Press Releases:

May 26, 2006

Report from U.S. Truth Commission Reveals Police Negligence and Official Deception around 1979 Tragedy

The ICTJ Welcomes Release of Commission's Findings and Recommendations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT
Suzana Grego
Director of Communications
TEL +1 917 438 9331
E-MAIL sgrego@ictj.org

NEW YORK, May 26, 2006-The Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission (GTRC) released its final report yesterday evening at a public ceremony in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Commission-a grassroots, democratic initiative and the first of its kind in the United States-found that the Greensboro Police Department had been negligent, had recklessly disregarded public safety, and had contributed to official attempts to deceive the public about the tragic events of November 3, 1979.

The release of the report marks the end of nearly two years of intensive work on the part of seven volunteer Commissioners and paid Commission staff, who took scores of statements, reviewed massive amounts of evidence and documents, and held three major public hearings-all in an effort to examine the context, causes, and consequences of the events of November 3, 1979.

On that day, members of the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party opened fire on a racially mixed gathering of political activists and labor organizers, killing five and wounding ten others at a "Death to the Klan" rally organized in a public housing community by the Communist Workers Party (CWP). Klan and Nazi Party defendants were acquitted of murder and civil rights violations in both state and federal criminal trials. A civil trial found that the Klansmen, Nazis, and two members of the police department were jointly liable for one wrongful death.

The nearly 600-page report is a comprehensive, detailed, and well-documented account of the Commission's findings, analyses of thematic issues, and recommendations for the future. The executive summary and full report are available on the Commission's website, the ICTJ's website, and in paper and on CD-Rom at all branches of the Greensboro Public Library and other public venues in Greensboro. The GTRC has also condensed its findings and recommendations into a two-page "Final Report General Summary," available here.

GTRC Final Report Findings

Among the Commission's main findings is that the Klansmen and Nazis who fired at the mostly unarmed demonstrators bear the greatest responsibility for the tragic events of that day. Despite emphasizing that CWP members did not deserve to be killed or wounded, the GTRC did find that this group shared some responsibility for the violence. However by stating that the loss of life could have been prevented had police been visibly present, the Commission laid a significant portion of blame on the police department for its deliberate negligence and reckless endangerment of the lives of all of those who participated in the rally.

The GTRC also found that responses by city officials, including the police department, were woefully inadequate and intended to deceive the public about official complicity with the tragedy. Overall, the Commission found that the deep fissures that existed in the community prior to November 3, 1979-including racial and class divisions- contributed and led to the tragedy. "When the Commission read out its recommendation for the City and County to establish a living wage, there was a rush to applause and a standing ovation," said ICTJ Senior Associate Lisa Magarrell, who advised the GTRC and attended the ceremony. "This Commission has drawn a crucial link between long-standing social and economic injustice, and the events of November 3rd."

GTRC Final Report Recommendations

The GTRC's finding that the devastating consequences of the November 3rd violence had been extensive enough to affect all Greensboro residents, has led it to focus broadly on the community as a whole in issuing its formal recommendations on public acknowledgement, institutional reforms, and citizen engagement and transformation.

The Commission employed a holistic, comprehensive approach in trying to work toward what it terms "transformative justice," which informed its main recommendations: (1) that city officials and other responsible parties publicly and privately acknowledge and apologize for their roles and work towards reconciliation; (2) that city and county officials address the acute economic, social, and political local disparities; (3) that current indications of police department corruption be publicly investigated and discussed; and (4) that all citizens take an active role in understanding and working to overcome the challenging divisions that still exist.

"We look forward to the post-Commission period and the possibilities for real progress after the intense and soul-searching experiences that this Commission made possible," said Magarrell. "The process has not only catalyzed a constructive and salutary debate, but has become an indelible part of Greensboro's history, as well as an integral component of a future that will hopefully be based on greater understanding, equity, justice, and reconciliation."

Next Steps

Though the public release of the Commission's final report completes its official mandate, its recommendations have paved the way for work on community understanding and reconciliation to continue. The GTRC has stipulated that responsibility for implementing the recommendations now rests with "Report Receivers"-individuals belonging to more than 50 civic, religious, and other community groups who have agreed to formally review and work with the report. One of these groups is the Greensboro Truth and Community Reconciliation Project (GTCRP), the project that initiated the Commission. The GTCRP has called for six to twelve months of discussions at the community level following the report's release.

Applicability to Other Communities

Other communities in the southern U.S. grappling with their own troubled pasts have followed the Commission's work closely, learning lessons and observing the positive effects of the GTRC process on the local community.

"Not only has Greensboro's truth-seeking experience been extremely valuable to its residents, but hopefully it will offer lessons to other communities in the country and beyond," said Magarrell. "The Greensboro truth commission is a vivid illustration of the fact that even established democracies-particularly the U.S. with its history of slavery and racial segregation, but also Canada, Australia, and Spain-must deal with and find ways to resolve the legacies of abuse that continue to haunt them today."

The ICTJ in Greensboro, North Carolina

The ICTJ served as an advisor to the GTCRP and provided the Commission with comparative information and technical advice, including on developing its mandate, selecting commissioners, taking statements, conducting public hearings, handling legal challenges and victim issues, planning research, and writing the final report. The Center also facilitated contact among Commissioners, Commission staff, and experts and practitioners involved in similar work around the world. While the Commissioners adapted the experiences of other countries to their local context, the information and advice provided by the ICTJ have served as valuable reference points and lessons from elsewhere, and assisted them in making progress on new terrain.

The Center's work in Greensboro is unique in relation to its other program work, because of the local scale of the process and the Commission's unofficial status. The ICTJ views the GTRC as an innovative attempt to apply the methodologies used by truth commissions in other countries to deal with past human rights violations in the United States.

About the ICTJ

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) assists countries pursuing accountability for past mass atrocity or human rights abuse. The Center works in societies emerging from repressive rule or armed conflict, as well as in established democracies where historical injustices or systemic abuse remain unresolved.

In order to promote justice, peace, and reconciliation, government officials and nongovernmental advocates are likely to consider a variety of transitional justice approaches including both judicial and nonjudicial responses to human rights crimes. The ICTJ assists in the development of integrated, comprehensive, and localized approaches to transitional justice comprising five key elements: prosecuting perpetrators, documenting and acknowledging violations through non-judicial means such as truth commissions, reforming abusive institutions, providing reparations to victims, and facilitating reconciliation processes.