47th Annual Commemoration of the Gibbs –Green Tragedy

Alexandria Galtney
Managing Editor

Jackson State University held its 47^th anniversary commemoration of the Gibbs-Green tragedy that occurred May 15, 1970, with students, faculty and staff reflecting on the past in remembrance of that events that left two people dead and at least a dozen injured.

The Margaret Walker Alexander Research Center at JSU sponsored the event on April 10, on the memorial Gibbs-Green Plaza. The site was named in honor of two individuals killed in an exchange of gunfire that erupted from the Mississippi Highway Patrol after students protested for a change and racial tensions and the actions in the Vietnam War: Phillip Lafayette Gibbs, 21, a junior pre-law major and married father of an 18-month-old son with another child on the way; and James Earl Green, a 17 year old senior at Jim Hill High School, who was killed while walking across the campus observing the events.

One of the many witnesses to this tragedy, James “Lap” Baker, recounted how the protest took place, but most importantly, delivered a message to inform students, faculty and staff that failure to remember this tumultuous tragedy will have severe consequences.

“History has the proneness to repeat itself, and we have to be very careful not to forget,” said Baker.

Baker recounted the aftermath of 460 rounds of bullets that ripped from firearms with Alexander Hall, the girl’s dormitory, taking the most hits.

Baker urged faculty and staff to continue telling the story that rocked the city of Jackson and the nation and highlighted the racial tensions of the time, even though some people related the Jackson shootings to the tragedy that occurred May 4, 1970 at Kent State University in Ohio. There, anti-war fervor left four students dead and nine wounded because of the aggression in Vietnam.

From Baker’s perspective, the shooting in Jackson was about racism rather than the Vietnam War.

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Evelyn J. Leggette, said the community would always remember the tragedy because of the innocent who were killed.

“This is important to us. This is covered in many of our classes. We are dedicated to talking to our students about this tragedy,” said Leggette, emphasizing that the university will make sure to incorporate this historical event into its curriculum.

Other special guests who came out to commemorate the Gibbs-Green tragedy were: Eddie Jean Carr, Miss JSU (1970-1971), Vernon Weakley, JSU Class of 1970, Peggy Hobson Calhoun, JSU Class of 1970, Quilly Turner, JSU Class of 1970, Hillman Frazier, JSU Class of 1971 and Lee Bernard, JSU Class of 1972.