This week's column
City officials may have stayed away in droves from the first Truth and Reconciliation hearings last week, but the Ku Klux Klan didn't.
Virgil Griffin, a self-proclaimed Klansman hence, now and forevermore, gave as good as he got.
He made no apologies. He affirmed his belief in "race purity." He attributed the one-sidedness of the carnage on Nov. 3, 1979, to his boys being better shots than the anti-Klan protesters they killed -- and the fact that "maybe God guided the bullets. I don't know."
He had nothing against black people, he said. He just wouldn't want to have a drink with one and wouldn't want any of his kids to marry one.
He was curt and crusty and unrepentant, so tightly wrapped in fear and ignorance that he couldn't even see the sheer absurdity of it all.
For instance, Griffin said the Klan despised communists because U.S. soldiers had fought against communism in Vietnam. How then, could he justify an alliance with Nazis, against whom U.S. soldiers fought in World War II?
Yet, give Griffin -- who led the caravan of heavily armed Klansmen and neo-Nazis that fatally shot five protesters in '79 -- credit for showing up at all. And give the Truth and Reconciliation Commission credit for inviting him.
Despite widespread skepticism that this was a kangaroo court, the commission seems genuinely committed to a balanced retrospective on a day Greensboro finds so hard to remember and so impossible to forget.
Some other observations from the hearings:
• Not everyone was pleased when the audience applauded after Griffin's testimony. "You don't applaud for a murderer," one young man grumbled.
• For what it's worth, the racial makeup of the audience was majority white, and the community's traditional black leadership was largely absent. No county commissioners, legislators or City Council members. That may or may not mean anything.
• Elizabeth Wheaton, author of a book on Nov. 3, "Codename: Greenkil," admonished former members of the Communist Workers Party, who sponsored the ill-fated "Death to the Klan" rally, to admit their own mistakes and misjudgments.
After opening with an unflattering litany of quotes about the CWP's philosophy and tactics, she said, "We can't do justice to this tragedy if we hold the various players to different standards."
Wheaton made it a point in her remarks and in an interview afterward to spread the blame where it apparently belonged: all around. There's no evidence the police were involved in a conspiracy or that they "incited" the Klansmen and Nazis, she said.
She also criticized the police for so seriously underestimating the potential for bloodshed. "I think anybody with any sense would know, if the Klan was coming there to counter-demonstrate, the potential for violence was very, very serious," she said.
Finally, she noted that two Greensboro officers never had been publicly recognized for what they did right on Nov. 3. Art League and Sam Bryant intercepted a yellow van containing several Klansmen and took them into custody immediately following the shootings.
The Klansmen quietly surrendered their weapons and lay on the ground as ordered.
Contacted at his office late last week, League, 52, now a private investigator, downplayed his role. The KKK offered no resistance, he said, although the situation did grow tense as an angry neighborhood crowd gathered and approached. "We had a mess," League said, "people on the ground and people in the crowd hollerin'."
But League and Bryant kept the crowd at bay and the Klansmen on the ground until backup arrived.
League said he'd testify at the Truth and Reconciliation hearings, if asked. "I get tired of this stuff getting twisted," he said.
As for his own opinions? "This was not a conspiracy. Give me a break," he said. But mistakes had been made, he added. "It wasn't a set-up, it was inexperience. Nobody knew what to expect. ... If it was a set-up, Nelson Johnson would be pushing up daisies."
As for Johnson's role in the tragedy as the leader of the anti-Klan rally, League said: "I don't think he was the kind of person that would put kids in harm's way. He made mistakes. The Klan made mistakes. The police made mistakes."
From that day on, League said, "Every police department learned what to do. We were the guinea pigs. Everybody learns from mistakes. It took a bad incident for everybody to learn."
Which was the point of all this in the first place, wasn't it?
Comments (24)
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Allen,
This was a fair and balanced piece that I enjoyed reading. I believe that the events of Nov. 3, 1979 were the result of two extreme groups that were both looking for a fight. I don't believe that the GPD was involved or at fault in any way. Your story gave them a fair shake. Whether the T&R commission does is yet to be seen.
My opposition to the commission is that I don't see what purpose it serves other than to reopen an ugly chapter in Greensboro history, even though the city of Greensboro seems to be a victim of circumstance at best. This could have happened anywhere. By reopening this, it only makes the city look bad. I believe this is the reason the city council chose not to get involved.
I believe that most rational people would agree that the fault lies with the Klan and the Communists (both from outside of Greensboro), not the people or police in the city of Greensboro, that is why the T&R commission serves no useful purpose in my opinion. That said, the commission seems to be providing a good history lesson on the subject by bringing together the parties involved.
Posted on July 24, 2005 9:40 PM
Sam:
I appreciate your open-mindedness. This is not a perfect process but I believe it is an earnest one.
Posted on July 24, 2005 11:51 PM
What an ignorant man.
In my opinion the point of the whole thing was and still is, if you have a death to anyone rally, please take a minute to think that the possibility someone WILL BE killed more than likely.
It isn't rocket science, is it?
Posted on July 25, 2005 10:55 AM
I posted the message below yesterday over at Ed Cone's blog site. After reading the comments by Samuel Spagnola I decided to post it here also.
First, some of people involved on Nov. 3rd had lived in Greensboro for a number of years. Some attended A&T and Bennett. When does one qualify to be a citizen of Greensboro? More importantly, why does it matter about the address of the individuals? Is our concern about Nov. 3rd or our level of compassion about what happened somehow effected by someone's home address?
_________________
The important testimony of many at the first round of public T&R hearings provided some significant background concerning Nov. 3rd. A lot of information was placed within its historical context. It took many years for some of the witnesses to lay down their intense anger and hostility and tell their personal story. The voluntary testimony we heard last weekend could never have happened in the early and mid 1980's. Time may fade a few memories but it also allows some real communication.
Both Allen and Ed, in their good N&R pieces today, have confirmed for us that many different voices are being heard. The applause given to Virgil Griffin was probably due to him attending the hearings and telling his story. The applause given to Gorrell Pierce was probably due to his actual testimony. Both could be seen as real human beings with some serious faults just like ourselves. Maybe the best lesson from these hearings will be that the CWP and the Klan represent both a real part of our community and of ourselves. Gorrell Pierce stated that if he had grown up in New York he may have been a good communist. Rather than viewing the participants involved in Nov. 3rd as "sub-human" we may begin to see a lot of Greensboro reflected in each of them. The greatest myth to be shattered may be that those who participated on Nov. 3rd where "outsiders" and very different than us.
Posted on July 25, 2005 2:33 PM
Lilly, we got it - around the 527th time you said it. Your opinion of your opinion is inflated.
Posted on July 25, 2005 4:22 PM
Well shh, I'm glad you are hearing me. Too bad you can't LISTEN.
I believe I am right. You can believe what you wants to wif.
Now play nice. I am.
Posted on July 25, 2005 7:50 PM
I wonder why The N-R feels the commission is as newsworthy as they have made it out to be. Apparantly few citizens do.
The Klansmen were not from here. Their actions were not motivated by race. The CWP orchestrated the violent protests in a poor, predominantly black Greensboro neighborhood. They also made a mockery of the justice system.
Could it be that no one wants to be reconciled with the KKK and the CWP?
Posted on July 26, 2005 9:53 AM
Note to John Young:
The KKK was not part of our community for 364 days of 1979. It is not part of our community today. The CWP, unfortunately, was part of Greensboro for a time. Perhaps the one good thing resulting from the tragic deaths of November 3rd is the death of the CWP in Greensboro.
Posted on July 26, 2005 10:00 AM
Mr. Spagnola,
How do you reconcile your statement that no fault lies with the "police in the city of Greensboro" with the civil judgment against the City in this case?
Also, how do the police escape any responsibility when one of their jobs is to keep the peace, and these two groups were clearly a threat to the peace yet were allowed to clash without adequate police presence?
Distrust of the police in the black community remains a big issue. It is one that I hope this process can help with here in my hometown.
Posted on July 26, 2005 3:49 PM
The police did not plot with anyone for the shootings to occur, nor did they kill anyone. The responsibility lies with the CRIMINALS on both sides who committed criminal acts. Blaming Greensboro or the police is grasping for straws and looking for a scapegoat without evidence regardless of any judgment. I have seen no evidence of a conspiracy. It was just idiot extremists with guns shooting at each other.
Further, your statement "distrust of the police in the black community remains a big issue" is also true of a sizeable segment of the "white community" as well. It depends on your experience. Believe me, I have plenty of white clients who have no love of the police either. Also, please define "the black community?" where is it, and who lives there? Where is the "white community"? These blanket labels and assumptions about race are troubling to me.
Posted on July 27, 2005 1:25 PM
I said nothing about a conspiracy. I've seen no evidence to support that idea, and would be disappointed to see the Commission report give credence to that version of events in the absence of evidence.
However, you did not address my point. The City of Greensboro was found liable and forced to pay a large settlement in a civil trial for the failure of the police on 11/3/79. And by the simplest common-sense definition of keeping the peace, the police did not do what we pay them to do on that day.
To say that the police had nothing to do with it, then, goes against the findings of the legal system and against common sense.
Posted on July 27, 2005 7:46 PM
Ed, the issue of whether the police are at fault for failing to adequately do their job is an entirely different issue (and legal question) than whether they are at fault for the shootout. I have never said the police couldn't have done a better job, my point is that they are not to blame for what happened, and were not conspirators as some have claimed (I never said you did).
Posted on July 28, 2005 10:20 AM
Mr. Cone, the "fault" found by the court against the police consisted of their use of an informant, and the control of that informant by a detective. Not in failing to provide protection, etc. Correct me if I'm wrong, you may have access to archives that I haven't seen in years.
The officer in charge of the area that day was Capt. Trever Hampton, a BLACK ranking officer. He was a BLACK officer, Mr. Cone, keep that in mind. To suggest that this black police captain conspired with the Klan to kill people in a black neighborhood is incredibly naive. (Hampton went on to have a scandal-ridden reign as police chief in Durham, NC, and some other departments after he left Durham under a cloud.)
As I recall from news coverage and conversations with officers involved, Capt. Hampton did not have officers in the immediate area of the demonstration in a spirit of non-interference with constitutionally protected action. During the pre-event planning stage for police response Capt. Hampton bent over backwards to avoid militant police presence at this event in order to prevent police-demonstrator violence.
Once it went downhill, the officers responded and did a great job in a stressful and dangerous situation.
If Capt. Hampton had planned heavy police presence at the event, we might be here to day discussing the Police/CPW massacre, instead of the Klan/CWP massacre.
As with many dilemmas faced by law enforcement, they're "damned if they do, damned if they don't."
The fault of the violence lies with the participants, not the authorities.
Posted on July 29, 2005 11:27 AM
Who are you arguing with JayCee? I have not said there was a conspiracy.
I don't think this process is all about assigning or apportioning blame.
I believe the killers were responsible for their actions, and the marchers for theirs. But in understanding what happened, it is worth noting that the City did pay a judgment for wrongful death. And in common sense terms, the police did not prevent violence when violence should have been anticipated.
I agree with Elizabeth Wheaton, who testified at the hearings: "But it seems to me that we can't do justice to this tragedy if we hold the various players to different standards. We cannot find the whole truth by looking at half truths."
Her testimony is fascinating, and it says a lot about the Truth and Rec process. You can read it here.
Posted on July 29, 2005 12:59 PM
Two uniformed police officers in China Grove helped to prevent a major violent confrontation between the Klan/Nazis and CWP in the summer of 1979. At least one Greensboro police officer has already noted that a uniformed police presence at Morningside Homes could have probably helped to keep the violence from occurring on Nov. 3rd. A full explanation of why the police had no uniformed presence has remained unanswered for 25 years. No reliable evidence exists that the police failure to protect a legally permitted march was a part of any conspiracy. However, a careful review of trial number three in Winston-Salem is very important. The jury did not accept the CWP's conspiracy theory after three months of testimony but they found more police fault than simply Detective Cooper and informant Eddie Dawson. I am sure the Commission will provide much more information on the reasons for no uniformed police presence on Nov. 3rd but they still need a lot of help from reliable people in the community who want this honestly discussed.
Posted on July 29, 2005 8:13 PM
Mr. Young wrote:
"A full explanation of why the police had no uniformed presence has remained unanswered for 25 years."
"I am sure the Commission will provide much more information on the reasons for no uniformed police presence on Nov. 3rd..."
I just gave you the explanation, Mr. Young. Capt. Trevor Hampton decided not to place officers at the demonstration itself to try and prevent anti-police violence from the CWP. You can check the archives or news reports or whatever and verify it.
Why do you think the "thoughts" of biased participants speaking at the T&R (and who were not police officers) will bring out the "truth?" The truth has been in the public arena for 25 years, it was covered in depth by the news media at the time. The only thing the T&R is doing is trying to rewrite the truth.
Posted on July 29, 2005 11:29 PM
Mr. Cone, I'll say it again:
If the police had been at the demonstration itself and sparked anti-police violence, they would have been damned for doing it. As it is, they weren't there and folks like you damn them for NOT being there.
It appears you're looking for some way to blame the police no matter what they did.
Posted on July 29, 2005 11:32 PM
JayCee,
I am not part of the Commission (they may be well aware of your explanation) and I have not studied all the records but in my reading of news clippings, the Police's Administrative Report on Nov. 3rd in the Greensboro Public Library, and most of the records of the court trials at the Wilson Library at UNC your explanation is different from other published explanations. Several of the published explanations speak about the police department's confusion about the actual location of the march because some flyers (and the issued Parade Permit) said Everitt and Carver in Morningsides Homes and others said the Windsor Community Center. (Detective Cooper was following the Klan/Nazi caravan through Greensboro, making reports back to his department heads about their location.) Could you provide some factual news reports to support your conclusion to the Commission? The Commission does need participants like you to help get the story right. Your opinion is important and it will be respected by the Commission.
My question to you is, with your explanation, why did the Greensboro Police Department issue a parade permit to the CWP? And since they did issue a parade permit was it not their responsibility to provide security for the march and especially for the innocent residence of Morningside Homes. Blame is not the intent -- trying to rationally understand what happened is the central concern.
The police operational plan for Nov. 3rd was created by many more people than Capt. Hampton.
Your explanation may have some true merit and help shed some light on the police behavior that day. I hope you can locate some of your source material.
Posted on July 30, 2005 2:26 AM
JayCee,
What did you think of Wheaton's testimony? What do you think of the fact that it is in the public record created by the Commission?
For that matter, what does it mean that none of the writers in this forum who support the idea of the Commission are talking about conspiracy, or bashing the cops? You are arguing right past us.
Posted on July 30, 2005 7:39 AM
Mr. Young wrote:
"My question to you is, with your explanation, why did the Greensboro Police Department issue a parade permit to the CWP?"
For the same reason they will issue a permit for the NAACP or the Klan or the Knights Of Columbus, it pretty much falls under the constitutional right to freely assemble.
Mr. Cone, in several of your posts you insinuate that the police are at fault here, the police didn't do their job, the police are to blame, the police should have done more, blah, blah, blah.
The man in charge that day, Capt. Trevor Hampton, made a decision based on the information available to him and the presence he felt was most appropriate at the time. To second guess him, without being in his shoes, is nonsense.
Posted on July 30, 2005 5:10 PM
I'm not insinuating anything: it seems clear by the very definition of "keeping the peace" that the police failed to do their jobs that day. That is common sense, given the outcome, and that was the judgment of the court. I've had police officers tell me as much. It just doesn't seem to be a controversial statement.
But again, assigning blame is not why I'm interested in this process. If you read my comments, you will see that I hold each group accountable for its actions. I think a grassroots history of that day will be useful and interesting and (I hope) healing.
You have not responded to my questions about Wheaton's testimony, and its meaning for this process. It seems that you wish only to declare the process invalid, based on your preconceptions. That's your choice, but the invitation to continue the conversation is open-ended. Peace.
Posted on July 30, 2005 7:24 PM
The decision on how to "keep the peace" that day rested with the officer in charge, Capt. Trevor Hampton. With the available information, and in keeping with his professional opinion on the situation, he made the decisions on who to deploy and where to deploy them. We can be Monday-morning-quarterbacks all day long, but it's unfair to second guess the call by Capt. Hampton based on what happened after he made his decision.
That's why we have professional law officers making these decisions, not regular citizens like you and me. We can look back in history and see how things could have played out had any one of a thousand different decisions been made, but it comes down to the guy on the street doing the best he can with what he has and knows. Sometimes things beyond his control and unimaginable consequences happen. Like I said before, CApt. Hampton believed that heavy police presence at the scene would spark anti-police violence, given the violent nature of the CWP. Had he decided otherwise, we might be discussing the Greensboro Police/CWP massacre instead. We'll never know. The police were in a damned if they do, damned if they don't situation.
If there was a crystal ball for life, we'd all be millionaires.
Posted on July 31, 2005 1:09 AM
JayCee,
You place all of the police decison responsibility on the shoulders of Capt. Hampton. The jury at the third trial held liable, for the wrongful death of Mike Nathan, the event Commander Paul Spoon; Dectective Jerry Cooper and his informant Eddie Dawson. The Klan/Nazis held liable were Mark Sherer, David Matthews, Jerry Smith, Wayne Wood and Jack Fowler. The City of Greensboro consented to pay $351,500.00 to the estate of Mike Nathan.
I have heard that Mike Nathan was not involved in any of the fighting with the Klan/Nazi group and he was not a member of the CWP at the time of his shooting. He also had express some concerns about the planning of the Death to the Klan march. It appears the third jury saw his situation as different from the others who were killed on Nov. 3rd.
Posted on July 31, 2005 11:07 PM
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Posted on August 2, 2006 9:55 AM