The Greensboro Massacre

the american nazi party, the communist worker’s party and the ku klux klan in the United States of America (1979) – part I

Abstract

In November 1979, members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and the American Nazi Party (American Nazi Party - ANP) killed demonstrators of the Communist Workers’ Party (CWP) in the city of Greensboro, North Carolina. The killings took place during a protest organized by the CWP in opposition to the KKK and were part of a larger context of opposition between communists and black workers, on the one hand, and Nazis and white supremacists, on the other. The massacre was broadcast and generated great mobilization of the local population, gaining notoriety across the country. Decades later, in 2004, the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVRG) was established to analyse the impacts of these events and make recommendations for reparations. Our research originated from an attempt to understand and analyse the restorative nuances of Greensboro’s transitional practice. However, as we became aware of the complexity and relevance of the historical facts, we chose to split up the research into different articles. In this first article, we seek to understand and contextualize the massacre, presenting the relations between communists, Nazis, Ku Klux Klan and trade unions that led to the event of November 3, 1979. The starting point for our research was the following question: How were the Communist Workers Party, the American Nazi Party, and the Ku Klux Klan involved in the Greensboro massacre?