Page 1 |
Save page Remove page | Previous | 1 of 4 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large
Extra Large
Full Size
Full Resolution
|
This page
All
|
Loading content ...
|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
Object Description
| Title | Day the National Guard Swept A&T's Scott Hall |
| Date | 1979-05-20 |
| Creator | Newton, David |
| Contributors | Stratford, Jim |
| Subject headings | Greensboro (N.C.) -- Race relations;Protest movements -- United States;North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University |
| Topics | Dudley High School - A and T State University protest, May 1969 |
| Place | Greensboro (N.C.) |
| Description |
In this May 20, 1979 Greensboro Daily News article, David Newton recalls the National Guard raid on Scott Hall on the North Carolina A&T State University (A&T) campus during protests in 1969. Newton writes of the death of student Willie Grimes during the protests, which remains unsolved. He notes bullet holes in the facade of Scott Hall and a marker commemorating Grimes at the Dudley Administration Building. Newton acknowledges allegations that Grimes was shot by the police, but notes that students were also firing weapons and that police claim the bullet that killed Grimes was of a different caliber than that carried by officers. Newton details events leading up to protest on the A&T campus, starting with the local school administrators restricting Dudley High student Claude Barnes from taking office as student body president. Newton writes of the sweep of Scott Hall following the night of Grimes' death. Former Mayor Jack Elam shared his unease over the decision to sweep the building, and A&T President Lewis Dowdy recalls little discussion between himself and the National Guard. Dowdy says the incident has resulted in the problems of "repairing the confidence people have in the fairness of justice." Newton continues by questioning why such an event occurred in Greensboro. Mayor Elam is quoted as saying it "was the frustrated feeling of black people that they were not being listened to." The North Carolina State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights criticized the Dudley PTA and administration, as well as the community for not recognizing the need for better communication. Police Chief W. E. Swing also recognizes that officers were "rigid in their thinking" at the time with a lack of interest in community betterment. Newton concludes the article by looking at the effect of the event and other issues of the era on community members. He writes that Claude Barnes and Nelson Johnson, A&T student body vice-president in 1969, have turned to communism. Vincent McCullough, A&T student body president in 1969, is set to be released from prison in May. Sarah Herbin, members of the N.C. State Advisory Committee, is concerned about race relations in the state and says housing and employment continue to be problems. Dowdy says the event taught Greensboro blacks they must become involved in political decision making "not after the fact, but before it." This article was clipped and saved in a scrapbook on race relations by Clarence "Curly" Harris, manager of the Greensboro Woolworth store at the time of the 1960 sit-ins that spawned lunch counter sit-ins across the South and rejuvenated the civil rights movement. |
| Type | text |
| Original format | clippings;scrapbooks |
| Original dimensions | 9" x 11" |
| Original publisher | [Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified] |
| Language | en |
| Contributing institution | Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries |
| Source collection | MSS141 Clarence Lee Harris Papers, circa 1916-1997 |
| Series/grouping | 6 Scrapbooks |
| Box | 2 |
| Folder | Folders 5-6: Scrapbook 4:Desegregation, 1976-1979 |
| Finding aid link | http://libapps.uncg.edu/archon/index.php?p=collections/controlcard&id=506 |
| Rights statement | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Additional rights information | IN COPYRIGHT. This item is subject to copyright. Contact the contributing institution for permission to reuse. |
| Object ID | MSS0141.002.005.1090 |
| Digital publisher | The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, PO Box 26170, Greensboro NC 27402-6170, 336.334.5305 -- http://library.uncg.edu/ |
| Sponsor | LSTA grant administered by the North Carolina State Library -- http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ld/grants/lsta.html |
| OCLC number | 884368042 |
Page/Item Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| 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 |
