80th Year, No.14
The University of Kansas—Lawrence, Kansas
Friday, July 24, 1970
Memorial march peaceful
Photo by Greg Sorber
Memorial march proceeds peacefully
About 400 youths joined a march through downtown Lawrence in memory of two young men killed in the city in the past week. Despite a large crowd of people on Massachusetts Street for a sidewalk bazaar sponsored by Lawrence merchants, the march came off without a hitch.
Editorial—
What happened?
What happened in Lawrence?
That question was asked hundreds of times in the past week.
Two young men are dead, another young man and a police officer wounded. What happened?
Technically, no one knows. Witnesses to the shooting of Nick Rice have given their stories of what happened. The dozens of newsmen who flocked to Lawrence in quest of the tragedy stories that the American public seems to thrive upon realized the danger of accepting on face value the testimony of "eyewitnesses." In the heat of the moment's situation, no one was really watching. No one really saw what happened, but only pieced together their impressions of the split second that meant the difference between life and death for a young man.
But there seemed no where else to turn for a semblance of facts. If police and city officials knew more than the sketchy bits of information they gave to the press, that fact was well hidden.
What happened on the night of Thursday, July 16? The only material witness other than policemen on the scene did not, or
The question of what happened in Lawrence may never be answered to the satisfaction of everyone. But a more important question is the continuing one. What is happening in Lawrence?
was not allowed, to give her story at a coroner's hearing.
BSU purchase checked
Col. William I. Albott, superintendent of the State Highway Patrol, said the check for $120.62, and $10 in cash, were used to purchase ammunition, including
Gov. Robert Docking has requested an investigation into the report that the Black Student Union purchased ammunition in Kansas City and Topeka.
The check was found to have come from a private bank account with the First National Bank of Lawrence, though the printed material on the check carried the name of the University of Kansas and the address of the BSU at the Kansas Union.
The governor's office had received a report from law enforcement officials that the Troost Gun Shop in Kansas City, Mo. had taken a check with the name of the KU Black Student Union on it last Friday.
Albott said a large ammunition purchase, of about $90, was made in Topeka by the Black Student Union.
.38 caliber bullets and shotgun buckshot.
Bickford said there had never been any state funds from the Student Organization Fund legally transferred to the BSU's private bank account.
The Student Senate approves the use of student activity funds to the BSU for its programs, but those funds are kept in the Student Organization Fund and the University Business Office must supply a voucher for all payments out of the fund.
The city found itself in a position to hide a blush of shame for the second time in four months. For the second time, national attention was focused on a community of about 35,000 with its medium-sized university of 17,500 students. A conservative community with no real history of racial problems such as many other, larger cities have; a moderately liberal university that had scarcely heard of the word "protest" until three or four years ago.
Max Bickford, officer of the Kansas Board of Regents, said the check was signed by Laverta Murray, BSU chairman.
He said he was preparing a full report for Docking and the Board of Regents on the matter.
The comparison is remarkable. Lawrence, Kansas and the University of Kansas stepped, in the eyes of the nation, from the heart of the Bible belt to the heart of campus and community violence.
Of all the remarks from people interviewed in the past week, one especially sticks in the mind—one that was repeated last April during those disturbances—"It was to be expected."
A memorial march for the two youths slain in Lawrence in the past week proceeded peacefully through the downtown area in the midst of a sidewalk bazaar.
It was to be expected—what a tribute to Lawrence and the nation at large, that such needless violence seemed inevitable; that the passing of human lives in this manner seemed as inevitable as the passing of time.
The group of marchers, numbering about 400, encountered no heckling from the shoppers and bystanders on Massachusetts Street, who stood quietly as the procession marched slowly by.
And what is "to be expected" now? Will the events of the past week set a precedent for KU in the fall, next spring or the summer after that? Have we nothing to look forward to but more of
(Continued in part D)
(Continued to page 6)
Two men leading the marcs carried signs reading, "Nick Rice murdered by Lawrence Pigs," and Rick Dowdell murdered by Lawrence Pigs."
The marchers gathered at the Kansas Union and walked down Eleventh Street to Massachusetts, turning left on to Eighth Street and left again on to Indiana Street, returning to the Gaslight Tavern.
George Kimball, Yippie leader and candidate for Douglas County sheriff, spoke briefly to the group before they left the Union, warning them to avoid confrontations and to be alert for snipers on rooftops when they passed through the downtown area.
He spoke again before the group dispersed after reaching the Gaslight, saying that "the next time something like this happens, we won't be marching peacefully in the streets."
As the marchers turned on to Eighth Street, a wagon drawn by two dark horses left the Bowers-Lee Funeral Home, 618 Vt., carrying Dowdell's body to St. Luke A.M.E. Church, 900 N.Y., for the funeral service.
More than 200 blacks crowded into the weathered red brick church for the funeral. Some stood or sat outside the church for lack of space inside.
A black youth said the processes were separate because "Rick was black. The blacks will walk with their brother."
Rev. A.N. Larkin, pastor of the church, delivered the eulogy. A hearse waited outside to carry the body from the church to the Oak Hill Cemetery.
The march and funeral came after two nights of relative quiet in Lawrence since the shooting incident in which Dowdell was killed Thursday night.
The other dead youth, Harry "Nick" Rice, 18, of Leawood, was killed during a confrontation between Lawrence police and a group of young people in the 1200 block of Oread Street Monday night.
Rice was killed and another man, Merton Olds, 25, a KU graduate student, injured by shots fired when police chased the crowd away from a Volkswagon overturned in the middle of the street.
A witness to the incident said the group had been turned out of the Rock Chalk Cafe at the east end of the block and was proceeding toward the Gaslight Tavern at the west end of the block when police began throwing tear gas at several persons trying to set the overturned car afire.
Another witness, Allen Miller of McClouth, said he heard several shots and saw Rice fall near a telephone pole in front of the Gaslight. Miller said he and another man attempted to carry Rice to the safety of the tavern, but were hampered by more tear gas cannisters thrown near the spot where Rice had fallen.
After Rice had been taken away in an ambulance, Miller said the police began throwing tear gas into the Gaslight, where about 150 people had taken shelter.
Chief of Police Richard Stanwix said six of the officers present fired their weapons, and "at least five of those fired into the air." Investigations are being continued in an attempt to determine whether a policeman or a sniper fired the fatal shot.
Rice will be buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery, Kansas City, Mo.
Photo by Greg Sorber
Blacks pay final tribute to Dowdell
A wagon drawn by two dark horses carried the coffin of Rick Dowdell to St. Luke A.M.E. Church for the funeral service. More than 200 members of the black community crowded into the church for the service.