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 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 two police officers arrived, having been called on suspicion of a robbery, the teenagers fled out of the back door.[1][3][4] The police officer, James Loder, shot into the fleeing crowd without warning and Vivian Strong, a 14-year old African-American girl, was struck in the back of the head and was killed.[1][5][6] Loder's partner was a Black officer, James W. Smith; he and Vivian's sister, Carol, asked Loder, "Why did you shoot her?" He did not reply.[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.[7][8][9] Black Panthers, armed with weapons, protected Black churches and the local Black newspaper, the Omaha Star, during the riots.[10]

Aftermath

One of Vivian's younger sisters, 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][4]

The summer of Strong's death, the Black Panther Party (BPP) started the Vivian Strong Memorial Liberation School.[8] The BPP established Liberation Schools in several US cities. The school in Omaha may have operated for only a week before it closed down.[8]

Initially, Police Chief Richard R. Anderson said James Loder, the police officer who killed Vivian Strong, would be suspended for 15 days and then fired.[11] Loder was released from jail on a $500 bond.[1] On March 17, 1970, an all-white jury of six men and six women acquitted James Loder of manslaughter.[12] Of the acquittal, Vivian's mother said, "He did wrong. They (the jury) did wrong...If it would have been a white girl shot by a black policeman, he'd be serving time right now".[12] Loder 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.[13]

Vivian Strong

Vivian was 14 years old and under the care of her nineteen year old babysitter, Linda Bradley, at the time of the shooting.[4] She attended Tech Jr. High in Omaha, Nebraska.[4] She had seven siblings.[4] In 1964 she had rheumatic fever which left her with a leaky aortic valve.[4]

Theater

Two plays have been produced about Vivian Strong. Monica Bauer's 2019 play, Vivian's Music: 1969, imagines the last days of Vivian's life and won an award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[14] The play was produced at several off-Broadway theaters in New York City.[15] Christopher Maly's 2018 play, The Blues of Knowing Why, was a "community account" of Vivian's short life based on interviews with friends, family, media, and members of resistance organizations.[16][17] The play was produced in Omaha's Union for Contemporary Arts.

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. "Wead: Negro Feels Girls' Life Worth More than Bread". Omaha Star. 1969.
  4. Howard, Ashley (2006). Then the burning began: Omaha, riots, and the growth of black radicalism, 1966-1969. Omaha, Nebraska: University of Nebraska-Omaha. p. 82.
  5. KPTM, Sydnie Holzfaster (2020-06-24). "51 years later Omaha remembers Vivian Strong". KPTM. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  6. 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.
  7. 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)
  8. "What Happened to Omaha's Liberation School? By Dawaune Hayes". NOISE. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  9. "Preston Love Jr.: Understand North Omaha's past to chart the best course for the future". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  10. "Courtney Allen-Gentry: Vivian Strong's killing in North Omaha in 1969 left a stain on my soul". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  11. "Loder is Held in Gun Death of Negro Girl". Omaha World Herald. 1969.
  12. Jim, Pedersen (March 20, 1970). "The Strong Shooting". The Daily Nebraskan.
  13. Staff, Rene Stutzman of The Sentinel. "COURT TO WEIGH PLEA OF LAMARR'S ESTRANGED SON". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  14. "The Life And Legacy Of Vivian Strong". Southampton Press. 2019-02-23.
  15. Beth Young (2019-02-03). "Vivian's Music: Hope Among Race Riots". East End Beacon.
  16. "The Blues of Knowing Why". The Union For Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  17. "Christopher Maly | Nebraska Authors". nebraskaauthors.org. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  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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