Kent State, by Deborah Wiles

 

In early May 1970, four unarmed college students were killed and nine other people wounded at Kent State University in Ohio. The event shocked the nation; it was the first time students were killed in an anti-war gathering. Protesting the war in Vietnam had been going on for years; it escalated at numerous college campuses and public venues in late April 1970, when South Vietnamese forces and U. S. troops invaded Cambodia in an effort to curb planning and recruitment by the North Vietnamese military. In her book Kent State, author Deborah Wiles examines documentary evidence (oral histories, personal interviews with witnesses, newspapers and other written accounts archived in Kent State University special collections and in the Kent Public Library and Historical Society) to compose her novel about the May events at Kent State. In a remarkable narrative, Wiles presents accounts of the happenings from variety of perspectives—from students (protesters, bystanders, the Black United Students), from townspeople, from the National Guardsmen who were called in, from the local police and more. To convey the chaos and concerns as events unfolded over several days, voices from each perspective are written in different fonts—a sort of prose poem enabling readers to grasp the disparate emotions and conflicting opinions. 

 

One might call Kent State a “docu-novel”—a fictional story based on authentic sources, intended to convey the true import of happenings. Encyclopedia Britannica says: “history [is a] discipline that studies the chronological record of events, usually attempting, on the basis of a critical examination of source materials, to explain events.” Using primary sources, author Wiles draws readers into the immediacy of the occasion, forcing an awareness of multiple points of view in the context of our U. S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Those several days on the Kent campus and town seem nothing short of terrifying when long-held beliefs feel suspended. The narrative in Kent State does not draw conclusions about whether calling out the National Guard was warranted by the student protests. The intent of the demonstrations was peaceful protest; the origin of some disruptive activities and a fire on campus was never fully determined. What does our nation’s dedication to “the freedom of speech, or of the press; the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” mean at a particular time and place? What does it mean when innocent people are harmed? Who are the other people affected and in what way? What role does media play? Whose role is it to protect First Amendment rights, or to exert control? These questions remain pointedly relevant in today’s world. Freedom of speech and of expression are cornerstones of a vital democracy. What steps can we take to protect them in challenging times? Ages 12-18. Scholastic Press, 2020.

 

Readers can visit the May 4 Visitors Center online: https://www.kent.edu/may4visitorscenter/online-exhibits . 

To read and think further about documentary novels, visit the author’s website: https://deborahwiles.com .