargo handling equipment at ports
and rail yards, off-road vehicles, port trucks and other
sources.

For more information on the Statewide Bus and Truck Regulation,
go here:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2008/truckbus08/truckbus08.htm .


The Air Resources Board is a department of the California
Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and
protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through
effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and
considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air
pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain
health based air quality standards.

AGE Refinery, Explosion and Fire in San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas- A large fire is burning at an AGE Refinery, in San Antonio, Texas reports said.

People on the ground in San Antonio said that an 18-wheeler blew up at the oil refinery.

The explosion could be heard across the city, reports said.

The AGE Refinery truck explosion and fire happened shortly before 11.30am local time on San Antonio’s south east side.

Police in the area were shutting down roads up to 5 miles around the refinery. Buildings including apartments and businesses within 1 mile of the refinery were being evacuated.

A spokesperson for AGE told local TV: “A truck exploded as it was placed on a loading rack.”

There were up to 60 workers on scene at the time of the refinery truck explosion, local meida said.

There was no word on casualties or more information on damage yet. It was not clear if the fire had spread to other parts of the refinery.

VIDEO: KENS5 breaking news update:

Ron Paul - Federal Reserve May Destroy The Dollar

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Peter Schiff: Default Vs. Inflation

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新加坡‧長子李劍橋移交18萬頁史料‧李孝式私人書信落戶東研院

(新加坡)由馬來西亞先賢敦李孝式所遺留,共144個紙盒、多達18萬頁篇章的珍貴私人書信文件,週三(5月5日)由李孝式長子拿督李劍橋代表李氏家族,將有關文件移交給新加坡東南亞研究院,標誌有關敦李生前的事紀,將從此落戶於新加坡。

李劍橋表示,作為敦李的後裔,他有責任保存父親一生歷程與功績的史料,並加以收藏。

王賡武:有重大參考價值

李劍橋感謝新加坡東南亞研究院,以及研究院圖書館管理層願意扛起保存敦李孝式歷史文件的責任。

新加坡東南亞研究院主席王賡武教授表示,這是一批數量可觀、內容豐富且珍貴的歷史文物資料。這些文件如今終於在新加坡東南亞研究院的極力爭取之下,落戶於研究院圖書館。

他說,隨著這些資料公諸於世,相信有助於有興趣研究大馬的獨立歷史之士,以及學者和文史工作者的研究工作,具有重大的參考價值。

出席者包括新加坡東南亞研究所所長凱薩瓦帕尼大使、敦李排行第8的兒子李文隆,以及眾家庭成員等。

李文隆說,收藏於新加坡東南亞研究院的敦李孝式文件,也向世人宣告有關華人社群在建設馬來西亞的過程中,曾付出的偉大貢獻。

他希望從李孝式的史料文件中,能夠讓後人對馬來西亞憲法的由來有進一步的瞭解,並能還原許多已被扭曲的事實真相。

馬華公會創始人之一
李孝式從礦業起家

李孝式從礦業起家,成為當時華社的領袖之一,進而踏入政治,成為馬華公會的創始人之一,促成華巫聯盟,為馬來亞爭取獨立並擔任獨立後的第一任財政部長。

1956年,李孝式任馬來亞代表團成員與東姑阿都拉曼一起前往英國,與英政府談判馬來亞獨立問題,並參與馬來亞獨立的簽字儀式。

不久即出任馬來亞的首任財政部長。

中國‧平息騷亂‧發展需求‧撥48億經援新疆

(中國‧北京)官方媒體報導,中國將投入100億人民幣(約馬幣48億令吉)經濟援助予新疆自治區,以便平息當地一觸即發的騷亂。

最新一期《瞭望》週刊指出,當局將於2011年開始注入百億發展基金,旨在提昇當地的生活水準,以便滿足維吾爾少數族裔日益增加的需求。

這份由官方媒體新華社出版的週刊指出,此舉也成為政府“反對分裂、滲透及恐怖主義”的利害武器。

當局3月在新疆召開高規格會議後作出這項決定。這是自去年7月新疆騷亂事件以來,中央政府承諾要讓新疆自治區取得公平發展的最新舉措。

《瞭望》週刊披露,這筆款項將來自國內富強省分給予貧困地區的發展基金。

泰國‧阿比希:為11月大選鋪路‧9月解散國會

(泰國‧曼谷)泰國首相阿比希週四(5月6日)表示,國會下議院將會在9月解散,為11月的大選鋪路,以結束當前政治危機。

紅衫軍接受和解“路線圖”

發動示威運動要求提前大選的紅衫軍,已經接受了阿比希的和解“路線圖”;“路線圖”建議在11月14日舉行全國大選。

不過,紅衫軍對阿比希仍抱有疑心,他們要在撤離曼谷中心的示威大本營前,獲得有關和解“路線圖”的更多細節。

被要求具明下議院解散日時,阿比希說:“每個人都可以算一算日子。”

詢及會否如他一名盟友所言,在9月15日至30日期間解散下議院時,阿比希回應:“是的。”

執政民主黨國會議員週四在國會開會,商討和解程序及下議院解散日。

一名紅衫軍領袖永.托吉拉坎週四囑咐支持者保持警惕,還指民主黨有毀約紀錄。

永告訴示威者:“但這不代表我們不會加入和解路線圖。這是我們一致同意的解決方案,我們當然會參加。”

他補充:“但我們不相信民主黨和阿比希。”

接近阿比希的民主黨籍國會議員斯理科克,指紅衫軍強烈要求解散日的行為是在找渣,還說安全部隊仍隨時待命,必要時會動武清場。

他週三(5月5日)指出,根據法律指明的45天至60天競選期,解散日應該會落在9月15日至30日期間。

紅衫軍曾稱,政府意欲戀棧至9月,以確保陸軍新領導層在選前受命就緒,以及通過全國預算案。

在某種程度上曾挑起紅衫軍情緒的前首相塔辛,如今也呼吁敵對各方消除分歧。

希臘‧政府貪腐終引爆民怨‧民眾上街泄怒抗不公

(希臘)希臘民眾在短短一週內,三度上街示威抗議,宣泄怒火。從外人的角度看,希臘先前揮霍無度,現正好為此付出代價,但許多希臘人強調,他們是在抗議社會的不公義現象。他們無法接受的是,民眾為政府的貪腐和揮霍行為“埋單”,但造成這一危機的人卻逍遙法外。

希腦財政部一名不願透露身份的公務員表示,希臘人多數人願意幫助國家渡過難關,“但我們首先希 望停止政治貪污行為,若我們看到造成危機的人被繩之於法,我們將樂於作出犧牲和付出”。他表示,政府過去為了討取其重要支持者歡心,設立了許多無所事事的 部門與委員會,多年來又不斷在GDP與債務問題上做手腳,“我們向上級抗議,但沒有人理會”。

育有3名子女的教師帕克西努也說:“我們全都願意減薪,但瀆職的官員卻逍遙法外,叫我們感到愈來愈憤怒。孩子們將要因此而承受苦果”。

中國‧雨天8.6萬訪客跌新低‧世博不保留外國館

(中國‧上海)週三(5月5日)是上海世博會開園第5天,受雨天影響,參觀者人次跌至新低。據上海世博會官網統計,截至當天下午5時30分,全日入園人數僅為8.56萬,這不但是5日來入園的最低人數,也是首次跌破10萬大關;5天來參觀者累計79.67萬。

與此同時,上海世博會官方否認,會永久保留“五個最美”的外國館,但也有官員指,可能會另外闢地保留部份場館。

世博局官方一早就公佈,世博園將永久性保留“一軸四館”5個標誌性建築,即“世博軸”、“中國國家館”、“世博會主題館”、“世博中心和世博會文化中心”等;其餘自建館,將在世博會結束後陸續拆除。

但在前2天,盧森堡館、西班牙館、葡萄牙館等場館主辦的專場媒體會上,各館負責人在介紹該館情況時,陸續透露了同一個“新消息”,即除了“一軸四館”外,世博期間公認最美麗的5個自建館,也會獲永久保留。

或另闢專區展示

對此,廣州《新快報》記者詢問世博局副局長朱詠雷,結果朱詠雷當即回應:他已看到有關選“五美館”的新聞報導了,但並不屬實。“我澄清一下,我們(上海世博局)從來沒有想過這個問題!”

但另外也有世博新聞局相關負責人表示:世博官方雖不會評選“五美館”,但世博之後,確實會有一些場館會留在上海,只不過不是原地留在世博園內,而是另闢專區落戶展示。

另一方面,週三上海氣溫下降,最高氣溫為24度,但陣陣雨水卻令不少參觀者止步,由於入園者不算多,各場館秩序都“轉好”,就連每日都被大批參觀者圍堵的中國館外義工,當天明顯輕鬆不少,沒有遊客搶票情況。

門票銷售已逾3300萬張

此外,最新統計顯示,上海世博會門票銷售已逾3311萬張,其中個人票2396萬張,團體票915萬張。再加上上海市民家庭即將獲贈的世博門票,目前世博會潛在參觀者已超過4000萬人次。

上海世博局新聞發言人表示,雖然世博會會期長達184天,但由於參觀者基數較大,如大量遊客都選擇後期參觀,則可能出現客流過於集中、園區場館擁擠的現象,影響遊客的參觀效果,因此建議持有世博門票的參觀者合理安排觀展時間。

9/11 FEMA Videographer at Ground Zero (200 Pics)