Since I mentioned the Greensboro Massacre in a recent post, I’ll have to say I was startled to find the video available on YouTube. Miscategorized as a shootout by the Mainstream Media, since the Communist Workers Party had sticks and one handgun while the Ku Klux Klan was organized with numerous hunting rifles, the American public got hoodwinked yet again.
Unfortunately, though the Massacre was an international incident, the American public was manipulated using their fears of Communism [of which I'm no fan but I'm not scurred either], by the fact that the KKK shot only white members of the CWP [they knew exactly who was who, how did they know?] and by the fact that the CWP used the slogan "Death to the Klan."
And you still wonder why I’m angry about rap fools boasting about selling crack, f*cking hoes and the size of their guns?
Update:
Please note the comments for a clarification regarding Sandi Smith, the first casualty who was, in fact, an African-American woman. If you’re interested in this topic, please also visit Greensboro’s Child.
hey clyde,
that footage is actually from my brother’s documentary, “Greensboro’s Child” http://www.greensboroschild.com you should check it out if you get a moment, it’s well worth it.
peace,
sean
btw, Sandi Smith was a 24-year old black woman — the first person shot dead on the scene. but your point is spot on; the local press, city officials, even the prosecuting attorney, each group completely and conveniently side-stepped the *fact* that a police informant was driving the lead car of the KKK/Nazi caravan… the trials were a sham.
My bad regarding Sandi Smith.
It’s been a while since I even looked at any of that material but I had only recalled that Nelson Johnson was not murdered at the scene. I later heard him speak, strong presence, and finally met him in 2000 when he had become a preacher in Greensboro.
I hope it’s obvious that no disrespect was intended.
I never saw the documentary. I’ll have to check that out.
I did a performance piece in Durham in 1982 called Since Nov. 3, 1979. Folks that knew a lot of those people showed for one of the nights and it became a scene of heavy grieving during that particular performance.
I’ll never forget that.
Thanks for touching base.
Give your brother my regards.
Clyde-
Got your regards and thanks for shedding light on such a dark topic. Many people to this day still refuse to see what actually took place. It was a tragic day and people need to be aware of what happened that day. It is to easy to say that communists and klansmen were involved in a shootout and who cares. What lies beneath it all is power and the ability to lie to the general public. I’m glad the GTRC came about and gave their comments/recommendations to the community.
The Greensboro Massacre has always been on my list to spend time researching and looking at from a variety of angles. It’s one of those projects I’ll always regret not getting to. But there’s still time for me, if not for many of those touched by this disaster.
Though some great material came out after the shootings, the work produced by people associated with the CWP at the time, was all too easy to dismiss because of the strong ideological slant. It was an understandable approach but not one that would reach a larger “market”, if you will.
There was another book written by a woman associated with Southern Exposure whose initial coauthored study was really tight. When she did the full length book, her liberal anticommunist leanings came to the fore and she dismissed the previous analysis of police involvement, even though the original coauthored research held up just fine.
Found it at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensboro_massacre
Wheaton, Elizabeth. Codename GREENKIL: The 1979 Greensboro Killings. 328 pages. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1987. ISBN 0820309354.
She coauthored an excellent report for Southern Exposure. I guess once she ditched the coauthor, her own weaknesses took over. I really consider her book one of the more glaring betrayals of justice by liberals who talk left but always fold in the crunch. Though that approach certainly had many precedents and remains quite popular.
Though I haven’t looked closely at more recent materials, I still have the feeling that the major Village Voice investigation and the Southern Exposure research paper were the best things done in terms of their potential impact and spot on reporting.
Which reminds me of what a tragic loss the gradual deterioration of the Village Voice has been.
By the way, Andy, thanks for stopping by.
You guys are a good tag team!
hey clyde, i’m back
yeah, elizabeth wheaton’s book was an interesting read, but i have to say, she seemed to have *way* too much of a personal read on what nelson johnson and other folks were intimately thinking at the time. and on page 101?… well, check it out ( http://www.greensboroschild.com/2006/05/13/elizabeth-wheaton-101-tell-us-what-you-really-think/ ).
and feel free to stop on by my blog sometime. i think you’ll like it.
-sean
Thanks. I actually added you to my Bloglines reader after we reconnected, cause I know we connected previously but it’s been awhile.
Unfortunately, I’ve got over 200 feeds I’m pretending to track at the moment, though I’m only keeping up with a handful.
But I’ll definitely be checking you out.
By the way, my copy of Greenkil is in a storage facility in Ohio! I look forward to being reunited with such volumes at a still to be determined future date.
Clyde,
Wanted to give you a heads up that I posted the entire documentary about The Greensboro Massacre on my blog. Check it out at http://greensboroschild.com/theater
Make no mistake about it, it was indeed a shootout. ACCORDING TO THE SHOT CHART, HALF OF THE SHOTS FIRED THAT DAY WERE FIRED BY THE RED COMMIE DOGS. 19 SHOTS WERE FIRED BY THE REDS AND THEY HAD SEVERAL GUNS NOT JUST ONE. ACCORDING TO THE LATE ROLAND WAYNE WOOD ONE OF THE NAZIS, THE REDS FIRED 6 SHOTS BEFORE THE KLAN WENT BACK TO THEIR CARS N GOT THEIR GUNS TO SHOOT BACK WITH. IM CONVINCED THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE REDS WOULD’NT TESTIFY AT THE TRIAL. THE REDS DIDN’T WANT TO HAVE TO ANSWER FOR ANYTHING THAT THEY DID THAT CREATED THE “GREENSBORO SHOOTOUT”.
THE KLAN AND NAZIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN MEDALS OF VALOR INSTEAD OF MURDER CHARGES. AFTER ALL, WHEN THEY WERE IN THE SERVICE AND WERE KILLING REDS IN VIETNAM THEY GOT MEDALS FOR KILLING REDS, SO WHY NOT GET THEM HERE ON THE HOME FRONT FOR DOING THE SAME THING?
For the record, you’re wrong on all counts, Ward. Your logic and viewpoints sicken me and I hope this is the last we’ll see of you.