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Tamir Rice's Mother To Deliver Keynote Address At Kent State Shootings Remembrance

cleveland.com

The mother of the 12-year-old boy shot and killed by Cleveland police is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at a ceremony marking the 46th anniversary of the Kent State University shootings.  Jim Letizia reports.

Samaria Rice, the mother of the late Tamir Rice, will be speaking about racial oppression and police violence. Earlier this week the Rice family reached a multi-million dollar legal settlement with the City of Cleveland over the boy's death. The theme of the May 4th event is “Black Lives Matter: Long Live the Memory of Kent State and Jackson State.”  The Jackson State reference is in remembrance of students slain or wounded at the Mississippi college 10 days after the Kent State shootings of May 4th, 1970. The annual event is held in honor of the students who were shot by Ohio National Guard troops while protesting the Vietnam War on campus. Four students were killed and nine others were wounded. The school's May 4 Visitors Center is also hosting a series of events on state violence with a focus on the aftermath of the Cambodian Genocide during the Khmer Rouge regime.  
 

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.
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