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Show Assasination Causes Calm Reaction By WALTER GRANT College Press Service , Black students on some college ' campuses reacted to the assassination assassin-ation of Dr. Martin Luther King with violence, but most black students stu-dents remained peaceful and held memorial services and sympathy marches. The administrations of most black colleges cancelled classes after Dr. King's death. Classes also were cancelled at many predominantly white colleges and universities while were started in th Cass Technical High School Building. Half of the students at the school are black. Peace Vigil About 60 students at Mississippi State University held a peace vigil around the statue of Confederate General Stephen D. Lee, who was the first president of MSU. One student stu-dent leader termed the crowd of 60 "not only surprising but remarkable." remark-able." Many black students said the initial ini-tial reaction to the assassination was only the beginning. "There is a great deal of unrest and frustration frustra-tion on black campuses, and a lot more is bound to happen," said Roscoe Ellis, the Black Power leader at Florida A&M University. memorial services were being held in campus chapels. Movement Grows Most black students who were interviewed in-terviewed by CPS said Dr. King's assassination already has contributed contrib-uted to the growth of the black militant movement. Students who remained peaceful say they did so in respect for King's non-violent principles, but most made it clear they think non-violence died with Dr. King. In Tallahassee, Fla., a 19-year-old white youth was killed when students from Florida A&M University Univer-sity fire-bombed a white-owned grocery gro-cery store near the campus. A small band of snipers armed with small caliber guns and one bow and arrow took pot shots at police from the A&M campus, and two trailers near the campus were burned. Several persons, including some students, were injured. During a memorial service for Dr. King on the Florida A&M campus, cam-pus, President George W. Gore Jr. building. Students left the building only after the Administration met a list of six demands, including a promise to re-examine the "racist curriculum." About 3,000 students at the University Uni-versity of California at Los Angeles An-geles listened to a tape-recorded speech by Dr. King. Black student leader Artie Ivie said, "If Martin Luther King can be shot down, it shows the goals and techniques that black people will have to use." "He Had A Dream" At San Francisco State College, a huge sign was placed in front of the school cafeteria. The sign read, "He had a dream." Red drops symbolizing sym-bolizing blood were painted around the word dream. All campuses of the City University Univer-sity of New York were closed. About 5,000 high school and college students stu-dents gathered in Central Park to mourn Dr. King's death. One speaker, speak-er, Jarvis Tyner, national secretary secre-tary of the W.E.B. DuBois Clubs, said, "Give me freedom or give me death, because that's what it will take to change America." About 300 police watched the demonstration. demonstra-tion. Black students at Wayne State University in Detroit gathered in the Student Center under a picture of black militant H. Rap Brown and were belligerent to white students. stu-dents. Also in Detroit, three fires. pleaded for the. students to be nonviolent. non-violent. He was shouted down by students who said, "Dr. King was ncn-violent and look what happened to him." About 300 students at Mississippi Valley State Teachers College in Itta Bena, Miss, massed on the campus after hearing of Dr. King's death and began marching to downtown down-town Itta Bena. Police advised the students to stop, and they refused. Two students were injured after police opened fire on the students. There are conflicting reports about whether or not the students fired first. On most black campuses, however, how-ever, students remained peaceful, although they were angry and bitter. bit-ter. In Atlanta, about 1,500 students from the five black colleges that compose the Atlanta University complex held a sympathy march in a drenching rain. The march was led by the presidents of the five colleges. Students at Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn. became tense after National Guardsmen were called in to put down a small disturbance in Nashville's Negro section. "We were upset because we are scared of the police," said Gloria Anderson, Ander-son, a Fisk coed. She said female students turned off the lights in the dormitory rooms and stayed in the halls because they thought police would shoot in the windows if a riot erupted. The next day, about 1,200 Fisk students participated partici-pated in a memorial rally. Wire To LBJ At Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, students sent a telegram to President Johnson asking ask-ing that Jan. 15, Dr. King's birthday, birth-day, be set aside as a national holiday. holi-day. Several hundred Central State students, led by President Harry Groves, marched four miles to the county courthouse in Xenia to show sympathy to Dr. King's family. Black students on some white campuses also held demonstrations. At Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich., about 100 black students entered the Student Center Cen-ter about 6:30 a.m. the day after the assassination, and closed the |
