Moments of Truth: A Photographer’s Experience of Kent State 1970

by Howard Ruffner, Thomas M. Grace (Foreword)

A student journalist’s photographic memoir of events surrounding the 1970 Kent State shootings Working as a photographer for the Kent State University student newspaper and yearbook, Howard Ruffner was a college sophomore when the tragic shootings of May 4, 1970, occurred―a tragedy that left four students dead and nine others wounded. Asked to serve as a stringer for Life magazine in the days leading up to May 4, as student protests against the Vietnam War intensified and National Guard troops arrived on campus, Ruffner became a witness and documentarian to this important piece of history. Several of his photographs, including one that appeared on the cover of Life , are etched into our collective consciousness when we think about civil unrest and the latter half of the 20th century. Here, in Moments of A Photographer’s Experience of Kent State 1970 , Ruffner not only reproduces a collection of nearly 150 of his photographs―many never before published―but also offers a stirring narrative in which he revisits his work and attempts to further examine these events and his own experience of them. It is, indeed, an intensely personal journey that he invites us to share. An epilogue details how Ruffner’s images became critical evidence in the civil trials against the National Guard in 1975 and 1978, as he was the first witness called to take the stand. Ruffner also contemplates the words engraved on the path to what is now the May 4 Memorial Site, a place on the National Register of Historic Inquire, Learn, Reflect . Ruffner’s project affirms that we need to ask questions, we need to learn about our history, and we all need to reflect on the past so that our mistakes will not be repeated.

Genres: Memoir, Photography

160 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2019

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

As we head towards the 50th Anniversary of the Kent State shootings (in May 4, 2020), I expect this is just the first book that we will see on this topic. It was a very interesting book with many never before seen photographs; Ruffner also wrote an intriguing account of this tragic event.

If you were a part of this day, as Ruffner was, it is hard to be completely objective for what occurred, but Ruffner seems to be as objective as possible, based on what he personally witnessed through the lens(es) of his cameras.

However, does it tell the whole story? Like I said, Ruffner includes many new photographs, but I don't know that they tell the entire story. I almost wish that there were the Facebook Live type videos of today available for this [and other] events from the past.

I highly recommend this for all!

[Paula Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important contribution to the understanding of the late Sixties and early Seventies, Howard Ruffner’s book, Moments of Truth: A Photographer’s Experience of Kent State 1970, provides a balanced and fair look at a dangerous time in our recent history. May 4, 1970 was one of the culminating events that swayed public opinion against the War in Vietnam. On that day Ohio National Guard troops fired into a crowd of students, killing four and injuring eleven.
Bringing the steady judgment of a seasoned Air Force veteran to the incident, Ruffner took an amazing series of photographs that weekend, some that were never published. The photographs themselves are heart-wrenching but combined with his skillfully constructed narrative they cast a spell over the reader, giving a true feel for this sad moment in our collective history. For anyone who wants to understand the mindset of this era, Ruffner’s book is a must-read!