Bloody Story Behind Plaza Unknown to Many at Jackson State

Photo credit: Blue & White Flash After students learn the history of Gibbs-Green Plaza, they see it as more than a gathering place.

Students at Jackson State University walk on history every day. Gibbs-Green Plaza, in front of the freshman dormitory, Alexander Residence Hall, is a popular spot.

"When they sit, talk, eat and mingle, they fail to realize why they are there, what happened and how it's important to their endeavors and successes during their terms for secondary education here at JSU," said Tanisha Conner, a sophomore biology/pre-med major from Clarksdale, Miss.

"The tragedies that happened are real. I think that the students should show more respect and acknowledge the events that happened," said Jeremy Woods, a Mound Bayou, Miss., freshman graphic design major.

The plaza is named for Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green, who were killed on May 15, 1970, when 75 city and state police officers opened fire on student protesters in front of Alexander Hall. The incident took place within days of the more famous killings at Kent State University in Ohio.

Gibbs, 21, of Ripley, Miss., was a pre-law major at Jackson State College, as the school was then known. Green, 17, was a senior at Jackson's Jim Hill High School who was taking a shortcut home from his after-school job when the shooting occurred, according to accounts of the incident.

The tragedy came about amid nationwide protests of the Vietnam War and continuing racial friction.

Jackson State students protested the harassment and intimidation of African American protesters by white motorists. Those motorists then complained to Jackson police that the students had been throwing rocks and committing other unlawful acts. After the reports, armed police, firemen and the National Guard fought to put out a fire created by the rioting students. The crowd of students grew bigger. After a warning, officers fired rounds of gunshots into the crowd of students and in the dormitory.

The five-story building was hit with more than 400 rounds, some of which are still visible today. Wounded and injured students were taken to University Hospital about 20 minutes after the shootings ended.

Gibbs and Green died.

After federal authorities investigated the incident by federal authorities, J.R. Lynch Street, which at the time bisected the campus, was closed to through traffic. The plaza was erected shortly thereafter.

Some Jackson State students learn this history through first-year seminars such as the University Success Education class.

Others know of it as part of the curriculum for those interested in joining various student organizations. Some learn campus history by taking trips to the library, visiting Ayer Hall and surfing the university Web site.

"Tiger P.R.I.D.E. is what introduced me to its history," said Jerry Zigler, 2004-05 president of the organization. Tiger P.R.I.D.E. Connection is an organization in the Office of Undergraduate Recruitment.

"It's a part of our training as members of the organization to learn about our campus's history," Zigler said. "I think that unless it's a part of a teacher's curriculum, there are still students who don't know about what happened. It's not stressed enough in class, and it's not being taken as serious as it should. You can't appreciate something until you know the history behind it."

Carter agreed: "I really don't know the history. I have been taught bits and pieces. The depth of what happened is so extreme and I am eager to learn everything."

After students learn some historical facts about the plaza, they see it as more than a gathering place.

"I live here in these dorms! It happened right here and it's unbelievable. I don't think that most students have any idea of its significance, the historical nature of the 1970 tragedy is important to all of us whether we are residential students or commuters," said Tramel Russ, a freshman computer science major from Amite County, Miss.

"The Plaza is our spot, we chill there all day and night, and to even imagine where we are and what happened those years ago brings emotional despair and feelings of heroism to those who lost their lives," commented freshman Jeremy Jones, a mass communications major from Carthage, Miss.

"You have to have more initiative, you have to at least want to know," Mary Phillips, a sophomore elementary education major from Itta Bena, Miss., said. "Students don't understand that no one is going to make them learn anything or volunteer them information all the time. They have to get up and explore their environment and seek relevant issues."

Nekelah S. Howard is a student at Jackson State University who writes for The Blue & White Flash.

Posted Feb. 14, 2005