EP. 657: MORNINGSIDE: THE 1979 GREENSBORO MASSACRE AND THE STRUGGLE FOR THE SOUL OF AMERICA ft. Aran Shetterly

Get Aran's book here: https://a.co/d/ayUF4sV

 

On November 3, 1979, as activist Nelson Johnson assembled people for a march adjacent to Morningside Homes in Greensboro, North Carolina, gunshots rang out. A caravan of Klansmen and Neo-Nazis sped from the scene, leaving behind five dead. Known as the “Greensboro Massacre,” the event and its aftermath encapsulate the racial conflict, economic anxiety, clash of ideologies, and toxic mix of corruption and conspiracy that roiled American democracy then—and threaten it today.

 

In 88 seconds, one Southern city shattered over irreconcilable visions of America’s past and future. When the shooters are acquitted in the courts, Reverend Johnson, his wife Joyce, and their allies, at odds with the police and the Greensboro establishment, sought alternative forms of justice. As the Johnsons rebuilt their lives after 1979, they found inspiration in Nelson Mandela’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Martin Luther King Jr’s concept of Beloved Community and insist that only by facing history’s hardest truths can healing come to the city they refuse to give up on.

 

This intimate, deeply researched, and heart-stopping account draws upon survivor interviews, court documents, and the files from one of the largest investigations in FBI history. The persistent mysteries of the case touch deep cultural insecurities and contradictions about race and class. A quintessentially American story, Morningside explores the courage required to make change and the evolving pursuit of a more inclusive and equal future.

 

Check out our new bi-weekly series, "The Crisis Papers" here: https://www.patreon.com/bitterlakepresents/shop

 

Thank you guys again for taking the time to check this out. We appreciate each and everyone of you. If you have the means, and you feel so inclined,

 

BECOME A PATRON! We're creating patron only programing, you'll get bonus content from many of the episodes, and you get MERCH!

Become a patron now https://www.patreon.com/join/BitterLakePresents?

 

Please also like, subscribe, and follow us on these platforms as well, (specially YouTube!)

 

THANKS Y'ALL

 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG9WtLyoP9QU8sxuIfxk3eg

Twitch: www.twitch.tv/thisisrevolutionpodcast

www.twitch.tv/leftflankvets​

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thisisrevolutionpodcast/

Twitter: @TIRShowOakland

Instagram: @thisisrevolutionoakland

 

Read Jason Myles in Sublation Magazine https://www.sublationmag.com/writers/jason-myles

 

Read Jason Myles in Damage Magazine https://damagemag.com/2023/11/07/the-man-who-sold-the-world/

 

Pascal Robert's Black Agenda Report: https://www.blackagendareport.com/author/Pascal%20Robert