GREENSBORO JUSTICE FUND
Southeastern Building, Suite 301 102 North Elm Street Greensboro, North Carolina 27401 919 275-6589
or 273-6527
May 15, 1982
Mr. Charles Davis
1001 Bluford Street
Greensboro, NC 27401
Dear Mr. Davis,
Enclosed is a copy of a proposal we would like to present to the Concerned
Citizens, relating to investigation of the racial composition of federal grand
juries in this federal court district (the Middle District of North Carolina).
The issue came to our attention because of the obviously lopsided racial composition
of the federal grand jury in the Nov. 3rd incident. However, the issue of racial
composition relates not only to justice in the November 3rd case, but to the
significance of the extension of the Voting Rights Act.
Federal grand juries are chosen from lists of registered voters. Under-
representation of Blacks among registered voters, for whatever reason, affects the
ability of Black citizens to participate in such crucial decisions are who gets
prosecuted for what crimes, and whether certain laws (such as the Civil Rights
Act) will be enforced. This illustrates the necessity for extension of a strong
Voting Rights Act as one part of the effort to ensure the ability of Black citizens
to register to vote, and thereby be able to participate in a number of important
political processes.
After noticing the racial imbalance of the November 3rd grand jury, Lewis
Pitts sought to look at the records of the racial composition of past grand juries
in this area, to see if this racial imbalance was a pattern. If there is such a
pattern, it certainly needs to be corrected, and probably can be. However,
Lewis was denied access to the records, even though the federal law says past
records should be available for public inspection, precisely for the purpose of
ensuring that grand juries are chosen fairly.
We want to propose that representatives of Concerned Citizens attempt to
inspect the records and determine whether there is a problem of systematic
exclusion of Blacks from grand juries in this area. We would be glad to assist
in any way we can. We believe this issue can be used to further alert and
educate people concerning the importance of the Voting Rights Act, among other things.
We are sending a few copies of this proposal to people who regularly attend
the Concerned Citizens meetings. We can have copies available for everyone at the
next meeting.
Sincerely, j
Mr. John Erwin Lewis Pitts s
Mr. Sol Jacobs Gayle Korotkin
Mr. Ed Burrows
Mr. Bill Martin
