CWP Five
The air was tense. The weather was cold and wet. Faces
registered both fear and hostility; while others remained expressionless. The press converged on the scene like hungry
vultures; impervious to the body laden hearses. A sea of armed, riot equipped policeman lined the street in a show of
strength. Finally, a column was formed and the march began
towards the final resting place of four slain members of the
Communist Workers Party.
The march began and concluded without a serious incident. However, at some points tempers flared and confrontation seemed only moments away. The members of the
CWP seemed to be more concerned with communicating
their ideals and proving their apparent power than mourning
the deaths.
Amid the caravan, a hearse passed bearing the families of
the dead. The faces upheld no apparent sorrow; mostly
registering contempt at the chaos around them. At the
cemetary, eulogies took the form of campaign speeches; attempting to convince the public of the value of the communist point of view.
The march was a national media event. The party
recognized this and attempted to use it to the fullest extent.
During the day, members repeatedly chanted "the whole
world is watching, avenge the CWP five." This undoubtedly
reflects the desire to gain revenge. Sunday's march provided
the CWP with worldwide exposure. However, this was not
the first confrontation between two radical groups in which
people were killed; nor will it be the last. Worst of all is that
it happened in Greensboro with people who don't even reside
here.
The cold rain on Sunday served the purpose of keeping
massive crowds away from the event. Possibly serving the
purpose of avoiding further violence. The police handled the
event well, and were responsible for stopping several parties
which could have provided the catalyst for an already heated
issue. Although the event was free of serious incident the
possibility was always present. Thousands of police and
National Guardsmen could not have halted even a few
deaths had some unstable individual opened fire on the sea
of people. Luckily this did not occur.
While the march was in essence a funeral procession, it
possessed many other facets. It was a confrontation between
a radical group and the abridgment of capitalist control
which the party so strongly opposes. Let us not forget that
the massacre of November 3 began as a simple protest march. Maybe now that the dead have been buried, the dreadful
memories and unbesought focus on this small southern city
will also be allowed to die; peacefully.