Kent State Four Dead in Ohio
Kent State Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf, published by Abrams ComicArts in 2020, is an illustrated graphic novel that recounts the tragic events of the Kent State shootings. This work presents a detailed exploration of the May 4, 1970 incident, where National Guard troops opened fire on unarmed college students protesting the Vietnam War, resulting in the deaths of four students. Through a combination of words and images, Backderf delves into the historical context of the Vietnam War and the societal tensions of the era.
Readers will find a poignant narrative that examines the lives of the four students—Allison Beth Krause, Jeffrey Glenn Miller, Sandra Lee Scheuer, and William Knox Schroeder—alongside the widespread outrage that followed the shootings. The book highlights the significant impact of this event on American campuses, where millions of students participated in protests and walkouts, marking a pivotal moment in the history of dissent in the United States. With 279 pages, this edition offers a comprehensive look at a critical moment in 20th-century history, making it a relevant exploration of the consequences of political conflict and the struggle for civil rights.
Official synopsis Publisher
From Derf Backderf, the bestselling author of My Friend Dahmer, comes the Eisner and ALA/YALSA Alex Award-winning tragic and unforgettable story of the Kent State shootings, told in graphic novel form.
Named a “Best Book of the Year” by New York Times, Forbes, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and NPR!
Derf Backderf takes us back to the age of the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon, Woodstock, and the Cold War and explores, in words and images, a scene of tragedy: the campus of Kent State University, where National Guard Troops attacked unarmed protestors and killed four students (Allison Beth Krause, age 19, Jeffrey Glenn Miller, age 20, Sandra Lee Scheuer, age 20, and William Knox Schroeder, age 19).
On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard gunned down unarmed college students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University. In a deadly barrage of 67 shots, four students were killed and nine shot and wounded. It was the day America turned guns on its own children–a shocking event burned into our national memory.
The fatal shootings triggered immediate and massive outrage on campuses around the country. More than four million students participated in organized walkouts at hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools, the largest student strike in the history of the United States at that time. It was a day that shocked the nation and helped turn the tide of public opinion against America’s war in Vietnam.
A few days prior, 10-year-old Derf Backderf saw those same guardsmen patrolling his nearby hometown, sent in by the governor to crush a trucker strike.
Using the journalism skills he employed on My Friend Dahmer and Trashed, Backderf has conducted extensive interviews and research to explore the lives of these four young people and the events of those four days in May, when the country seemed on the brink of tearing apart.
Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio is a moving and troubling story about the bitter price of dissent–as relevant today as it was in 1970.
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