50 signatures reached
To: Beverly Warren, KSU President
Kent State May 4th Memorial: Bring It Home!
Victory! The creator of this petition declared the campaign a success. You can still sign the petition to show support.
For four decades the captivating sculpture of "Abraham and Isaac" by George Segal, which was donated to KSU in memory of May 4th, has stood in exile at Princeton University after begin foolishly rejected by KSU officials. It is time to reverse that rejection. It is time to end the exile. As the 50th anniversary of this grave American tragedy approaches, it is time to bring this thought-provoking work of art to its proper and intended home on the campus of Kent State University, preferably permanently but alternately on loan for the 2019-2020 academic year.
Why is this important?
I was among the KSU faculty members who protested the rejection of the Segal sculpture in 1978, and since then continue to stand in solidarity with many others in firm opposition to all attempts to deny, distort and/or dilute the tragic and true meaning of what happened at KSU on May 4, 1970, when government troops opened fire upon an anti-war protest, killing four students and wounding nine others. Segal's sculpture captures that meaning like no other memorial. Bringing this exiled sculpture home to KSU, if only for a year on loan, will mark an important step toward overcoming denial, enhancing enlightenment, and promoting peace. For those who fail to learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them.