Repository:

Kent State University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives.

Title:

Thomas M. Grace papers

Inclusive Date(s):

1958-2020

Bulk Date(s):

1968-2020

Author:

Finding aid prepared by Anita Clary, November 2022

Creation:

Finding aid encoded by Anita Clary using the OhioLINK EAD Application in 2022

Description Rules:

Finding aid prepared using DACS 2nd Edition

Origination:

Grace, Thomas M., 1950-

Extent:

11 cubic feet (9 record storage boxes + 1 slim document case + 1 textile box + 1 oversize folder)

Physical Location:

11th floor (May 4 Collection, Boxes 229-238)

Finding Aid Identifier:

OhKeUSC0218

Abstract:

A 1972 graduate of Kent State University, Thomas M. Grace is one of nine students who survived bullet wounds on May 4, 1970, when Ohio National Guard shot into a crowd of students demonstrating on campus. He is a scholar and adjunct professor of American history, specializing in both the protest movement of the 1960s and the American Civil War. This collection includes materials related to the Kent State Shootings and their aftermath, activism, labor and unions, and political campaigns.

Language(s):

The records are in English.

Biography of Thomas M. Grace

Thomas M. Grace is one of nine students who survived bullet wounds on May 4, 1970, when Ohio National Guard shot into a crowd of students demonstrating at Kent State University. He is a scholar and adjunct professor of American history, specializing in both the protest movement of the 1960s and the American Civil War. His published work includes Kent State: Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties (University of Massachusetts Press, 2016); "Kent State and Historical Memory" in Democratic Narrative, History & Memory,edited byCarole A. Barbato and Laura L. Davis (Kent State University Press, 2012); as well as scholarly and popular format articles about the Civil War. He is a regular contributor to America's Civil War.

Grace was born in Syracuse, New York in 1950. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in history and political science from Kent State University in 1972 and a master of arts degree in social work from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1975. After many years as a social worker and union representative, he earned a PhD in history from SUNY Buffalo.

Grace spoke at the second and fifth commemorations of the May 4 shootings and in every decade since. He served on the board of the Kent Legal Defense Fund, which raised funds for twenty-five defendants charged for their roles in the May antiwar demonstrations. During the 1970s, he was part of a group of plaintiffs that won a 1974 US Supreme Court decision, Scheuer v. Rhodes, for their right to sue Ohio National guardsmen and state officials. Grace also testified at the federal grand jury that returned criminal charges against eight guardsmen in March 1974. Of the thirteen plaintiffs and their families, he was the only one to testify in both the subsequent 1975 and 1978 civil trials.

Pursuing a long-term interest in public history, Grace suggested the placement of historic signage at Kent State where the fatal confrontation occurred, an idea that came to fruition in 2007. From there he served on a committee of scholars that oversaw the creation of the May 4 Visitor Center and placement of additional outdoor signage, making Kent State University the only location in the United States where the anti-Vietnam War movement is interpreted. Concurrent with this effort, work was undertaken to preserve what remained of the site of the campus confrontation with the area being placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. Subsequently, in December 2016, the same site received designation from the National Park Service (NPS) as a National Historic Landmark. Grace helped craft the language for the NPS plaque and, together with Alan Canfora, another former student wounded in 1970, worked with the university in 2017 to remove non-historic tree growth from the site of the shootings.

Grace also served as a historical consultant for "Death on the Campus," a documentary film on the Kent State Shootings for Creative Differences Productions, which aired on the National Geographic Channel in March 2008, and "Fire in the Heartland," a film chronicling student activism at Kent State University, which premiered March 2010 at the Cleveland Film Festival.

Scope and Content

This collection contains the papers of Thomas M. Grace relating to activism in general, and the events of May 4, 1970, and their aftermath in particular. The collection includes writings and speeches by Grace and others, materials associated with his work with labor and unions and politics, subject files, and other materials created and collected by Grace in the course of his career.

Statement of Arrangement

The Thomas M. Grace papers are arranged in the following series:

• Series 1: Biographical Information
• Series 2: May 4 Commemorations
• Series 3: May 4 Memorials and Visitors Center
• Series 4: Legal Cases
• Series 5: Labor and Unions
• Series 6: Politics
• Series 7: Subject Files
• Series 8: Posters
• Series 9: Artifacts
• Series 10: Clippings and Periodical Issues

Separated Material

Selected works by Thomas M. Grace are shelved separately and cataloged in LIBRARYsearch.

Related Material

Several digitized photographs and other information related to Tom Grace can be found in the Kent State Shootings: Digital Archive. Additional news and articles can be found in the Daily Kent Stater Digital Archive.

Preferred Citation

Thomas M. Grace papers. May 4 Collection. Kent State University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives.

Acquisition Information

The materials in this collection were donated to Kent State University Special Collections and Archives by Thomas M. Grace.

Controlled Access Headings

The following are found in this collection:

Subjects:

• Grace, Thomas M., 1950- -- Archives
• Kent State Shootings, Kent, Ohio, 1970
• Kent State Shootings, Kent, Ohio, 1970 -- Anniversaries, etc.
• Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Protest movements
• Students for a Democratic Society (U.S.) -- History -- 20th century
• Kent State University. May 4th Task Force -- History -- 20th century
• Labor movement -- United States -- History

Persons:

• Hammond, Kenneth J.
• Hayden, Tom
• Jackson, Jesse, 1941-
• Mothersbaugh, Mark
• Oglesby, Carl, 1935-2011
• Rhodes, James A. (James Allen), 1909-2001
• Schwartz. Michael, 1937-2024
• Stamps, Robert
• Warren, Beverly J.
• Young, Neil, 1945-

Functions:

• United States -- History -- Study and teaching
• Student movements
• Protest movements
• Labor movement
• Political campaigns

Occupations:

• Student protesters
• Historians
• Labor leaders
• Screenwriters

Material Types:

• Correspondence
• Artifacts (object genre)
• Publications (documents)
• Posters
• Political posters
• Fliers (Ephemera)
• Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
• Photographs
• Speeches

Detailed Description of the Collection