BATON ROUGE — Nov. 16, 1972, remains one of the most tragic and defining days in Southern University history.

It's the day Denver Smith and Leonard Brown, both unarmed students, were killed on campus by law enforcement.

In the fall of 1972, Southern University students organized weeks of protests to call attention to disparities they said they faced compared to other universities. History professor LaTrenda Williams-Clark listed some of the students' concerns at that time.

"It was about living conditions, resources and fair funding for Southern University because we were getting considerably less funding than LSU," Williams-Clark said.

The movement was led by a group known as Students United, which developed a list of demands. Retired journalist and Southern alumnus Edward Pratt was a freshman at the time. He recalled the movement.

"One time, the students came to a Southern football game and walked into the end zone during the game, sat down, and brought the game to a halt. I was a freshman then, and that's when I said, 'this is serious,'" Pratt said.

Tensions escalated after several Students United leaders were arrested following weeks of demonstrations. But Pratt said everything came to a head on Nov. 16 after university administrators called law enforcement to campus. Pratt said students never imagined the situation would become violent.

"When we saw the law enforcement, we just thought, 'Okay, we yell, they yell, we go back to class and it's over with,'" Pratt said.

Instead, the situation quickly spiraled. At the direction of then-Gov. Edwin Edwards, with massive state and local law enforcement lined up on campus.

Tear gas was being thrown at students, students hurling it back and at that point, sheriff's deputies fired," Williams-Clark said.

Pratt said he will never forget the moment shots were fired.

"We heard a loud boom and just looked around, wondering what it was. From where I was standing, we could hear some people screaming. And that's when we could see two students on the ground," Pratt said.

Family members said Smith just went to look after his sister, who was protesting. Brown had just left the cafeteria to see what was happening. According to history professor LaTrenda Williams-Clark, neither student had participated in earlier protests.

"These were two students who were really, they hadn't even participated in any other protests prior," Williams-Clark said.

Southern University immediately shut down the campus and sent students home for the remainder of the semester. Multiple investigations followed, but no one was ever held accountable for the deaths to this day.

"For that to happen, it was like a stain. It broke my heart," Pratt said.

A few years later, the Southern University Student Union was renamed the Smith Brown Memorial Union, serving as both a reminder of the tragedy and a lasting memorial.

Several students who organized those 1972 protests were expelled or banned from campus. Among them was Chester Stevens, a senior at the time.

"I was mailed my diploma. But denied the opportunity to participate in the commencement," Stevens said.

On the 50th anniversary, in 2022, then-Gov. John Bel Edwards signed a formal apology to the victims, their families and the student organizers, saying it was never too late to do the right thing. One year later, in 2023, Stevens was finally able to walk across the stage with that graduating class. This was 51 years after he earned his degree.

Now, Southern University students, staff and alumni say they continue to fight for many of the same issues raised in 1972, including funding disparities. They also continue honoring the legacies of Denver Smith and Leonard Brown.