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James A. Armfield Papers

Includes photographs documenting the Greensboro chapter of the American Red Cross.

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14 charged in deaths meet lawyers
This November 6, 1979, article by Jim Wicker of the Greensboro Record reports on the ongoing investigation into the shootings of five members of the Communist Workers Party (CWP) at a Death to the Klan rally in Greensboro on November 3, 1979. Defendants had been meeting with their attorneys, and would be allowed visitors soon. Police said that one suspect was still at large, that they were still seeking one suspect vehicle in the case, and that videotapes of news footage of the incident had been obtained from local media. Rayford Milano Caudle, Michael Euguene Clinton, Harold Dean Flowers, Billy Joe Franklin, Terry Wayne Hartsoe, Lawrence Gene Morgan, David Wayne Matthews, Claude McBride, Lee Joseph McClain, Lisford Carl Napier, Sr., Coleman Blair Pridmore, Jerry Paul Smith, Roy Clinton Toney, and Roland Wayne Wood were charged in the murders of Sandra Smith, James M. Waller, Cesar Vinson Cauce, Willam E. Samson, and Michael Nathans.
After the violence
This November 5, 1979, editorial in the Greensboro Daily News discusses the recent events surrounding the shooting of five members of the Communist Workers Party (CWP) at a Death to the Klan rally in Greensboro on November 3, 1979. The editorial attempts to analyze the police reaction to the incident, stating that it was "reasonable" to assume that the KKK would have shown up at the event, but that experience suggested that there probably would have been "no real violence." The editorial also urges a speedy and thorough investigation of the situation.
After violence, community leaders ask for calm
In this November 4, 1979, article from the Greensboro Daily News, staff writer Lindsey Gruson reports on calls for calm by Greensboro leaders following the November 3, 1979, Death to the Klan rally, at which five members if the Communist Workers Party (CWP) were shot to death. Black and white leaders, including Mayor Jim Melvin, Police Chief William Swing, pastors Frank Williams and Otis Hairston, Councilman Jimmie Barber, and local NAACP president George Simkins joined to urge residents not to become violent. Melvin stated that the incident was unrelated to racial tension in the city and said there would be a full investigation. Williams noted that residents of the area where the shootings took place were angry at the police for not having been at the scene and at the CWP for choosing a heavily populated parade route through a residential area, as well as at the KKK members.
Anonymous Communist tries to explain dedication
In this November 5, 1979, article from the Greensboro Daily News, staff writers Bob Hiles and Rebecca Ragsdale interview an unidentified member of the Communist Workers Party (CWP) who expresses his support for the goals of the party and states that people will be killed in the name of the revolution. He also expresses his belief that despite the failure of other such groups, the CWP will succeed, and he compares the group to the Black Panthers. The CWP (then Workers Viewpoint Organization) had sponsored the Death to the Klan march on November 3, 1979, at which five CWP members were killed.
Avenge the murder of the CWP 5!
This large newsprint poster announces a march and demonstration held November 11, 1979, to coincide with funeral services for four of the five Communist Workers Party (CWP) members killed at the Death to the Klan march on November 3, 1979. The CWP had recently changed its name from the Workers Viewpoint Organization.
Band of 14 arraigned in slayings
This November 5, 1979, article by Jim Wicker of the Greensboro Record reports on the arraignment of fourteen members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and Nazi party on murder charges stemming from the shootings of five members of the Communist Workers Party (CWP) at a "Death to the Klan" rally in Greensboro on November 3, 1979. Defendants were Michael Euguene Clinton, Rayford Milano Caudle, Harold Dean Flowers, Billy Joe Franklin, Terry Wayne Hartsoe, Lawrence Gene Morgan, David Wayne Matthews, Lee Joseph McClain, Lisford Carl Napier Sr., Coleman Blair Pridmore, Jerry Paul Smith, Roy Clinton Toney, and Roland Wayne Wood. The article also mentions that public defenders had been appointed for several defendants. Two photographs accompany the article.
Basic operational plan: Commemoration of first sit-in
This twenty four-page document was produced by the Greensboro Police Department in preparation for several upcoming events celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the Woolworth lunch counter sit ins. The police department's operational plans for these events are significant because the department was receiving intense criticism for their actions during a recent anti-Klan march that left five protestors dead. The Communist Workers Party was planning events to memorial the slain protestors to coincide with the sit in celebrations. The document outlines various events, primarily at North Carolina A&T State University and Bennett College, and details police procedures and assignments. Also included are various maps of the areas to be secured.
CWP members refusing to cooperate with agents
This November 7, 1979, article, Brent Hackney and Steve Berry of the Greensboro Daily News report that members of the Communist Workers Party (CWP) are not cooperating with the investigation into the shooting of five members of the CWP at a Death to the Klan rally in Greensboro on November 3, 1979. CWP leader Nelson Johnson had alleged a conspiracy involving law enforcement, and was refusing to talk to investigators. The article also discusses the upcoming funeral march for CWP victims and recent developments in the case: District Attorney Mike Schlosser had not decided whether to pursue the death penalty, and local TV stations had not decided how to respond to a subpoena demanding their footage of the shootings.
Calm reported in city; FBI, SBI join police
In this November 5, 1979, article from the Greensboro Daily News, staff writer David Newton reports that the city is calm and that FBI and SBI agents are following up on the November 3, 1979, shootings in Greensboro in which five members of the Communist Workers Party (CWP) were killed at an anti-Klan rally. The article also mentions additional arrests in the case and includes a chronology of the events surrounding the shootings. Police Chief W.E. Swing and Captain Trevor Hampton state that police surveillance teams were a block and a half behind the KKK/Nazi party members when violence broke out and that four cars were en route to the area.
Carter orders Klan probe
This November 6, 1979, article by Jim Schlosser of the Greensboro Record reports that President Jimmy Carter had ordered a federal investigation into rising Ku Klux Klan (KKK) activity in light of the Communist Workers Party (CWP) murders at a "Death to the Klan" rally in Greensboro on November 3, 1979. The article goes on to mention the possibility of a federal investigation specifically focusing on the Greensboro incident and also includes updated information on the investigation by the Greensboro Police Department. In addition, it is reported that residents of the city's public housing projects had voted to denounce the shootings and to demand that future demonstrations be held away from their homes.
Communists vow to hold Sunday march
In this November 5, 1979, article from the Greensboro Daily News, staff writer Mae Israel reports that Communist Workers Party (CWP) were planning a funeral march in honor of the five CWP members killed at an anti-Klan rally on November 3, 1979. Greensboro Police Chief William Swing stated that he will issue a parade permit only if the situation is not volatile. Reverend Frank Williams stated the the Morningside Homes community did not want a march through their neighborhood and that he had communicated this fact to CWP leader Nelson Johnson. Johnson also stated that the CWP would be bringing civil rights charges against the city of Greensboro and the FBI. The article contains reactions from civil rights leaders and politicians around the country.
Death to the Klan flyer
This flyer announces the November 3, 1979 Death to the Klan march and conference to be held in Greensboro. The events were sponsored by the Workers Viewpoint Organization (later known as the Communist Workers Party) in response to recent overt Ku Klux Klan (KKK) activities held in China Grove, N.C. The march was violently confrontational between the Workers Viewpoint activists and KKK/Nazi members, resulting in the shooting deaths of five anti-Klan protestors. The event is known as the Greensboro Massacre.
Ended in death for demonstrators
This November 4, 1979, photo essay from the Greensboro Daily News, includes photographs taken by staff photographers Don Davis and Jim Stratford during and after the November 3, 1979, Death to the Klan rally, at which five members of the Communist Workers Party (CWP) were killed and several wounded. Photographs include images of Nelson Johnson with victims of the shootings, of armed Klansmen, of a Klansman in police custody, and of shocked bystanders.
Fifth person dies
This brief November 5, 1979, article from the Greensboro Record reports that Dr. Michael Nathans had died that morning, making him the fifth murder victim in the shootings of Communist Workers Party (CWP) members at a Death to the Klan rally in Greensboro on November 3, 1979.
Four die in Klan-Leftist shootout
This November 4, 1979 article by Jack Scism of the Greensboro Daily News is the first coverage by the newspaper of the shooting deaths of five Communist Workers Party (CWP) members at a Death to the Klan rally in Greensboro on November 3, 1979. Scism includes a brief history of confrontation between the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and CWP (as the Workers Viewpoint Organization (WVO) at the time), as well as a chronology of the events of November 3, 1979. Killed at the rally were Sandra Smith, James M. Waller, Cesar Vinson Cauce, William E. Samson, and Michael Nathan (who died on November 5). Fourteen KKK members (Michael Euguene Clinton, Rayford Milano Caudle, Harold Dean Flowers, Billy Joe Franklin, Terry Wayne Hartsoe, Lawrence Gene Morgan, David Wayne Matthews, Lee Joseph McClain, Lisford Carl Napier Sr., Coleman Blair Pridmore, Jerry Paul Smith, Roy Clinton Toney, and Roland Wayne Wood) were arrested for murder, while Nelson Johnson and one fellow CWP member were charged with inciting to riot. The article includes some community reaction as well as a two photographs and a map of the scene.
Group planning funeral march
This November 6, 1979, article by Martha Woodall of the Greensboro Record announces that Communist Workers Party (CWP) members are planning a march and demonstration to coincide with funeral services for four of the five members of the Communist Workers Party (CWP) killed at a Death to the Klan rally in Greensboro on November 3, 1979. In the article, CWP leader Nelson Johnson states that the march will be held with or without a parade permit, despite a city decision not to issue such permits following the violence of November 3rd. Police Chief W.E. Swing stated that there was a possibility the permit would be issued.
It was 'Belfast all over again' for TV cameraman
This November 5, 1979, article by Martha Woodall of the Greensboro Record presents the reaction of a news cameraman who witnessed the shooting of five members of the Communist Workers Party (CWP) at a Death to the Klan rally in Greensboro on November 3, 1979. Jim Waters, who was covering the rally for WFMY-TV, had previously been in Ireland as a missionary and compared the shootings to experiences he remembered involving the Irish Republican Army in Belfast.
Klan activity up throughout South
In this November 4, 1979, article from the Greensboro Daily News, staff writer Brent Hackney reports on the rise of Ku Klux Klan (KKK) activity in the South in the face of the November 3, 1979, Death to the Klan rally, at which five members if the Communist Workers Party (CWP) were killed. Hackney notes the the incident was the worst such event in the United States since the 1960s. He provides a short history of KKK activity, noting that Winston-Salem has been the center in recent years, and then provides some background on the tension between the CWP and the KKK. Gorrell Pierce, leader of one local KKK faction, stated that none of his members were involved in the shootings and mentioned that his group had splintered off from one headed by Joe Grady, another leader. Both had been targeted in the CWP's Death to the Klan flyers.
Leader says leftist group very new, spinoff of WVO
In this November 5, 1979, article from the Greensboro Daily News, staff writer Greg Lewis reports on the genesis of the Communist Workers Party (CWP) following the November 3, 1979, shootings in Greensboro in which five members of the party were killed at an anti-Klan rally. The CWP, according to leader Nelson Johnson, was a new organization created to replace the Workers Viewpoint Organization, an earlier group. The goal of the group was to "overthrow capitalism, institute a dictatorship of the rule of the proletariat and to build a socialist society." Johnson stated that the group was "not nonviolent" and that it had been "set up." He also stated that this was not a racial incident. The article also features an interview with the father of victim James Waller.
Leaders are no strangers here
This November 5, 1979, article by Jim Schlosser of the Greensboro Record profiles Communist Workers Party (CWP) leaders Nelson Johnson and Signe Waller, citing their history of activism in Greensboro. Waller had been married to a professor at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and had worked as a medical clerk before marrying James Waller, a CWP member who was killed at a Death to the Klan rally in Greensboro on November 3, 1979. Johnson had been involved in the more radical arm of the civil rights movement, helping to lead a violent student uprising at North Carolina A&T State University ten years before.

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