Well, it’s been a bit busy lately, writing grants, meeting people around the neighborhood, and making plans for our first two Museum Without Walls projects: a temporary exhibit about activism and an oral history project with University District residents.  But, I’m back on the blog and even though Photo of the Week may be more like Photo of the Every-Other-Week from now on, I still have lots of great photos to share.  In fact, to make up for falling behind, I’ve got two photos this week!

This week’s pictures were taken on May 5, 1970, the day after four students were killed at Kent State University in Ohio by National Guardsman for protesting the bombing of Cambodia by President Nixon.  University of Washington students, like many other students around the country, called for their school to take stand against the shooting and against the Vietnam War.

That morning, thousands of students gathered in Red Square for a rally.  Many people, like the man shown here, spoke to the crowd about why University of Washington students should protest the Cambodia bombings and the Kent State shootings.  The crowd decided to strike, with the support of President Odegaard, who closed the university the next day.


Later in the day, the rally turned into a march from campus up University Way.  This route had been taken before by protesters, and typically ended back on campus, but on that day the crowd headed west towards the freeway.  Nearly 5,000 people marched onto Interstate-5 to head to an antiwar rally in downtown Seattle.  The picture below shows a stand-off between demonstrators and state troopers in riot gear.  The march remained peaceful and the protest eventually left the freeway, but attempts would be made over the next few days to repeat the walk down I-5.