The largest private collection of documents and materials relating to the May 4, 1970, shootings at ֱ State University, amassed by survivor Alan Canfora, will be formally dedicated by the University Libraries’ Special Collections and Archives on May 3.
Canfora, who was one of nine students wounded during the shootings, dedicated his life to May 4 activism. He spent five decades preserving materials related to that day and built the most extensive private collection documenting the tragedy and its aftermath.
On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on students protesting the escalation of the war in Vietnam, killing four and wounding nine others.
For the rest of his life, Canfora, who died in 2020, at age 71, gathered photographs, personal correspondence, court records, audio recordings and protest materials into an extensive private archive.
“What we donated, at Alan’s request, is not just an archive,” Roseann “Chic” Canfora, Ph.D., Alan’s sister, told ֱ State Today. “I see it as more of an act of conscience on my brother’s part because Alan didn’t just collect history, he protected it.”
“He did so piece by piece, always with the same goal, that history would never be forgotten or rewritten. I think what makes this 50-year collection so extraordinary is not just what’s in it, because there’s so much in it, but it’s the persistence behind it.”
Chic Canfora, a professional in residence and assistant professor of Media and Journalism in ֱ State’s College of Communication and Information, who was also present at the May 4 shootings, said her brother spent 50 years asking the same question: “Why?”
“What he assembled over the course of five decades is one of the most complete human records of what happened on May 4, and even more importantly, what happened in the aftermath and what it meant in the years that followed all the way through to the 50th commemoration, which occurred just seven months before he passed.”
Chic Canfora said it took her and May 4 survivor Tom Grace some time to review the collection, which filled a 10-foot-by-10-foot indoor storage facility. Grace was Alan Canfora’s best friend and roommate in 1970, and they were wounded side by side on May 4.
“Over the course of three years, Tom Grace and I painstakingly went through many of those boxes, and we were slowly sharing them with university archives, which is where Alan wanted them to go,” she said.
She thanked musician Joe Walsh and his wife, Marjorie, whose donation made it possible to properly organize the collection. “Joe Walsh donated the money to ensure that Alan’s papers would be kept intact and not parceled out,” she said.
“Most people remember history, but Alan dedicated his life to preserving evidence behind that history,” Chic Canfora said. ”He understood something essential as a librarian, that memory fades, but documents endure.”
Alan Canfora received his bachelor’s degree from ֱ State in 1972, and his master of library science degree in 1980, and had worked as director of the Akron Law Library.
Elizabeth Campion, director of Special Collections and Archives, said the decision to place the with Special Collections and Archives reflects a deep trust between the Canfora Estate and the university.
“We are honored to include Alan's robust collection as part of the May 4 Collection, which will reflect his lifelong commitment to truth, justice, advocacy and research,” she said, “By preserving these records, we can ensure that the lessons of May 4, 1970, live on, honoring the lives and legacies of those affected.”
Ken Burhanna, dean of University Libraries, echoed her thanks.
“We are indebted to Chic Canfora and the Canfora family for their generosity in gifting Alan’s extensive May 4 collection to ֱ State University Libraries,” he said. “They are ensuring that Alan’s unwavering commitment to collecting and preserving the history of May 4, 1970, endures for generations to come.”
Burhanna also acknowledged the Walshes’ donation, saying: “Their support has made it possible for us to process and organize Alan’s collection so that it can be accessed by students and scholars.”
Chic Canfora also thanked ֱ State administration for facilitating the donation and for embracing the history of May 4.
“There was a time at ֱ State when the university struggled to fully confront the painful truth about May 4, but today the university not only embraces that history, but honors it,” she said.
Her brother wanted the collection to be at ֱ State, Chic Canfora said, so that it would be available to scholars, students and future generations to continue to ask questions.
“There’s no more fitting home for Alan’s collection,” she said. “My brother believed that if we truly want to understand that dark chapter in American history and ֱ State history, we have to be willing to examine it fully and to do so honestly with evidence and documents and not look away from them.”
The will take place at 3 p.m., Sunday, May 3, in the Harrick Garden Room on the first floor of University Library.
The dedication program will include remarks from President Todd Diacon, Roseann “Chic” Canfora, and University Libraries leadership. Select items from the Alan Canfora May 4 Collection will be on display. The event will include a reception with light hors d’oeuvres.