1969 Greensboro uprising facts for kids
Quick facts for kids 1969 Greensboro uprising |
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| Part of the Black Power movement | |||||||
 A&T Student Eddie Evans being taken into protective custody after members of the North Carolina National Guard raid W. Kerr Scott Hall |
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| 2 dead 18 wounded |
9 wounded | ||||||
The 1969 Greensboro uprising was a series of events that happened in Greensboro, North Carolina. It took place from May 21 to May 25, 1969, near James B. Dudley High School and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (A&T). During these days, students, police, and the National Guard exchanged gunfire. Sadly, a student named Willie Grimes was killed. It is still not known if he was shot by police or by protesters.
This uprising started because of unfair rules at Dudley High School, which was a segregated school. Students felt their civil rights were not being respected. The main reason for the protest was when a very popular student, who was running for student council president, was not allowed to win. School officials were worried because he was involved in the Black Power movement. The protests began at Dudley High and then spread to the A&T campus, where college students supported the high schoolers. The situation became very violent, leading to armed fights and a large number of National Guard troops entering the A&T campus. The uprising ended after the National Guard searched the college dorms and took many students into custody.
Local officials blamed "outside agitators" for the problems. However, a report from the North Carolina State Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights found that Dudley High School had an unfair system. They said the National Guard's actions were too extreme and not needed. They also criticized local leaders for not helping the Dudley students earlier. The report stated that it was "a sad commentary that the only group in the community who would take the Dudley students seriously were the students at A&T State University."
Contents
How the Uprising Began
Problems at Dudley High School
Before the events of 1969, students at James B. Dudley High School were already unhappy. They felt that desegregation, which means ending racial separation, was not happening in Greensboro's schools. Their school was the only one in the area that told students what they could wear or stopped them from leaving campus for lunch. But the biggest problem that started the uprising was when they couldn't elect the student council president they wanted.
A senior student named Claude Barnes was very popular. Even though his name was not on the official ballot, students tried to vote for him by writing his name in. Barnes was active in a group called Youth for the Unity of Black Society. School officials were worried he was a strong supporter of Black Power. Barnes won the election with 600 votes, which was a huge win compared to the official candidate who got only 200 votes. But on May 1, students were told that Barnes would not be allowed to be president.
The students at Dudley High then asked for help from A&T University. In the late 1960s, A&T was a major center for the Black Power movement in the South. The A&T students took the Dudley students' concerns seriously. On May 2, A&T students tried to talk with the school leaders, but they were not successful.
Students at Dudley High became very angry. More and more students stopped going to classes. Police officers in riot gear were seen near the school. On May 9, the school superintendent took power away from the school's Black principal. A white administrator was sent in to try and calm things down. Students tried several times to find a peaceful solution, but this new administrator was not helpful or understanding.
On May 19, the situation got worse. Police were called because of student protests. Nine students were arrested, and some were hurt. Students also caused damage to the school, leading to more arrests.
On May 21, during school hours, students gathered near the school again. Police were called when someone reported seeing a weapon on a student. A school leader tried to get the students to leave peacefully, but some students started throwing rocks through the school windows. Police used tear gas on the students. They used it over a large area, even chasing students for blocks as they tried to run away. People living nearby were also affected by the tear gas. Community members started throwing rocks at police and cars. Dudley High students went back to A&T to ask for help again.
Events at A&T State University
At first, only members of a new group called the Student Organization for Black Unity were involved. But the events of May 21 got the attention of many more students at A&T. A&T student leader Nelson Johnson reported that 400 students marched towards Dudley High.
The violence soon escalated from tear gas and rocks to gunfire. Johnson said that the first shots came from a car of young white people who fired at the A&T campus. This caused the students to shoot back to defend themselves. Police reported sniper fire from the dormitories at 10:45 p.m. Within two hours, police started shooting back. About 150 National Guard troops were sent to the scene to keep peace. Two students were shot. One of them, Willie Grimes, was killed. He was a bystander, meaning he was not involved in the fighting. He was walking with friends to a restaurant when shots came from a passing car. It is still debated whether the car was a police vehicle.
Willie Grimes' death made the campus even more upset. A state of emergency was declared in Greensboro. An additional 500 National Guardsmen were called in. The university was closed, and a curfew was set from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. On May 22, the violence continued. Protesters attacked white drivers and overturned cars. That evening, despite the curfew, shooting started again. Early on May 23, a shootout left five policemen and two students seriously hurt. After this, a journalist described what happened next as "the most massive armed assault ever made against an American university." About 600 National Guardsmen, a tank, a helicopter, an airplane, and several armed vehicles arrived at A&T. A reporter said it "looked like war."
The governor of North Carolina at the time, Robert W. Scott, heard that students might have many guns. He ordered the National Guard to enter Scott Hall, a dormitory that was a center of the shooting. Around 7:00 a.m., with the help of smoke, "nausea," and tear gas grenades, the National Guard swept through the dorm. They took students into protective custody and caused thousands of dollars in damage. Many students were either packing to leave or sleeping when the invasion happened. More than 300 students from Scott Hall and nearby dorms were sent to state prisons for the day. Scott Hall had over 60 bullet holes. Students said that their personal items disappeared during the search. After the sweep, only three working firearms were found.
By May 24, the violence was under control. The curfew was lifted, and the National Guard left. The uprising was officially over on May 25.
What Happened After
Willie Grimes' funeral was attended by 2,000 people. A marker was placed on campus to remember him.
Governor Scott said that the violence was caused by a small group of strong activists. He believed they used the high school election to push their own goals. On October 3 and 4, 1969, meetings were held to investigate the events. These meetings were led by the North Carolina State Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Local officials kept blaming "outsiders" and "radicals." However, the committee found that the system at Dudley High was unfair and that the school had stopped students from speaking out. They criticized school officials and community leaders for not doing enough to help. They said it was "a sad commentary that the only group in the community who would take the Dudley students seriously were the students at A&T State University." The committee also criticized the National Guard's search of Scott Hall. They said it put innocent students in danger and was too extreme for the actual risk. They wrote that "it is difficult to justify the lawlessness and the disorder in which this operation was executed."
In 1979, Jack Elam, who was Greensboro's mayor during the uprising, said he was uncomfortable with the Scott Hall search. He agreed that communication was poor but called the committee's report a "joke." Nelson Johnson, who was arrested for encouraging the Dudley students to protest, later wrote that the community ignored the Advisory Committee's report. The city did hire more Black police officers, but by 1979, the number of Black officers still did not match the number of Black residents in the area.
In 2008, a documentary about the event called Walls that Bleed was released.
Images for kids
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A&T Student Eddie Evans being taken into protective custody after members of the North Carolina National Guard raid W. Kerr Scott Hall
See also
In Spanish: Levantamiento de Greensboro de 1969 para niños
