Mother's Day 1970

poster: University of California, Berkeley, c. May 1970. Thomas W. Benson Political Protest Collection, Penn State University.

On Mother's Day 1970, President Nixon celebrated with his wife Pat and their two daughters, Julie and Tricia, and with Mamie Eisenhower and her grandson David, husband of Julie and a Nixon son in law.

The New York Times published a brief and charming story of the smiling group on the White House lawn and described the prayer service, with a guest clergyman from Ohio and the choir of the Calvin Theological Seminary. Mr. Nixon wore a blue suit and a big smile.

On the same day, in a front page story, the Times published a long interview with eleven Kent State University students, some of them Vietnam veterans, about the shootings at Kent State. One student said that he now understood what it must be like to be a black person in America; a couple of the women said that the events at Kent State convinced them they should not become mothers. A student told of talking to some residents of his home town who said of the events at Kent State that the students should all be shot.

In Berkeley, students continued to produce posters, several of them inspired by themes of motherhood.

See:

“Nixon Family Prays Together at Mother’s Day Services in White House.” New York Times. May 11, 1970.

“The View From Kent State: 11 Speak Out: The View From Kent State: A Discussion With 11 Outspoken Ohio Students.” New York Times. May 11, 1970.