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|The Day The National Guard Swept A&T's Scott Hall BY DAVID NEWTON Daily News Staff writer The physical scars are as visible as if the violence that wracked A&T State University 10 years ago had subsided yesterday. The emotional scars run deeper. The red brick of Scott Hall is pocked and gouged by over 60 bullet holes, mute testimony to the still haunting specter of tanks and National Guardsmen on a university campus peopled by rifle-toting students. Behind Dudley Administration Building a simple granite marker bordered by blue and white brick tells those who know or care: "In Loving Memory/ William Ernest Grimes/ May 22,1969. "The Cause." Time passes. Students pass. Freshman Twanda Jennings is walking across campus. No, the name Willie Grimes doesn't mean anything to her. She was 9 years old when the Winterville sophomore died from a bullet in the back of his head as he ran across the A&T campus. Did she know that the police and National Guard were on campus that spring? i "The police on campus?" Some say the police shot Grimes. "Why?" * * * NOBODY CAN prove who pulled the trigger that led to Willie Grimes' death. Some blacks will swear the police were responsible. They say a police car pulled up along Sullivan Street sometime after midnight May 22. Grimes was among the' group of students who sprinted toward Reid Greenhouse for cover. When shots rang out, the students fell to the ground for cover. Willie Grimes never rose. Police deny a police car was the so- called mystery vehicle. The campus rang with intermittent gunfire that night and tracing the shot that killed Willie Grimes would be impossible, say police. Besides, add police, the calibre bullet taken from the base of Grimes' skull was a smaller calibre than weapons issued police and National Guardsmen. The facts remain clear: one student dead, one student wounded and five police officers wounded; tanks, tear gas and gunfire exchanged between law officers and students; and finally at dawn on May 23 a sweep of Cooper and Scott halls by National Guardsmen which left over $50,000 in damages. Richard Moore, director of A&T's News Bureau, had media inquiries from every major news organization in the country after the first day of shooting. There was even a telephone call from the British Broadcasting Corporation. "Have there been renewed clashes," a very British voice asked Moore. "No. But they are fighting like hell," replied Moore. * * * WHAT ENDED on the A&T campus had begun at Dudley High School in ear- ly May. Claude Barnes, an active popu- GREENSBORO DAILY NEWS SUNDAY, MAY 20 1979 Gov. Bob Scott, Mayor Jack Elam: Tough Decisions City Manager John Turner Behind lar honors student, was elected president of the student body on a write- in ballot. His election was disallowed because there were no provisions for write- ins and, a committee said, his grade average was too low. "The main issue wasn't so much about me being elected," says the 27-year-old Barnes, who begins graduate study in political science at Atlanta University this fall. "The main issue was the type of education we were being raised under. We were concerned about distortions and the left-out parts of history. They didn't talk about the contributions of black people." Whatever the cause, walkouts, picket ing and confrontation led to the dimissal I of school early May 19. On May 211 school officials tried to get students to I leave campus. Rock throwing broke out. [ Tear gas was used to disperse the crowd. I A restraining order was issued and May-1 or Jack Elam requested assistance from | the National Guard, In the late afternoon the disturbances | moved to the A&T campus. Rock throwing incidents were reported in the vicinity of the Paradise Drive-In. By 8 p.m. police had barricaded streets in the area to prevent white motorists from traveling through the area. By 9 p.m. the National Guard was alerted and at 10:35 p.m. the first sniper fire was reported from the campus. Sometime after 1:30 a.m., May 22, Willie
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Full text | |The Day The National Guard Swept A&T's Scott Hall BY DAVID NEWTON Daily News Staff writer The physical scars are as visible as if the violence that wracked A&T State University 10 years ago had subsided yesterday. The emotional scars run deeper. The red brick of Scott Hall is pocked and gouged by over 60 bullet holes, mute testimony to the still haunting specter of tanks and National Guardsmen on a university campus peopled by rifle-toting students. Behind Dudley Administration Building a simple granite marker bordered by blue and white brick tells those who know or care: "In Loving Memory/ William Ernest Grimes/ May 22,1969. "The Cause." Time passes. Students pass. Freshman Twanda Jennings is walking across campus. No, the name Willie Grimes doesn't mean anything to her. She was 9 years old when the Winterville sophomore died from a bullet in the back of his head as he ran across the A&T campus. Did she know that the police and National Guard were on campus that spring? i "The police on campus?" Some say the police shot Grimes. "Why?" * * * NOBODY CAN prove who pulled the trigger that led to Willie Grimes' death. Some blacks will swear the police were responsible. They say a police car pulled up along Sullivan Street sometime after midnight May 22. Grimes was among the' group of students who sprinted toward Reid Greenhouse for cover. When shots rang out, the students fell to the ground for cover. Willie Grimes never rose. Police deny a police car was the so- called mystery vehicle. The campus rang with intermittent gunfire that night and tracing the shot that killed Willie Grimes would be impossible, say police. Besides, add police, the calibre bullet taken from the base of Grimes' skull was a smaller calibre than weapons issued police and National Guardsmen. The facts remain clear: one student dead, one student wounded and five police officers wounded; tanks, tear gas and gunfire exchanged between law officers and students; and finally at dawn on May 23 a sweep of Cooper and Scott halls by National Guardsmen which left over $50,000 in damages. Richard Moore, director of A&T's News Bureau, had media inquiries from every major news organization in the country after the first day of shooting. There was even a telephone call from the British Broadcasting Corporation. "Have there been renewed clashes," a very British voice asked Moore. "No. But they are fighting like hell," replied Moore. * * * WHAT ENDED on the A&T campus had begun at Dudley High School in ear- ly May. Claude Barnes, an active popu- GREENSBORO DAILY NEWS SUNDAY, MAY 20 1979 Gov. Bob Scott, Mayor Jack Elam: Tough Decisions City Manager John Turner Behind lar honors student, was elected president of the student body on a write- in ballot. His election was disallowed because there were no provisions for write- ins and, a committee said, his grade average was too low. "The main issue wasn't so much about me being elected," says the 27-year-old Barnes, who begins graduate study in political science at Atlanta University this fall. "The main issue was the type of education we were being raised under. We were concerned about distortions and the left-out parts of history. They didn't talk about the contributions of black people." Whatever the cause, walkouts, picket ing and confrontation led to the dimissal I of school early May 19. On May 211 school officials tried to get students to I leave campus. Rock throwing broke out. [ Tear gas was used to disperse the crowd. I A restraining order was issued and May-1 or Jack Elam requested assistance from | the National Guard, In the late afternoon the disturbances | moved to the A&T campus. Rock throwing incidents were reported in the vicinity of the Paradise Drive-In. By 8 p.m. police had barricaded streets in the area to prevent white motorists from traveling through the area. By 9 p.m. the National Guard was alerted and at 10:35 p.m. the first sniper fire was reported from the campus. Sometime after 1:30 a.m., May 22, Willie |