Police open fire on a student dormitory at Jackson State College, killing two Black students, days after the Kent State shootings.
At a Glance
- Date
- 15 May 1970
- Location
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Key people
- Phillip Lafayette Gibbs, James Earl Green
- Category
- Civil Unrest & Racial Violence
- Source
- President's Commission on Campus Unrest (1970) · Britannica
What It Meant Then
The killings drew far less national attention than Kent State, underscoring whose deaths were mourned.
What It Means Now
Jackson State is remembered alongside Kent State as a tragedy of 1970.
Cite this page
- MLA
- “The Jackson State Killings.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-jackson-state-killings/.
- APA
- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). The Jackson State Killings. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-jackson-state-killings/
- Chicago
- Black-History.com Editors. “The Jackson State Killings.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/the-jackson-state-killings/.
Editorial Note
By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.