What if you knew her/ And found her dead on the ground / How can you run when you know? — Neil Young, “Ohio.”

In 1970, American folk/rock singer, Neil Young, sang his timeless tribute to the four students who were killed while protesting the American invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Neil Young's song, “Ohio,” reminds us of the Kent State Massacre on May 4, 1970, a terrible event that sparked a national uprising against the United States government and the Nixon Administration.

I thought of Neil Young's song yesterday, June 20th, when I first saw the video of Neda Soltani's tragic death. The uncensored video is something most Americans, safe in their homes, do not want to see because it is considered “too graphic.” Yet I watched the video of her death over and over again, knowing that, as upsetting as it is to watch a young woman die so suddenly, it is a responsibility to do so in order to see the face that shows us the real cost of freedom. Neda, whose name was still unknown to the world on the day she died, shows us the unrelenting truth of the sacrifice of Iranians during this hopeful, courageous and inspiring struggle against their government for a freedom they deserve.

From Drop Box

On May 4, l970 members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of Kent State University demonstrators, killing four and wounding nine Kent State students. The impact of the shootings was dramatic. The event triggered a nationwide student strike that forced hundreds of colleges and universities to close.  

When I searched for a video of Neil Young singing, “Ohio,” I was fortunate to find a live taping from 1989, shortly after the Tiananmen Square protests. Young introduces the song, saying, “This is a song for the students killed in China this summer.” These were the students who sat in peaceful protest against their government until they were shot or run over by tanks. They, too, will always be remembered.

Today, one day after Neda's sacrifice, I extend this tribute to all people who have dared to stand up in protest in their struggle against oppression. I humbly hope that the people of the world will see the true sacrifice for freedom in Neda's face, and in the struggle of Iranians today.

The image of Neda will forever join the image of a fearless Chinese student standing down four army tanks in 1989, and of a 14 year-old girl kneeling over the body of a slain student at Kent State University.

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