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COMMUNIST WORKERS PARTY, USA
PO Box 6874
Greensboro, N.C. 27405
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Signe Waller
Press Officer
March 27, 1980 (919) 273-6379
DISTRICT ATTORNEY SCHLOSSER COMES TO RESCUE OF KLAN/NAZI MURDERERS
This week, as the star defense witness, District Attorney Mike Schlosser
was able to rescue the floundering selective prosecution argument of the Klan/Nazi
murderers.
Although he was forced to admit the obvious—that the Klan and Nazis fired
the first shot and the shots that killed five persons, Schlosser promised to indict
the Communist Workers Party (CWP) supporters for defending themselves against the
assassins. This is consistent with his past logic of blaming equally the criminals
and the victims. His testimony legitimatized the Klan/Nazi self-defense claims,
which corroborates his portrayal of the November 3rd Greensboro massacre as a
"shootout between extremists."
Cutting through the legal smokescreen fanned by Schlosser, the facts remain
clear. The Klan/Nazi butchers committed the premeditated murders, in broad daylight,
of 5 CWP members. They attacked people who had been sufficiently disarmed by the
Greensboro Police Department. The reasons why the CWP hasn't been indicted so far
is because it is blatantly obvious to millions,who saw the massacre on television,
that no crimes were committed by CWP members and supporters. The only selective
prosecution that exists is that all 35 known Klan/Nazi murderers have not been
prosecuted; that conspirators Harold Covington, Virgil Griffin, and Rayford Caudle
have not been prosecuted; and, that Police and FBI accomplices have not been
prosecuted.
The Schlosser farce this week is part of the nationwide campaign to promote
the Klan and Nazis and to discourage resistance. Locally, the recent picture of
Klan/Nazi Roland Wood as a church-going defender of Black children is an insult to
peoples' intelligence. The history of murder, rape and lynching of Black and Jewish
children by the Klan and Nazis speaks for itself.
The message of the rulers of this country is the same in the prosecutions of
anti-Klan/Nazi fighters in Greensboro, Decatur, Birmingham, Philadelphia, and other
cities: don't stand up against oppression; don't defend yourself against attacks;
and don't fight back.
Object Description
| Title | District Attorney Schlosser comes to rescue of Klan/Nazi murderers |
| Date | 1980-03-27 |
| Creator | Communist Workers Party U.S.A. |
| Contributors | Waller, Signe |
| Biographical/historical note |
The Communist Workers Party (CWP) was a Maoist group in the United States. It was founded in 1969 as the Workers' Viewpoint Organization. The party is mainly remembered for the "Greensboro Massacre", a November 3, 1979 Death to the Klan march that left five of the CWP protesters dead. The CWP emphasized unionization and self-determination for African-Americans and enjoyed some success in textile cities of North Carolina. The party established branches in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Greensboro, West Virginia, Colorado and other locations. Prior to its reorganization as a political party, the group had been known as the Workers Viewpoint Organization. Under this umbrella, it directed groups as the Revolutionary Youth League, the African Liberation Support Committee, and the Trade Union Education League. Confrontations with the Klan were particularly acute in Greensboro, where the Klan attempted to disrupt the work of the CWP and vice versa. In July, 1979, the Klan held a rally and viewing of The Birth of a Nation in China Grove, N.C., which was disrupted by CWP members who burned a Confederate flag and taunted members of the KKK. There were also challenges in the press. These provocations were a precursor to the November 3, 1979. "Death to the Klan!" rally organized by the CWP. Members of the Klan were armed, as were some members of the CWP. Two members of the CWP and three rally participants were killed in the assault by the KKK. This was the incident that became known as the "Greensboro Massacre". In response to the acquittal of the accused killers, the CWP attempted to storm the 1980 Democratic National Convention and succeeded in setting off firecrackers in Madison Square Garden. Subsequent to the Greensboro massacre, the group moved towards a social democratic formation that would work for peaceful transition to socialism; it dissolved the Communist Workers Party and formed the New Democratic Movement in 1985. The New Democratic Movement lasted but a few years. The Greensboro Justice Fund is a still extant remnant of this movement. |
| Subject headings | Greensboro Massacre, Greensboro, N.C., 1979 |
| Topics | Greensboro Massacre, 1979 |
| Place | Greensboro (N.C.) |
| Description | This March 27, 1980 press release, issued by the Communist Workers Party (CWP), criticizes Greensboro District attorney Mike Schlosser's handling of the murder trial of Ku Klux Klan and Nazi party members accused in the November 3, 1979, Death to the Klan march that resulted in the death of five CWP protestors (also known as the Greensboro Massacre). The CWP accuses prosecutors of blaming the victims equally to the perpetrators, and states that Schlosser and prosecutors in several other cities are part of a plan to discourage resistance to the Klan and promote fascism in America. |
| Type | text |
| Original format | reports |
| Original dimensions | 8.5" x 11" |
| Original publisher | Greensboro, N.C. : Communist Workers Party U.S.A. |
| Language | en |
| Contributing institution | Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University |
| Source collection | RL.00134 Blanche M. Boyd Papers |
| Finding aid link | http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/findingaids/boyd/ |
| 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 | Duke_RL.00134.1197 |
| 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 | 884367213 |
Page/Item Description
| Title | 4.66.1197-01 |
| Full text | COMMUNIST WORKERS PARTY, USA PO Box 6874 Greensboro, N.C. 27405 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Signe Waller Press Officer March 27, 1980 (919) 273-6379 DISTRICT ATTORNEY SCHLOSSER COMES TO RESCUE OF KLAN/NAZI MURDERERS This week, as the star defense witness, District Attorney Mike Schlosser was able to rescue the floundering selective prosecution argument of the Klan/Nazi murderers. Although he was forced to admit the obvious—that the Klan and Nazis fired the first shot and the shots that killed five persons, Schlosser promised to indict the Communist Workers Party (CWP) supporters for defending themselves against the assassins. This is consistent with his past logic of blaming equally the criminals and the victims. His testimony legitimatized the Klan/Nazi self-defense claims, which corroborates his portrayal of the November 3rd Greensboro massacre as a "shootout between extremists." Cutting through the legal smokescreen fanned by Schlosser, the facts remain clear. The Klan/Nazi butchers committed the premeditated murders, in broad daylight, of 5 CWP members. They attacked people who had been sufficiently disarmed by the Greensboro Police Department. The reasons why the CWP hasn't been indicted so far is because it is blatantly obvious to millions,who saw the massacre on television, that no crimes were committed by CWP members and supporters. The only selective prosecution that exists is that all 35 known Klan/Nazi murderers have not been prosecuted; that conspirators Harold Covington, Virgil Griffin, and Rayford Caudle have not been prosecuted; and, that Police and FBI accomplices have not been prosecuted. The Schlosser farce this week is part of the nationwide campaign to promote the Klan and Nazis and to discourage resistance. Locally, the recent picture of Klan/Nazi Roland Wood as a church-going defender of Black children is an insult to peoples' intelligence. The history of murder, rape and lynching of Black and Jewish children by the Klan and Nazis speaks for itself. The message of the rulers of this country is the same in the prosecutions of anti-Klan/Nazi fighters in Greensboro, Decatur, Birmingham, Philadelphia, and other cities: don't stand up against oppression; don't defend yourself against attacks; and don't fight back. |
