Speaking to the Local Task Force of the Greensboro Truth and Community Reconciliation Project, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa said, "You will always be a crippled community, whether you like it or not...as long as you refuse to face up to your past." Attempting to take seriously the wisdom of the Archbishops words, the truth and community reconciliation process has been an experiment in grassroots democracy, restorative justice, community healing, and community building that has worked to face up to Greensboro's past. Like most communities, Greensboro has many "unresolved" social and economic issues that have become entrenched in the collective psyche of the community. The "Greensboro Massacre" of November 3, 1979 that resulted in the death of five community and labor organizers at the hands of Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party members is one such issue.
The BCC has served as the anchor organization of the Greensboro Truth and Community Reconciliation Project (GTCRP), which has been one of our most significant and far-reaching undertakings to date. The GTCRP is an innovative, grassroots initiative inspired by Truth Commissions in South Africa and elsewhere around the world. Guided by a National Advisory Board, Local Task Force, and the International Center for Transitional Justice, the Project crafted a selection process and a mandate for a seven-member Truth and Reconciliation Commission to research and report on the "context, causes, sequence and consequences" of the events of November 3, 1979. The Commission was formed in 2004 and completed its work issuing a final report in 2006. Though the Commission has completed its work, the work of truth and reconciliation continues.
For more information on the BCC's Truth & Reconciliation Working Group, please contact Joyce Johnson.
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