Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City's Soul [Hardcover]

An unflinching work of narrative nonfiction, this is a look at the all but forgotten though no less shocking 1979 racial tragedy that divided Greensboro, N.C., and the nation, and the grassroots activists who, in their tireless fight for justice, refused to give up on Americas promised ideals.

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. This gripping true crime story, 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 thenand threaten it today.

In 88 seconds, one Southern city shattered over irreconcilable visions of Americas 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 in a powerful story of the ongoing fight for Civil Rights. As the Johnsons rebuilt their lives after 1979, they found inspiration in Nelson Mandelas post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Martin Luther King Jrs concept of Beloved Community and insist that only by facing historys 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 in Southern history. A quintessentially American story,Morningsideexplores the courage required to make change and the evolving pursuit of a more inclusive and equal future.

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