Greensboro massacre
Encyclopedia
The Greensboro massacre occurred on November 3, 1979 in Greensboro, North Carolina
, United States. Five protest marchers were shot and killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan
and the American Nazi Party
. The protest was the culmination of attempts by the Communist Workers Party to organize mostly black industrial workers in the area.
The marchers killed were: Sandi Smith, a nurse and civil rights activist; Dr. James Waller, president of a local textile workers union who ceased medical practice to organize workers; Bill Sampson, a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School
; Cesar Cauce, a Cuban immigrant who graduated magna cum laude from Duke University
; and Dr. Michael Nathan, chief of pediatrics at Lincoln Community Health Center
in Durham, North Carolina
, a clinic that helped children from low-income families.
directed by D. W. Griffith
, a cinematographic portrayal of the formation of a Ku Klux Klan
. Taunts and inflammatory rhetoric were exchanged during the ensuing months. On November 3, 1979 a rally and march of industrial workers and Communists was planned in Greensboro against the Ku Klux Klan
. The Death to the Klan March was to begin in a predominantly black housing project called Morningside Homes. Communist organizers publicly challenged the Klan to present themselves and "face the wrath of the people". During the rally, a caravan of cars containing Klansmen and members of the American Nazi Party
drove by the housing projects where the Communists and other anti-Klan activists were congregating. Several marchers began to attack the Klansmens' cars with small wooden sticks or by throwing rocks. According to white supremacist Frazier Glenn Miller, the first shots were fired from a handgun by an anti-Klan demonstrator. However several witnesses reported Klansman Mark Sherer fired the first shot (into the air). Klansmen and Nazis fired with shotguns, rifles and pistols. Cauce, Waller and Sampson were killed at the scene. Smith was shot in the forehead when she peeked from her hiding place. Eleven others were wounded. One of them, Dr. Michael Nathan, later died from his wounds at a hospital. Most of the armed confrontation was filmed by four local news camera crews.
(ATFE) later testified that he was aware that Klansmen and members of the American Nazi Party unit he had infiltrated would confront the demonstrators. In a previous testimony, the neo-Nazis claimed the agent encouraged them to carry firearms to the anti-Klan demonstration.
of the defendants by all-white juries
. However, in a 1985 civil lawsuit the survivors won a $350,000 judgment against the city, the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party for violating the civil rights of the demonstrators. However only one plaintiff, Marty Nathan, received their payment.
to take public testimony and examine the causes and consequences of the massacre; the efforts of the Commission were officially opposed by the Greensboro City Council.
The Commission determined that Klan members went to the rally intending to provoke a violent confrontation, and that they fired on demonstrators. In addition, the Commission found that the violent rhetoric of the Communist Workers Party and the Klan contributed in varying degrees to the violence, and that the protesters had not fully secured the community support of the Morningside Homes residents, many of whom did not approve of the protest because of its potential for violent confrontation.
The Commission also found that the Greensboro Police Department had infiltrated the Klan and, through a paid informant, knew of the white supremacists’ plans and the strong potential for violence. The informant had formerly been on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's payroll but had maintained contact with his agent supervisor. Consequently, the FBI was also aware of the impending armed confrontation.
The Commission further established that some activists in the crowd fired back after they were attacked. Filmmaker Adam Zucker's 2007 documentary, Greensboro: Closer to the Truth, examines the work of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
wrote the track "88 Seconds in Greensboro" about the incident. It was on their album Crush
and was the B-side for the UK version of the single for "If You Leave
".
Another British band, Pop Will Eat Itself
, has a track called "88 Seconds... & Still Counting", from their 1990 album Cure For Sanity
, which also mentions the incident.
Greensboro band The Othermothers featured a track about the incident, "88 Seconds (I Wanna Go To The Rodeo)" on their 1985 EP "No Place Like Home".
Books
Video
Articles and news reports
Anniversary news reports
Websites
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
, United States. Five protest marchers were shot and killed by members of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
and the American Nazi Party
American Nazi Party
The American Nazi Party was an American political party founded by discharged U.S. Navy Commander George Lincoln Rockwell. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Rockwell initially called it the World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists , but later renamed it the American Nazi Party in...
. The protest was the culmination of attempts by the Communist Workers Party to organize mostly black industrial workers in the area.
The marchers killed were: Sandi Smith, a nurse and civil rights activist; Dr. James Waller, president of a local textile workers union who ceased medical practice to organize workers; Bill Sampson, a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
; Cesar Cauce, a Cuban immigrant who graduated magna cum laude from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
; and Dr. Michael Nathan, chief of pediatrics at Lincoln Community Health Center
Lincoln Community Health Center
Lincoln Community Health Center is a primary care facility located in Durham, North Carolina since opening its doors as Lincoln Community Hospital in 1901. LCHC offers a wide range of health services including adult medicine, pediatrics, dental, social work/mental health services, family care...
in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, a clinic that helped children from low-income families.
Rally
Hostility between the groups flared in July 1979 when protesters disrupted a screening of the 1915 epic, The Birth of a NationThe Birth of a Nation
The Birth of a Nation is a 1915 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and based on the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. Griffith also co-wrote the screenplay , and co-produced the film . It was released on February 8, 1915...
directed by D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
, a cinematographic portrayal of the formation of a Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. Taunts and inflammatory rhetoric were exchanged during the ensuing months. On November 3, 1979 a rally and march of industrial workers and Communists was planned in Greensboro against the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. The Death to the Klan March was to begin in a predominantly black housing project called Morningside Homes. Communist organizers publicly challenged the Klan to present themselves and "face the wrath of the people". During the rally, a caravan of cars containing Klansmen and members of the American Nazi Party
American Nazi Party
The American Nazi Party was an American political party founded by discharged U.S. Navy Commander George Lincoln Rockwell. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Rockwell initially called it the World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists , but later renamed it the American Nazi Party in...
drove by the housing projects where the Communists and other anti-Klan activists were congregating. Several marchers began to attack the Klansmens' cars with small wooden sticks or by throwing rocks. According to white supremacist Frazier Glenn Miller, the first shots were fired from a handgun by an anti-Klan demonstrator. However several witnesses reported Klansman Mark Sherer fired the first shot (into the air). Klansmen and Nazis fired with shotguns, rifles and pistols. Cauce, Waller and Sampson were killed at the scene. Smith was shot in the forehead when she peeked from her hiding place. Eleven others were wounded. One of them, Dr. Michael Nathan, later died from his wounds at a hospital. Most of the armed confrontation was filmed by four local news camera crews.
Role of the police
One of the most questionable aspects of the shoot-out is the role of the police. Police would normally have been present at such a rally. However, no police were present, which allowed the assailants to escape. A police detective and a police photographer did follow the Klan and neo-Nazi caravan to the site, but did not attempt to intervene. Edward Dawson, a Klansmen turned police informant, was in the lead car of the caravan. Two days prior to the march, one of the Klansmen went to the police station and obtained a map of the march and the rally. Bernard Butkovich, an undercover agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and ExplosivesBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice...
(ATFE) later testified that he was aware that Klansmen and members of the American Nazi Party unit he had infiltrated would confront the demonstrators. In a previous testimony, the neo-Nazis claimed the agent encouraged them to carry firearms to the anti-Klan demonstration.
Legal proceedings
Forty Klansmen and neo-Nazis, and several Communist marchers were involved in the shootings; sixteen Klansmen and Nazis were arrested and the six best cases were brought to trial first. Five Klansmen were charged with murder: David Matthews, Jerry Smith, Jack Fowler, Harold Flowers, and Billy Joe Franklin. During the second trial nine men were charged; in addition to David Matthews, Jerry Smith, Jack Fowler, six other men, Virgil Griffin, Eddie Dawson, Wayne Wood, Roy Toney, Coleman Blair Pridmore, and Rayford Milano Caudle were charged with other crimes associated with the event. The two criminal trials resulted in the acquittalAcquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
of the defendants by all-white juries
All-white jury
An "all-white jury" is an American political term used to describe a jury in a criminal trial, or grand jury investigation, composed only of white people, with the implication that the deliberations may not be fair and unbiased...
. However, in a 1985 civil lawsuit the survivors won a $350,000 judgment against the city, the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party for violating the civil rights of the demonstrators. However only one plaintiff, Marty Nathan, received their payment.
Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission
In 2005, Greensboro residents, inspired by post-apartheid South Africa, initiated a Truth and Reconciliation CommissionTruth and Reconciliation Commission
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a court-like restorative justice body assembled in South Africa after the abolition of apartheid. Witnesses who were identified as victims of gross human rights violations were invited to give statements about their experiences, and some were selected...
to take public testimony and examine the causes and consequences of the massacre; the efforts of the Commission were officially opposed by the Greensboro City Council.
The Commission determined that Klan members went to the rally intending to provoke a violent confrontation, and that they fired on demonstrators. In addition, the Commission found that the violent rhetoric of the Communist Workers Party and the Klan contributed in varying degrees to the violence, and that the protesters had not fully secured the community support of the Morningside Homes residents, many of whom did not approve of the protest because of its potential for violent confrontation.
The Commission also found that the Greensboro Police Department had infiltrated the Klan and, through a paid informant, knew of the white supremacists’ plans and the strong potential for violence. The informant had formerly been on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's payroll but had maintained contact with his agent supervisor. Consequently, the FBI was also aware of the impending armed confrontation.
The Commission further established that some activists in the crowd fired back after they were attacked. Filmmaker Adam Zucker's 2007 documentary, Greensboro: Closer to the Truth, examines the work of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
In popular culture
The British band Orchestral Manoeuvres In The DarkOrchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...
wrote the track "88 Seconds in Greensboro" about the incident. It was on their album Crush
Crush (OMD album)
Crush is the sixth album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released in 1985."So in Love" became the group's first hit single in the US, the album also sold well in the US...
and was the B-side for the UK version of the single for "If You Leave
If You Leave
"If You Leave" is a 1986 song by the British synthpop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. It was recorded for the soundtrack to the film Pretty in Pink where it was played prominently during the final scene...
".
Another British band, Pop Will Eat Itself
Pop Will Eat Itself
Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band, originally formed in Stourbridge in 1986, with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a Grebo act, their style changed to incorporate sample driven indie and industrial rock...
, has a track called "88 Seconds... & Still Counting", from their 1990 album Cure For Sanity
Cure for Sanity
Cure for Sanity is the third album by UK based Grebo band, Pop Will Eat Itself.-Track listing:#"The Incredible P.W.E.I. vs The Moral Majority"#"Dance of the Mad Bastards"#"88 Seconds... & Still Counting"#"X Y & Zee"#"City Zen Radio 1990/2000 FM"...
, which also mentions the incident.
Greensboro band The Othermothers featured a track about the incident, "88 Seconds (I Wanna Go To The Rodeo)" on their 1985 EP "No Place Like Home".
Further reading
Articles- Bacigal, Ronald J.Ronald J. BacigalRonald J. Bacigal is a professor of law at the University of Richmond School of Law. He is "nationally recognized as one of the leading scholars of Fourth Amendment Law."...
, and Margaret Ivey Bacigal. "When Racists and Radicals Meet." Emory Law Journal 38 (Fall 1989). - Bryant, Pat. "Justice Vs. the Movement." Radical AmericaRadical AmericaRadical America was a left wing political magazine in the United States established in 1967. The magazine was founded by Paul Buhle and Mary Jo Buhle, activists in Students for a Democratic Society and served during its first few years of existence as an unofficial theoretical journal of that...
14, no. 6 (1980). - Civil Rights Greensboro: The articles of Charles Babington
- Eastland, Terry. "The Communists and the Klan." CommentaryCommentary (magazine)Commentary is a monthly American magazine on politics, Judaism, social and cultural issues. It was founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945. By 1960 its editor was Norman Podhoretz, a liberal at the time who moved sharply to the right in the 1970s and 1980s becoming a strong voice for the...
69, no. 5 (1980). - Institute for Southern Studies. "The Third of November." Southern ExposureInstitute for Southern StudiesThe Institute for Southern Studies is a non-profit media and research center based in Durham, North Carolina that advocates for progressive political and social causes in the Southern United States...
9, no. 3 (1981). - Parenti, MichaelMichael ParentiMichael Parenti is an award-winning, internationally known American political scientist, historian, and culture critic who has been writing on a wide range of both scholarly and popular subjects for over forty years. He has taught at several universities and colleges and has been a frequent guest...
, and Carolyn Kazdin. "The Untold Story of the Greensboro Massacre." Monthly ReviewMonthly ReviewMonthly Review is an independent Marxist journal published 11 times per year in New York City.-History:The publication was founded by Harvard University economics instructor Paul Sweezy, who became the first editor...
33, no. 6 (1981). - Ray O. Light GroupRay O. Light GroupToday, the Revolutionary Organization of Labor or Ray O. Light — a Maoist-oriented 1961 splinter group from the Communist Party USA — takes several different positions within the Marxist-Leninist movement....
. "'Left' Opportunism and the Rise of Reaction: The Lessons of the Greensboro Massacre." Toward Victorious Afro-American National Liberation: A Collection of Pamphlets, Leaflets and Essays Which Dealt In a Timely Way With the Concrete Ongoing Struggle for Black Liberation Over the Past Decade and More pp. 249–260. Ray O. Light Publications: Bronx NY, 1982.
Books
- Bermanzohn, Sally Avery. Through Survivors' Eyes: From the Sixties to the Greensboro Massacre. 400 pages, 57 illustrations, index. Vanderbilt University PressVanderbilt University PressVanderbilt University Press is a university press that is part of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.Vanderbilt University Press is the principal publishing arm of Vanderbilt University. The Press selects, edits, and markets scholarly texts, especially in the areas of the humanities and...
; 1st edition (September 1, 2003). ISBN 0-8265-1439-1. - Waller, Signe. Love And Revolution: A Political Memoir: People’s History Of The Greensboro Massacre, Its Setting And Aftermath. London & New York: Rowman & LittlefieldRowman & LittlefieldRowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books and journals for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns a book distributor, National Book Network...
. 2002. ISBN 0-7425-1365-3. - Wheaton, Elizabeth. Codename GREENKIL: The 1979 Greensboro Killings. 328 pages. Athens: University of Georgia PressUniversity of Georgia PressThe University of Georgia Press or UGA Press is a publishing house and is a member of the Association of American University Presses.Founded in 1938, the UGA Press is a division of the University of Georgia and is located on the campus in Athens, Georgia, USA...
, 1987. ISBN 0-8203-0935-4.
Video
- "Lawbreakers: The Greensboro Massacre" The History ChannelThe History ChannelHistory, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
. Lawbreakers Series. Video Cassette. 46 minutes. Color. 2000. Broadcast October 13, 2004. - Greensboro's Child. Directed by Andy Burton Coon. Independent. 2002. of eyewitness interviews. Retrieved May 22, 2006. – Footage omits final 5:09 minutes of tape. Retrieved May 23, 2006.
- YouTube footage of the actual shootings
External links
- Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The 500+ page Final Report of the Commission, which examines the context, causes, sequence and consequences of Nov. 3, 1979, is available on this site in .pdf form.
Articles and news reports
- "88 Seconds in Greensboro": Transcript. PBS Frontline. Reported by James Reston, Jr. Directed by William Cran. Original Airdate: January 24, 1983.
Anniversary news reports
- Greensboro Set To Mark Deadly Anniversary: Five Killed, 11 Injured In 'Greensboro Massacre' by Scott Mason and Kamal Wallace. WRAL. Posted: 11:25 am EST November 3, 2003. Retrieved April 5, 2005.
- Remembering the 1979 Greensboro Massacre 25 years later – Broadcast by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
on November 18, 2004. - Seeking Closure on 'Greensboro Massacre' Reconciliation Panel Convenes in N.C. to Address '79 Attack by Nazi Party, Klan by Darryl Fears, Washington Post. Sunday, March 6, 2005; Page A03. Retrieved April 17, 2005.
Websites
- Civil Rights Greensboro: The Greensboro Massacre
- Greensboro Justice Fund
- Greensboro VOICES Contains oral histories pertaining to November 3, 1979.
- Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission Community organization to find out the truth about the Greensboro Massacre and to reconcile groups involved.