Southern University will host a commemoration ceremony with different events for the on-campus shooting that killed two students during a protest 50 years ago today. Deputies fired shots that left Denver Smith and Leonard Brown dead as they were standing among other students. The shooting came after several weeks of protests and class boycotts over poor funding, dilapidated buildings, and little response to their concerns.
Advocate Columnist Ed Pratt was just an 18-year-old freshman during the tragedy, and he says it was an unforgettable experience.
“A tear gas canister goes towards a group of kids and the students threw it back and then all hell broke loose but then you see two students on the ground and it has haunted me forever,” said Pratt.
The late Edwin Edwards was governor at the time and Pratt says he abandoned students when they needed him the most.
‘The Governor was very popular in the black community I think if the governor had just taken the time to come out there or just called someone to say look I will listen to your complaints, we will see what we can do to improve what’s going on with your campus,” said Pratt.
There was an investigation to see who fired the fatal shots but no officers ever confessed or had been pinpointed. Pratt says the students were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“People were just standing there nobody has ever been arrested, and then there was a bunch of lies after the killing,” said Pratt.
The university named the Smith-Brown Memorial Union building in honor of both students.
Comments