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Civic engagement, social justice and peaceful change will be the topics discussed at the ������ Civics Academy Launch Event titled “Civic Engagement for Peaceful Change: May 4, Social Justice and Nonviolent Action” presented by the May 4 Education Committee.

This all-day conference, presented by the May 4 Education Committee for K-12 educators, students and Kent State faculty and staff, will help participants demonstrate knowledge about the critical history of student activism and organizing at Kent State, emphasizing the significance of May 4.

On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students. On May 3-4, 2024, ������ will hold its annual commemoration honoring the memory of May 4, 1970. The theme is “The Power of Our Voices.”

The Civic Academy is being sponsored by the Office of the President and the Office of Undergraduate Student Enrollment. Special thanks go to the School of Peace and Conflict Studies and the May 4 Visitor’s Center.

Included in the program are sessions for students on the history of May 4 and its significance to contemporary debates on freedom and civil rights, a tour of the May 4 Visitor Center and a workshop in which students and educators come together to develop a community plan of action for their schools. Educators will hear from experts on pedagogies and classroom strategies for civic engagement.

"There will be some sessions that are explicitly about May 4th and its continued relevancy today, all for that high school-level audience, but also about civic engagement more generally," said Sarah Schmidt, Ph.D., director of the Washington Program in National Issues and assistant professor in the Department of Political Science. "We will discuss why May 4th is something to be aware of and how that is still relevant for high school students and for young people today as they engage in more contemporary social movements."

Neil Cooper, Ph.D., professor and director of Kent State’s School of Peace and Conflict Studies, and Chic Canfora, professional in residence, with the School of Media and Journalism, will deliver welcome remarks. Canfora is an eyewitness and survivor of the shootings at ������ on May 4, 1970.

One of the unique aspects of the Civics Academy is the makeup of the audience members: high school students and K-12 educators. Another unique aspect of this event is that the high school student sessions will be led by current Kent State students in a near-peer design. The students will be hearing from other young adults.

United Students Against Sweatshops and Black United Students will lead all participants in narratives of student activism during the lunch keynote.

“There are just generational differences with the movements and the issue areas that we focus on,” Schmidt said. “There is power in young people hearing from other young people as they walk through these movements and strategies themselves.”

to attend the ������ Civics Academy Launch Event.

For the latest information about the May 4 Commemoration and a complete list of events to honor and remember May 4, 1970, visit www.kent.edu/may4.