Thinking back…Sunday evening was a treat. It was great to see my parents, who drove from Northern NJ and Aunt Carol, Gerry and my cousin Sarah whom I haven’t seen in fifteen years, and her fianc?, Tim make the trip from Massachusetts to Providence, Rhode Island.

I’d like to thank Evelyn Hu-DeHart, Keally Dewitt and The Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Brown University for the invitation. To be a part of the panel discussions about the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission was an honor. I respect their courage and the decisions behind their suggestions and recommendations from the final report.

I feel that the truth commission and I share something in common and that is to expose this tragedy and help people understand why this was a terrible day in Greensboro’s history.

To sit at a table with the likes of Marty Nathan MD, Jill Williams, and Ed Whitfield to discuss the implications of November 3rd, 1979 was a privilege.

As I said when it was my time to talk, “I wasn’t ready as a 22 year-old student to listen to what truly happened on that day. Sure I shot the film and interviewed the people involved, but my mind wasn’t ready to understand the lasting implications that took place. It was only after I graduated and came back to this story that the horrors of the day opened up and exposed itself to me. After editing and listening to the players involved, was it then that I came to grips with November 3rd, 1979.” OK I’m paraphrasing, but you get the gist of what I said.

I showed this clip.

After I presented my piece I sat back and listened.

I tell you I gained a new respect for Ed Whitfield, that is deserving of a natural born leader. The words that crosses his lips have a place inside your brain that will make you think about what you say and how you listen. Poignant words that lead groups of people to do good and fight the good fight. I always wondered what happened to the leaders of the civil rights movement? They are right before our eyes creating a better community for all of us to live in. The media must feel that their jobs are done and try not to publish their good deeds. Instead show them during a national crisis and portray them as leeches for media coverage. Not Ed. This photo look familiar?

Black Cornell Students leave the administration building on April 20, 1969, following a 36-hour sit in. The students, led by Ed Whitfield(far right), demand a degree-granting African American Studies program. The shotguns had been smuggled in amid rumors that there would be a white assault on the building.

This was a great night as the panel moved on to discuss the obstacles that the Truth Commission had to overcome in order to get the report finished. The crowd of Brown University’s student activists seemed interested but also overwhelmed with the information being told to them. The whole reason that Brown University invited us to speak was due to it’s ties to slavery and their own internal report about it. James Campbell, Associate Professor of Africana Studies and American Civilization and Corey Walker, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies summarized what the Truth Commission and Brown’s own report have in common and how to take that next step forward. Those are step that have to be taken, you might not see where your going but you do see a light. Keep moving forward Brown and Providence, you’re going in the right direction.

Related posts:

1. Brownie Points
2. Tonight at the Carolina Theater… Greensboro: Closer to The Truth
3. 30 Years Ago Today There Was A Massacre In My Hometown
4. Almost Missed It
5. “The Ground Truth” Documentary Screening In Greensboro, Monday 11/27/06