Greensboro Massacre

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As Greensboro Massacre of armed robbery by members of is American Nazi Party and the Ku Klux Klan to a Communist demonstration in Greensboro in the US state of North Carolina called on 3rd November 1979th Five demonstrators were shot dead. The demonstration marked the culmination of attempts by the Communist Workers' Party to organize the predominantly black industrial workers in the region.

The five protesters killed were Sandra Smith, a nurse and civil rights activist and James Waller, the president of a local textile workers union , as well as William Sampson, a Harvard Divinity School graduate , Cesar Cauce, a Cuban immigrant who graduated with magna cum from Duke University laude and Michael Nathan, a medical professional who helped children from low-income families.

In the first two trials, the defendants were acquitted by two all-white juries . In 1985, a lawsuit filed by the Christic Institute and its attorney Daniel Sheehan resulted in one of the few convictions - to date - against law enforcement officials in the southern states accused of collusion in connection with clan violence. The survivors were awarded $ 350,000 in compensation and the City of Greensboro, the American Nazi Party and the Klan were charged with violating the civil rights of the protesters. The city took the entire sentence. Only Martha Nathan received her money. Two other plaintiffs who were awarded money never received it.

Demonstration and raid

Inter-group hostilities flared up in July 1979 when leftist activists disrupted a showing of DW Griffith's The Birth of a Nation in China Grove . The 1915 film heroizes the Ku Klux Klan and is considered a technical milestone, but it has come under constant criticism because of the anti-black prejudices conveyed in the film. After this attack, there were repeated verbal attacks on the other in the months that followed.

On November 3, 1979, a demonstration against the Klan was held in Greensboro by industrial workers and communists. The "Death to the Klan March" started in a mostly black social housing estate called Morningside Homes. Communist organizers had publicly called on the Klan to appear at the demonstration and "face the wrath of the people".

During the move, a leading motorcade before in which Klanleute and members of the American Nazi Party were. They drove right past the communists and other opponents of sound. They started attacking the cars with branches and throwing stones at them. According to Frazier Glenn Miller, a supporter of the idea of ​​white supremacy , the first shots were fired by an anti-Klan protester. According to numerous witnesses, however, the first shot was fired by Klan member Mark Sherer, a shot in the air.

The Klan people and neo-Nazis fired shotguns , rifles and pistols at the demonstrators. Cesar Cauce, James Waller and William Sampson died on the spot. Sandra Smith was shot in the head while looking out of her hiding place. Eleven other people were shot. One of them, Michael Nathan, later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Most of the shooting was recorded by four cameras on local news channels.

Role of the police

One of the most controversial aspects of the shooting is the role of the police. Normally at a demonstration like the one in Greensboro, the police would be present. In this case, however, this was not the case, which allowed the attackers to escape. A detective and a police photographer followed the clan and neo-Nazi motorcade to the demonstration, but tried not to intervene. Later one of the Klan people, Edward Dawson, became a police informant. Dawson was in the lead car of the parade. Two days before the demonstration, one of the Klan people went to a police station and received a map of the planned route.

Bernard Butkovich, an undercover agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), later testified that clan people and members of the American Nazi Party group he was monitoring planned to initiate a confrontation with the protesters. In a previous statement, ANP members stated that Butkovich had asked them to bring firearms to the demonstration.

Aftermath

Legal proceedings

40 Klan people and neo-Nazis were involved in the shooting. 16 people were arrested and the six most promising cases were brought to court first. Five clan members have been charged with the murder: David Wayne Matthews, Jerry Paul Smith, Jack Wilson Fowler, Harold Dean Flowers and Billy Joe Franklin.

In the second trial, nine men were charged. Along with Matthews, Smith and Fowler, six other people were charged with other crimes related to the robbery. These were Virgil Lee Griffin, Eddie Dawson, Roland Wayne Wood, Roy Clinton Toney, Coleman Blair Pridmore, and Rayford Milano Caudle.

Both trials resulted in an acquittal for all defendants by two juries consisting only of white people .

In 1985, the Christic Institute and their attorney Daniel Sheehan brought a civil lawsuit to conviction of five attackers and two police officers. This verdict is one of the few southern court decisions against law enforcement officials charged with involvement in clan violence. The survivors were awarded 350,000 damages. The sentence was imposed on Greensboro City, the Klan and the American Nazi Party for violating the civil rights of the protesters. The city took the entire sentence. Only Martha "Marty" Nathan, Michael Nathan's wife, received the money due to her. Tom Clark and Paul Bermanzohnm, who were also awarded money, never received it.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

In 2005, residents of Greensboro set up a truth and reconciliation commission to take a public position on the massacre and to work out the causes and consequences. The model was the commission in South Africa, which was set up after the end of apartheid . The city council under Mayor Keith Holliday openly opposed the commission. The council voted six to three against support. The three black council members voted for the support. Jim Melvin, the mayor at the time of the massacre, also rejected the commission.

The commission found that the Klan people went to the demonstration with the intention of provoking violent clashes and that they shot at the demonstrators. It also found that the violent rhetoric of the clan and the communists had contributed, to varying degrees, to the violence. She also found that the protesters were not entirely sure of the support of the residents of Morningside Homes, many did not show up because they feared violent clashes.

The commission also found that Greensboro police had infiltrated the clan and, through a paid informant, knew of plans to disrupt the demonstration. She was also aware of the great potential for violence. The informant used to work as an informer for the FBI and stayed in contact with his old commanding officer . As a result, the FBI was also informed of the impending armed clash.

The commission also found that some protesters shot back after being attacked. The documentary Greensboro: Closer to the Truth from 2007 is based on the results of the commission.

Artistic reception

The British synth pop band OMD deals with the events in Greensboro in their song 88 Seconds in Greensboro.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Press Action: The Greensboro Massacre ( Memento of November 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Sandra Neely Smith personal data , accessed September 14, 2013
  3. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Personal Data James Michael Waller , accessed September 14, 2013
  4. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Personal Data William Evan Sampson , accessed September 14, 2013
  5. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Personal data Cesar Cauce , accessed September 14, 2013
  6. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Personal data Michael Ronald Nathan , accessed September 14, 2013
  7. ^ A b Civil Rights Greensboro: Greensboro Massacre , accessed September 14, 2013
  8. ↑ a b The Prism: Chronology of the November 3, 1979 Greensboro Massacre and its Aftermath , accessed September 16, 2013
  9. ^ Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission: The Final Report , accessed September 16, 2013
  10. ↑ a b The Washington Post : Seeking Closure on 'Greensboro Massacre', March 6, 2005, accessed September 16, 2013
  11. ^ The New York Times : Agent Tells of '79 Threats by Klan and Nazis, May 12, 1985, accessed September 16, 2013
  12. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Personal Data David Wayne Matthews , accessed September 16, 2013
  13. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Jerry Paul Smith Personal Data , accessed September 16, 2013
  14. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Personal Data Jack Wilson Fowler , accessed September 16, 2013
  15. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Personal data Harold Dean Flowers , accessed on September 16, 2013
  16. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Billy Joe Franklin personal data , accessed September 16, 2013
  17. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Personal Data Virgil Lee Griffin , accessed September 16, 2013
  18. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Eddie Dawson Personal Data , accessed September 16, 2013
  19. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Roland Wayne Wood personal data , accessed September 16, 2013
  20. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Roy Clinton Toney personal data , accessed September 16, 2013
  21. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Coleman Blair Pridmore Personal Data , accessed September 16, 2013
  22. ^ Civil Rights Greensboro: Personal data Rayford Milano Caudle , accessed on September 16, 2013
  23. ^ The New York Times : Acquittal in Greensboro, April 18, 1984, accessed September 16, 2013
  24. ^ The New York Times : Civil Convictions In Greensboro, June 9, 1985, accessed September 16, 2013
  25. ^ The Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission: What is Truth and Reconciliation? , accessed September 16, 2013
  26. ^ University of Minnesota School of Social Work: Can Truth Commissions be Effective in the United States? An Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Greensboro, North Carolina (PDF; 85 kB) from 2007, accessed on September 16, 2013
  27. ↑ Radical History Review: A Massacre Survivor Reflects on the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission of 2007. Quotation: "In sum, the GPD instigated and facilitated the attack with the knowledge of federal agents in the FBI and the ATF" / In summary, the GPD (Police) instigated the attack and relieved it, with the knowledge of federal agents of the FBI and ATF.
  28. ↑ The NewStandard: Truth Commission Blames Cops in 'Greensboro Massacre', June 2, 2006, accessed September 16, 2013
  29. ^ Greensboro: Closer to the Truth , official site of the film