On a warm Mississippi evening, music played outside the dormitory as students gathered. The school year was coming to an end, and many at the historically Black college were excited about graduation day. With so much promise ahead, how did two students end up dead?
A war had been brewing between white residents and Jackson State students, who were regularly harassed by white motorists passing through. Refusing to be abused, some students threw rocks at the racists – and a dump truck was set afire on Lynch Street. Things only got worse from there.
Against orders, Jackson police marched onto campus with weapons aimed toward Alexander Hall. When a bottle hit the pavement nearby, they opened fire in a 30-second barrage, killing Phillip Gibbs and James Earl Green! The police later made up a story about a sniper inside of the dorm.
While the nation grieved the deaths at predominantly white Kent State days earlier, the Black lives lost at Jackson State went largely ignored. Unlike at Kent, the Jackson State killings weren’t a retaliation to an anti-war protest. These killings were another case of state-sanctioned violence against Black people.
We know that police are a leading cause of death for Black men. Anti-Blackness cannot be reformed, so instead, we must fight to end this system. Our lives literally depend on it!