Restorative and transitional justice

a case study of the Greensboro truth and Reconciliation Commission (2004-2005) – part II

Abstract

Restorative Justice and Transitional Justice have operated mostly separately from each other, both in practice and in their fields of study. With an interest in investigating the convergences between the two fields, our research seeks to analyse how appropriate the Transitional Restorative Justice actions in the city of Greensboro were to the restorative paradigm, in order to understand their structure, challenges and impacts. The research focus were the actions and impacts of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission (GTRC) (2004- 2005). It was a transitional practice of popular origin, without State interference, aimed at increasing awareness of the narratives related to the Greensboro Massacre, understanding its impacts and repairing damages. The Transitional Justice experience in Greensboro was self-styled as restorative and supported memory and reconciliation efforts in the face of structural violence resulting from an incomplete abolition in the region. We carried out a documentary and bibliographic research in which we analysed especially the Final Report of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission; the Commission’s blog posts and their comments; the TRC presentation videos available on Youtube; footage from the event Truth Matters! The 1979 Klan/Nazi Greensboro Massacre, produced by the civil society organization Repairers of the Breach; and the Truth and Reconciliation contents authored and stored on the Beloved Community Center website, which include open letters from widows and survivors of the tragedy, as well as books about GTRCs work.