Toward an Inclusive Vision for Greensboro

by the Local Task Force, GTCRP

Nov. 3, 2007

(11.3.07 Rough Draft for Discussion)

Introduction:

"There comes a time in the life of every community when it must look humbly and seriously into its past in order to provide the best possible foundation for moving into a future based on healing and hope. Many residents of Greensboro believe that for this city, the time is now" (From the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission's –GTRC- Mandate)

The view expressed in the mandate was implicit in the Greensboro Truth and Community Reconciliation Project’s Declaration of Intent which stated:

"…How can we learn from this episode (the killings of 1979) in our history so as not only to prevent such occurrences in the future, but also to transform this tragedy into a triumph for truth and good will?.. By working together with others to creatively engage in the truth of our past, we will not only be acting in our city’s best interest, but we will also be reflecting new depths of community values and modeling new vistas of democracy for our nation."

There is considerable agreement that the GTRC's 529 page Final Report is a well researched, high quality document of integrity. It can be a helpful tool with which to engage our community’s values, basic assumptions, habits and ways of being as we envision together a more inclusive, just and compassionate community. In fact, the events of 1979 can serve as a kind of "DNA" molecule of Greensboro, reflecting traits and characteristics that are often hidden to us.

Many mistakenly think of the truth and reconciliation process as being mainly about the past; it is not, rather, it is mainly about the future. As we look to the future, we believe most people of our city want kinder, more caring and safer communities. Most want a healthy economy in which all who can have work and all are paid adequately for their work. Most want a vibrant education system that is not only equipping children and adults for productive work but also equipping them to embody high ethical and democratic principles and to cherish, re-spirit, and rebuild their communities.

Most people of our city want a police force and a public sector that we can trust to care for and serve equally all its citizens. Most want to take care of the earth and maintain it as a beautiful, safe place for us and generations yet unborn to live. Most want an end to racism in all its manifestations and an end to any other form of devaluing and degrading other human beings. Most want loving, diverse communities where the dignity and worth of all are affirmed and where the potential of all is nurtured, encouraged and supported.

Why have we not been able to make more progress in these areas? Certainly, it is not because we do not desire such communities. We believe a large part of the answer is because we have not demonstrated the collective capacity to face the fears, flaws, mistakes and character defects of our past. There exists in our culture a broad problem of denial. Denial prevents us from adequately understanding and constructively engaging our past. The past can be the gift of a learning laboratory, opening up new possibilities for a new future. Conversely, our unexamined past can be the curse of blind pride that binds us to the mistakes, flaws and assumptions of yesterday, thus insuring that our future is our past simply dressed in different clothes.

The past is never irrelevant. We can choose to allow the weaknesses and mistakes of our past to be a "feared curse" or an "inspiring gift". It is our intent to make full use of the GTRC’s Final Report together with other community resources to collectively forge, over a period of time, a community vision and conceptual plan which will provide a broader context and promote a deeper purpose for the excellent work of the GTRC. The work of forging the community vision as part of refining and implementing the GTRC recommendations must be a hands-on broadly democratic process.

The vision we are forging will be marked by the pull of the future. It should have high ethical standards some of which will not be easily achieved. We are challenged, however, to set maximum standards for a free, democratic society which should become our common expectation, aspired to and revered by all. These standards should be "constantly looked to, constantly labored for and even though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated, and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence and augmenting the happiness and value of life" to people of all cultures and colors. (Abraham Lincoln in debate with Stephen Douglas)

With our past as an inspiring gift from which we all can learn, let us go forward together determined to carve out of the disasters and disappointments of yesterday a compelling vision of compassion, justice and hope for tomorrow. Although our vision is but a small mustard seed, we are convinced the there is rich, compassionate soil just beneath the surface in Greensboro. Let us plant, nurture and have faith that in the fullness of time the increase will come.

The Economy:

Basic economic necessities of life including adequate food, quality shelter, clothing, health care, transportation etc., are the ground floor for any community. It is hard to envision vibrant, healthy, safe communities where the residents do not have work or are not paid adequately for their work and/or not treated with dignity at their work. Economic deprivation has a rippling effect that penetrates nearly every over dimension of life, especially the welfare of children. At the center of the tragic killings of 1979 was the struggle for economic justice.

The economic welfare of each person is indeed the central concern of that person but it should also be the concern of us all. The globalized structure of the economy is having devastating effects in cities and town throughout the country including Greensboro. The North Carolina Budget and Tax Center found that half of all North Carolina’s families with children make less than the living income standard, i.e. the wages need to achieve the bare bone lifestyle, $25,626 a year or $12.32 an hour.

Good paying manufacturing jobs including textiles and furniture are rapidly disappearing from the Greater Greensboro area. Many of the jobs from the service industries and agricultural sectors pay significantly reduced wages. There is nothing on the horizon that holds the promise for a change in this trend. In light of this reality, we are challenged to think creatively about how to forge a mixed economy that builds upon the current job market in the Greensboro area while promoting alternative economic possibilities - community gardens, community based home construction and repair corp., etc.

We should vigorously support efforts already underway to increase the minimum wage to $9.36 per hour. We should join Living Wage campaigns and the push for a state Earned Income Tax Credit. We should expand the reach of Worker Centers and support the expansion of labor unions. We also need to explore the development of cooperatives as an alternative business model that promotes wealth generation that benefits both individuals and the society.

Education:

The public education system is one of the major socialization instruments in our community. To a large degree it is an equipping apparatus for people to be effective participants in the economic and political life of our nation. Because the education system is shaped largely by the "powers that be" it tends to reflect the values and characteristics of the dominant instructions including its faults and flaws. If our economic and political systems have to be significantly re-envisioned so too would our educational system.

Schools should consciously move beyond the 20th Century industrial model of education. The broad community should work to envision and implement new models more suited to the future and to our emphasis on community.

Community Safety and Criminal Justice:

Our challenge is to correct flaws and faults in the criminal justice system by making this system genuinely accountable to the community and by developing an orientation towards restorative justice as opposed to the punitive system now in place.

There is broad agreement that Greensboro needs a Police Review Board with subpoena powers. We should work together to get this on the back public agenda in the near future.

Restorative justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused or revealed by criminal behavior. It is best accomplished by cooperative processes that include all stakeholders. We should look to the experience of communities that are moving in this direction as we develop our own plan.

Racism and the Struggle for Racial Justice:

"We believe that the unacknowledged 'elephant in the room' that continues to haunt social relations in Greensboro is the role of race. In the experience of the black community, survival in a dominant white culture means that race and racism are always present and therefore always in question. The majority of Commissioners approached this work from their conviction that race is the fundamental social variable that structures power relations in the United States particular in the South. Race poses a significant barrier to acknowledging the truth and moving towards reconciliation. Consequently, we wanted our work to specifically address racial inequality and to foster long-awaited and sorely needed dialogue on race and how racism affects all of us" (TRC Final Report. 31-32).

We need to learn to constructively grapple with racism as we carry out all of our work. We believe that there are good training models and that those models are most effective when they are integrated into the ongoing work involved in building and practicing community.

The Larger Economic and Political Systems:

Our efforts to build and practice community take place in a context largely determined by our society’s political and economic systems. Democracy as currently practiced is limited and often distorted. Our economic system is hierarchical and structurally incapable of providing high quality employment for all who are able to work. We need to build on the strengths of our current systems and introduce creative measures that will make these systems more inclusive and equitable.

Community Practices and Community Building:

The world around us cannot change unless we ourselves change. We must learn to honor and value one another if we are to genuinely strengthen our communities. Building and practicing community requires that internal growth accompany external action. We need to build the discipline of critical self reflection into our work together.

Other Areas To Be Addressed:

Environment

Health Care

Religion

Culture

Arts

Recreation

Media

Housing

[This is a document in progress. If you have input, suggestions, or critiques, please visit the discussion board and make a comment.]

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