INTERVIEW WITH ALAN CANFORA
This is a summary of Alan Canfora's interview. I do not have the transcript other than some quotations.
He was a Kent State student, and they were angry about the Cambodian Invasion, so they wanted a peaceful rally. The National Guard gave the order to end the protest, but the students didn’t leave because they thought it was “[their] campus, classes were in session, [they] thought [they] had the right to have a peaceful demonstration.” The guardsmen proceeded to fire tear gas at the students. Around 76 guardsmen came towards the students holding rifles and bayonets. Then, approximately 12 of them knelt and pointed their rifles at the protestors. They retreated back up the hill. Abruptly, about 12 guardsmen from Group G turned around and shot at the students at the same time; they shot for around 13 seconds, firing 67 bullets in all. Alan Canfora was shot through his right wrist, and was likely the first person shot. He took cover behind a tree, where he heard the bullets being shot into the parking lot, the location where all of the victims were killed. During the 13 seconds of fire, Canfora saw his roommate, Thomas Grace, get shot and part of his foot was blown off. Grace thinks that Canfora saved his life because he told him to stay close to the ground as the bullets whizzed above, and Grace was about to get up to hold his foot. Canfora was also friends with Jeff Miller, who was tragically killed (he is well known for being in the picture with Mary Vecchio.) Canfora isn’t positive about who shot him, but he believes that the left-handed guardsman from Group G is the one who fired at him.
There is a famous picture of Canfora waving a black flag during the protest. It was one of two of the only protest flags made, both of which were created by Canfora. They were “symbolic of [his] feeling of sadness and anger about [his] friend’s death in Vietnam.” This protest happened only 10 days after his friend’s death, so his feelings were very fresh and vivid. When the picture was taken, Canfora was 150 feet away from the troops. As he went closer to the guards to yell at them and wave his flag, he was “willing to risk [his] life there that day,” he so believed in the anti-war cause.
Unlike the turbulent and radical 60s, for “1970, the mood was relatively peaceful and calm.” There was less action in protests in America during that year, so people were not expecting this tragedy. Nixon’s decision to invade Cambodia on April 30 is what triggered protests around the country. Kent State students rallied with great strength and commitment, showing no fear. However, that all changed after 13 seconds. After the shootings, the campus was “quiet... [there was] nothing going on, [the] campus was empty.” The summer and fall were a “tense time” at Kent State and approximately 10% of the students transferred or dropped out from the university. There were undercover agents and the FBI on campus. Although student protests did not end, they were more peaceful. From this great tragedy came forth a surge of protests from the angry youth- the National Student Strike. 4 million students went on strike because of the shootings and more than 850 colleges closed.
On May 4, the students’ first amendment right was violated. The Marshall Law was not in effect, although Governor Rhodes declared it on May 5. Canfora, as do many others, think that there was a violation of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly.
There is a famous picture of Canfora waving a black flag during the protest. It was one of two of the only protest flags made, both of which were created by Canfora. They were “symbolic of [his] feeling of sadness and anger about [his] friend’s death in Vietnam.” This protest happened only 10 days after his friend’s death, so his feelings were very fresh and vivid. When the picture was taken, Canfora was 150 feet away from the troops. As he went closer to the guards to yell at them and wave his flag, he was “willing to risk [his] life there that day,” he so believed in the anti-war cause.
Unlike the turbulent and radical 60s, for “1970, the mood was relatively peaceful and calm.” There was less action in protests in America during that year, so people were not expecting this tragedy. Nixon’s decision to invade Cambodia on April 30 is what triggered protests around the country. Kent State students rallied with great strength and commitment, showing no fear. However, that all changed after 13 seconds. After the shootings, the campus was “quiet... [there was] nothing going on, [the] campus was empty.” The summer and fall were a “tense time” at Kent State and approximately 10% of the students transferred or dropped out from the university. There were undercover agents and the FBI on campus. Although student protests did not end, they were more peaceful. From this great tragedy came forth a surge of protests from the angry youth- the National Student Strike. 4 million students went on strike because of the shootings and more than 850 colleges closed.
On May 4, the students’ first amendment right was violated. The Marshall Law was not in effect, although Governor Rhodes declared it on May 5. Canfora, as do many others, think that there was a violation of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly.