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Our collective community tells the story of May 4, 1970, at ����ɬ����. What happened, who was where and what did they feel? Established in 1990, the  includes more than 200 firsthand accounts that give researchers a more thorough understanding of the events of May 4 and the surrounding days and years. The collection is currently managed by University Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives.

����ɬ���� Assistant Professor of Geography Jennifer Mapes, Ph.D., took inspiration from Sandra Halem, who began collecting oral histories from those who were affected by the events of May 4 while she served on a university committee to plan the 20th commemoration. Mapes’ research elevated the oral history project to a new level, co-producing the  exhibit, a digital memorial based on the locations of people’s stories.

At 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 2, Mapes will present “It Was Time for Me to Go Home”: Finding Shared Humanity in the May 4 Oral History Collection and Community Geography at the fourth annual Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series and Luncheon. Tickets are required for this free event and may be downloaded from the May 4 Commemoration website.

As a community geographer, Mapes creates maps that assist local people and organizations, working to improve understanding among different groups and support healthy, vibrant and just communities. While reading oral histories from May 4, she began to think about how little we hear about those who were in Kent but beyond the boundaries of where the shooting occurred.

She collaborated with fellow geographer and Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies Sara Koopman, Ph.D., to create a map using oral histories to provide a more holistic perspective of May 4.

“One of the biggest challenges to building a map like this was the technology to do it,” said Mapes, who envisioned the project with an online presence to broaden its usability beyond those who can experience it in person at ����ɬ����’s May 4 Visitor Center and the Kent Historical Society and Museum.

The pair received an Ohio Humanities grant that funded a contract with Kent-based web developers Each+Every to build the virtual map. While presenting the concept at a 2019 conference, ����ɬ���� President Todd Diacon pledged to support the initiative and provided additional funding to match the grant.

For the full Mapping May 4 experience, Mapes suggests taking one of the app’s guided walking tours offered on a mobile device. Through location-aware software, the user can stand on the exact site where the narrator references in their oral history and see historic photos from 1970. The exhibit may also be viewed virtually on a web app, allowing the user to click on the various locations and listen to the coordinating oral histories that are approximately two minutes each.

After making the map, Mapes researched the place-based stories she found among the oral histories, identifying common themes. One of these themes was the frequent use of the word “home” in the accounts.

“Kent is home to students, non-students, faculty, non-faculty, businesspeople and an intersection of those, like me, who are faculty and also residents,” Mapes said.

In her lecture during this year’s May 4 Commemoration events, she will discuss this theme, acknowledging that many different perspectives of the oral histories share the same sentiment – their homes were disrupted on May 4, 1970.

“I applaud Mapping May 4,” said Ken Burhanna, dean of University Libraries at ����ɬ����. “Connecting community stories with their geographic locations simultaneously brings May 4, 1970, to life and causes reflection on how things have changed or not changed since then.”

Mapes regularly lends her geographic skills to community organizations as well as university departments. She has coordinated projects for the Trumbull County Historical Society, the Kent Historical Society and Museum, the League of Women Voters and the Portage Park District, to name a few.

“All I want to do is give back to the community,” she said. “If we’re going to do research, have classes and give students projects to complete, why not have them help people in our community?”

In January 2024, Mapes worked with Michael Hawkins, Ph.D., assistant professor, University Libraries data librarian and head of the Map Library, to open the Community Geography Lab. The lab, located at McGilvrey Hall in Room 410, is a collaborative research environment that brings together academics and community members to share mapping resources and encourage town-gown engagement.

Those who would like to share their May 4 story through an oral history can  at ����ɬ���� to schedule a facilitated recording session.

About ����ɬ����’s Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series

Jerry M. Lewis, the series’ namesake, taught at ����ɬ���� from 1966 until 2013, becoming a professor emeritus in 1996. Serving as a faculty marshal in 1970, he witnessed the May 4, 1970, shootings firsthand and has since devoted time to researching, memorializing and lecturing on the events of May 4. In 1971, with the help of students, Lewis established the first Candlelight Walk and Vigil, an annual event that begins at 11 p.m. on May 3 and continues until 12:24 p.m. on May 4, the time of the shootings. Lewis was one of the four co-authors of the application to add the May 4 site to the National Register of Historic Places, which was approved in February 2010. A newly installed exhibit honoring Lewis titled “Teach Peace: The Life and Legacy of Jerry Lewis” is currently on display at the May 4 Visitors Center through June 3. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

The Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series is made possible through a generous donation from former ����ɬ���� Board of Trustees member Michael Solomon, a 1974 ����ɬ���� alumnus.

For tickets to the Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series featuring Mapes, visit www.kent.edu/may4 to download tickets.

For the latest information about the May 4 Commemoration and a complete list of events to honor and remember May 4, 1970, visit www.kent.edu/may4.

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Top Photo Caption:
Jennifer Mapes, Ph.D., assistant professor of geography at ����ɬ����, will serve as the 2025 speaker for the Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series, a part of the university's annual May 4 Commemoration events. (Photo credit: Bob Christy)

Media Contacts:
Jennifer Mapes, jmapes@kent.edu, 330-672-6279
Cynthia Williams, cdwillia@kent.edu, 330-672-0159