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At lunchtime on May 4, 1970 at Kent State University, Ohio National Guardsmen fired 67 shots for 13 seconds at unarmed college students, wounding nine and killing four students and protesters in the Kent State massacre.

Ever since that day when my older sister Allison Krause was killed by a National Guardsman bullet as she protested President Richard Nixon’s announced expansion of the Vietnam war into Cambodia, my family has demanded to know what happened to Allison.

On May 5, 1970 my parents Arthur and Doris Krause began their nine-year legal battles for U.S. government and State of Ohio accountability. In the end, instead of answers or truth, my parents received a single-page Kent State Statement of Regret signed by the guardsmen who fired and their commanders, and $15,000 in settlement for Allison’s loss of life at 19. Human and civil rights involved in the Kent State massacre, and issues related to the U.S. government killing unarmed protesting citizens have still never been addressed nor adjudicated.

In 2010 on the 40th anniversary, filmmaker Emily Kunstler and I organized Kent State Truth Tribunals in Kent, Ohio, San Francisco and New York City. Our goal was to gather together to document and record stories from original participants, witnesses and those who were meaningfully involved – those who were there – during the events of the 1970 Kent State massacre. Sharing our truth and telling our stories is a time-honored method for healing pain and wounds spurred by traumatic events.

Doris and Laurel Krause with Manny at the Kent State Truth Tribunal in 2010; photo by Bradford Glazier

By October 2010 when evidence of government complicity at May 1970 Kent State made headlines, we were completing our collection of the more than 70 Testimonials from students, faculty, shop keepers, wounded students, lawyers, family members of those harmed and townspeople – filmed 40 years after the May 4, 1970 Kent State massacre.

The Kent State Truth Tribunal sought answers and recollections of personal experiences from the May 4, 1970 Kent State massacre that the U.S. government, the Ohio National Guard and Kent State University refused to share with the public. Unsatisfied by the official statements and narratives offered by authorities – that the “Guard were in fear for their lives” and that the massacre was an “unfortunate incident” – we wanted to record and present the testimonies of witnesses.

In 2026, the Kent State Truth Archive is honoring and presenting Testimonials of the stories and experiences of participants and witnesses of May 4, 1970 at Kent State. The Kent State Truth Archive is the first time the public may view our treasure trove of truth on multiple Internet platforms to finally learn what happened at Kent State on May 4, 1970 from those who were there.

Stoked to announce we are building the Kent State Truth Archive, one Testimonial at a time, to watch online in the summer of 2026. On Substack, we are posting online, one Testimonial a day until all of the more than 80 Kent State Testimonials are public. You may also watch the Kent State Truth Archive Testimonials at YouTube, Rumble, Patreon and later on at our Kent State Truth Tribunal website.

We are thankful to all Kent State Truth Archive Testimonial participants and crew who volunteered to help assemble this collection of Kent State Testimonials of Truth.

UPDATE:

Over summer 2026 we are publishing and seek your support to fuel our efforts to complete the Kent State Truth Archive. To bootstrap our efforts, please consider becoming a Founding Subscriber at Laurel’s Peace on Substack, send a direct donation via PayPal, or contact us directly for donations.

Thank you for supporting the Kent State Truth Tribunal & Archive

 

-- 
Laurel Krause
at the Allison Center for Peace
707-357-2855

www.TruthTribunal.org
www.MendoCoastCurrent.wordpress.com
https://laurelkrause.substack.com/

What's the matter with peace? Flowers are better than bullets - Allison Krause, May 3, 1970