Shooting of Vivian Strong

Vivian Strong (1955 – June 24, 1969) was a young African American girl who was shot and killed, without warning, by a white police officer, James Loder, in Omaha, Nebraska in 1969.[1] The killing sparked three days of riots in Omaha's Northeast neighborhood.[2]

Shooting

On June 24, 1969, teenagers gathered for a party at a vacant apartment in the Logan Fontenelle Housing Projects.[1] The teenagers were playing music and dancing.[1] When police arrived, claiming to have been called on suspicion of a robbery, the teenagers fled out of the back door.[1] One of the police officers, James Loder, shot into the fleeing crowd and Vivian Strong, a 14-year old African-American girl, was struck in the back of the head and was killed.[1][3][4] Unrest and riots followed for three days in Omaha's Northeast neighborhood, resulting in 21 arrests, 88 injuries, and $750,000 in property damage.[5][6][7] Black Panthers, armed with weapons, protected black churches and the local black newspaper, the Omaha Star, during the riots.[8]

Aftermath

Vivian Strong's sister, Carol, was with her when she was killed; she did not receive any counseling afterward, her mother had a nervous breakdown, and Carol subsequently took over the care of her younger brothers and sisters.[1]

The summer of Strong's death, the Black Panther Party (BPP) started the Vivian Strong Memorial Liberation School.[6] The BPP established Liberation Schools in several US cities. The school in Omaha may have operated for only a week before it closed down.[6]

James Loder, the police officer who killed Vivian Strong, was released from jail on a $500 bond.[1] He was found innocent of manslaughter at trial and returned to the police force, where he served for two more years.[1] He was the estranged biological son of Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr, who had claimed him as her adopted son in 1941 in order to conceal his illegitimacy.[9]

Theater

Monica Bauer's play, Vivian's Music: 1969, that imagines the last days of Vivian's life, won an award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[10] In 2019, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of her killing, the play was produced, at several off-Broadway theaters, in New York City.[11]

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References
  1. "Remembering Vivian Strong | netnebraska.org". netnebraska.org. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  2. Brown, Dez (2014-09-26). "Three teens shot and killed by authority". The North Star. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  3. KPTM, Sydnie Holzfaster (2020-06-24). "51 years later Omaha remembers Vivian Strong". KPTM. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  4. writer, Dirk Chatelain World-Herald staff. "Memories may fade, but the legends of North Omaha can never be forgotten". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  5. 1968-, Graham, Kevin M. (2010). Beyond redistribution : White supremacy and racial justice. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books. ISBN 9780739130964. OCLC 459209892.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. "What Happened to Omaha's Liberation School? By Dawaune Hayes". NOISE. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  7. "Preston Love Jr.: Understand North Omaha's past to chart the best course for the future". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  8. "Courtney Allen-Gentry: Vivian Strong's killing in North Omaha in 1969 left a stain on my soul". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  9. Staff, Rene Stutzman of The Sentinel. "COURT TO WEIGH PLEA OF LAMARR'S ESTRANGED SON". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  10. "The Life And Legacy Of Vivian Strong". Southampton Press. 2019-02-23.
  11. Beth Young (2019-02-03). "Vivian's Music: Hope Among Race Riots". East End Beacon.
  1. "The Life And Legacy Of Vivian Strong". 27 East. 2020-02-23. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  2. Young, Beth (2019-02-03). "Vivian's Music: Hope Among Race Riots". East End Beacon. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  3. "The Blues of Knowing Why". The Union For Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  4. Hayes, E_Newton, Dawaune Lamont. "Theatre Bringing Reconciliation in Omaha". www.kios.org. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
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