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Greensboro community leader and anti-Klan demonstrators to face trial

4.66.1198-01

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Title	Greensboro community leader and anti-Klan demonstrators to face trial
Date	1980-04-16
Description	This April 16, 1980 press release, issued by the Communist Workers Party (CWP), criticizes the prosecution of CWP member Nelson Johnson for "inciting to riot" or "interfering with police officers" following 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 of the shooting, and demands that all charges against the three be dropped.
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.)
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	Blanche M. Boyd Papers
Collection home page	http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/CivilRights
Finding aid link	http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/findingaids/boyd/
Preferred citation	[Identification of item], [Identification of collection], Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University,
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	4.066.1198
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	884367586

Greensboro community leader and anti-Klan demonstrators to face trial

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