James "Lap" Baker, a 1970 Jackson State College graduate, speaks on May 13, 2021, in Jackson, Miss., about the May 15, 1970, incident where white local police and Mississippi Highway Patrol troopers marched onto campus of the historically Black school and opened fire on students, claiming they had seen a sniper. Baker is among about 70 graduates being honored as the school, now called Jackson State University, is holding a graduation ceremony 51 years after it canceled the 1970 commencement after the violence. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

A memorial, funded by the Class of 1971, honors the two people killed and 12 injured on the then named Jackson State College campus, in May 15, 1970, in Jackson, Miss., when local police and Mississippi Highway Patrol troopers opened fire indiscriminately at Alexander Hall, a women's dorm at the school, and across the campus, claiming they had seen a sniper. Over 70 graduates will be honored by the historically Black university with a Saturday, May 15, official graduation ceremony, 51 years after the school canceled its 1970 graduation ceremony following the violence. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

File - In this May 21, 1970, file photo, U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh, D-Ind., right, passes demonstrators protesting the slaying of two African Americans on the campus of Jackson State College, in Jackson, Miss. Sen. Bayh and several other congressmen inspected the site where two men died and 12 people were wounded as white lawmen shot indiscriminately, riddling the windows of a women's dormitory as officers claimed they had seen a sniper. The historically Black school canceled its 1970 commencement after the incident. Fifty-one years later, the school now called Jackson State University is honoring its Class of 1970, as members are being invited back to salute their academic achievements with a graduation ceremony. Saturday, May 15, 2021. (AP Photo, File)

James "Lap" Baker, a 1970 Jackson State College graduate, right, greets classmate Cecil Forbes Sr., in the Jackson State University bookstore, Thursday, May 13, 2021, in Jackson, Miss. The two men will be among about 70 graduates honored by the historically Black university, Saturday, May 15, with an official graduation ceremony, 51 years after the school canceled its 1970 graduation ceremony after white law enforcement officers marched onto campus near the end of the spring semester and violently suppressed protests against racism with gunfire, killing two Black people and wounding 12. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

James "Lap" Baker, a 1970 Jackson State College graduate, stands before Alexander Hall, now Jackson State University during a visit to the campus, Thursday, May 13, 2021, in Jackson, Miss. The women's dorm on the plaza is named after the two men killed, when on May 15, 1970, local police and Mississippi Highway Patrol troopers opened fire on the students, claiming they had seen a sniper. Baker will be among about 70 graduates honored by the historically Black university with a Saturday, May 15, official graduation ceremony, 51 years after the school canceled its 1970 graduation ceremony following the violent incident. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

FILE - In this May 15, 1970, file photo, the bullet-riddled windows of Alexander Hall, a women's dormitory at Jackson State College in Jackson, Miss., are shown after two African-American students were killed and 12 injured when police opened fire on the building claiming they had seen a sniper. The historically black school canceled its 1970 graduation ceremony following the violence. Fifty-one years later, now named, Jackson State University is honoring the Class of 1970 back to salute their academic achievements with a graduation on Saturday, May 15, 2021. (AP Photo, File)

James "Lap" Baker, a 1970 Jackson State College graduate, looks at a memorial funded by the Class of 1971, during a visit to the now Jackson State University, on Thursday, May 13, 2021, in Jackson, Miss. The memorial honors two people who were killed and 12 injured on May 15, 1970, when local police and Mississippi Highway Patrol troopers opened fire indiscriminately on Alexander Hall, a women's dorm at the school, and across the campus, claiming they had seen a sniper. Baker will be among about 70 graduates honored by the historically black university with a Saturday, May 15, official graduation ceremony, 51 years after the school canceled its 1970 graduation ceremony following the violence. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Robert Giles, a 1970 Jackson State College graduate, holds his cap and gown and schedule of events, at the school's Jackson, Miss., bookstore, Thursday, May 13, 2021. Giles will be among about 70 graduates honored by the historically Black university, Saturday, May 15, with an official graduation ceremony, 51 years after the school canceled its 1970 graduation ceremony after white law enforcement officers marched onto campus near the end of the spring semester and violently suppressed protests against racism with gunfire, killing two Black people and wounding 12. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

A poetic recollection of the violent assault by white law enforcement officers on the campus in May 15, 1970, by James "Lap" Baker, a 1970 Jackson State College graduate, is posted next to a panoramic photograph of the entrance to Jackson State, Thursday, May 13, 2021, in Jackson, Miss. Baker will be about 70 graduates honored by the historically black university with a Saturday, May 15, official graduation ceremony, 51 years after the school canceled its 1970 graduation ceremony following the violence. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Gloria Green McCray, a younger sister of 17-year-old James Green, one of two men killed by lawmen on the morning of May 15, 1970, on the campus of Jackson State College, recalls her late brother as being both handsome and personable Thursday, May 13, 2021, at her home in Jackson, Miss. Green, a high school student was returning home from work at a convenience store, when killed along with 21-year-old Phillip Gibbs, a married Jackson State student. The school is awarding posthumous honorary doctorate degrees to Gibbs and Green during a Saturday, May 15, 2021, graduation for members of the Class of 1970, whose own graduation was canceled following the violent incident. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

FILE - In this May 15, 1970, file photo, Mayor Charles Evers, of Fayette, Miss., a civil rights leader, talks with students outside the bullet-riddled women's dormitory at Jackson State College, in Jackson, Miss., where two young African-Americans were shot to death by police. More than a half century late, Jackson State University, in Mississippi, is honoring its Class of 1970, on Saturday, May 15, 2021. Commencement was canceled after white law enforcement officers marched onto campus of the historically Black school and violently suppressed protests against racism. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this May 20, 1970, file photo, U.S. Sens. Walter Mondale, D-Minn., left, and Birch Bayh, D-Ind., right, look from the shattered windows of Alexander Hall, a women's dormitory, during a visit to Jackson State College, in Jackson, Miss., days after an assault by local white police and members of the Mississippi Highway Patrol, who claimed they had seen a sniper. Pointing out the view is student Carl Griffin. The historically Black school canceled its 1970 commencement after the violent incident. Fifty-one years later, the school now called Jackson State University is honoring its Class of 1970, as members are being invited back to salute their academic achievements with a graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 15, 2021. (AP Photo, File)

Gloria Green McCray, a younger sister of 17-year-old James Green, one of two men killed by lawmen on the morning of May 15, 1970, on the campus of Jackson State College, recalls her late brother as being both handsome and personable Thursday, May 13, 2021, at her home in Jackson, Miss. Green, a high school student was returning home from work at a convenience store, when killed along with 21-year-old Phillip Gibbs, a married Jackson State student. The school is awarding posthumous honorary doctorate degrees to Gibbs and Green during a Saturday, May 15, 2021, graduation for members of the Class of 1970, whose own graduation was canceled following the violent incident. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

FILE - In this May 15, 1970, file photo, two students at Jackson State College, peer from a window at Alexander Hall, that was shot out by police on campus that morning, in Jackson, Miss. Two Black students died and 12 people were wounded as police shot indiscriminately, riddling the windows of the women's dormitory as officers claimed they had seen a sniper. The historically Black school canceled its 1970 commencement after the violent incident. Fifty-one years later, the school now called Jackson State University is honoring its Class of 1970, as members are being invited back to salute their academic achievements with a graduation ceremony Saturday, May 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Jack Thornell, File)