bullet holes in the wall-the dudley-a&t student revolt of may 1969- 8-21-14

8/9/2019 Bullet Holes in the Wall-The Dudley-A&T Student Revolt of May 1969- 8-21-14

1/19

BULLET HOLES IN THE WALL:

REFLECTIONS ON THE DUDLEY-A&T STUDENTREVOLT OF MAY 1969

Dr. Clau! W. Bar"!#S!"$%r R!#!ar' A##%$a(!

B!l%)! C%**u"$(+ C!"(!r,r!!"#%r% NC

//6-0/-1lau!2!l%)!%**u"$(+!"(!r.%r34-/1-015

Do not quote without author’s permission.015

I. F%r3%((!" L!3a+

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


2/19

Ten years ago you could walk by Scott Hall on the campus of North Carolina !T State

"ni#ersity and see the many pock marks and chips in the brick walls of this huge men$s dormitory near

%aurel and Salem Street. & The historic male dorm constructed in &'(& at one point housed o#er a

thousand students. Today there is a memorial to the dorm and the battle that took place on the campus

costing the life of one student) mobili*ing the campus and the black community of +reensboro to make an

historic stand for ci#il rights and self,defense. - Students today seldom inquire about the origins of the

memorial and battle scares. any would rather forget the significance of the struggle waged by students

and the black community of +reensboro that lead to the presence of /(0 National +uard Troops and three

days and nights of gunfire on this campus and in the community.

1illie 2arnest +rimes) a student at !T) lost his life the during the uprising of ay &'/') a

significant part of the frican merican Community) the study body of Dudley High School) and the

student body of North Carolina !T State "ni#ersity rose up in open rebellion against the status quo.

This episode has yet to be accorded the significance it deser#es in the history of our struggle for freedom)

3ustice and equality in this country. %ike so many other important e#ents that do not make it to the history

books we forget what it was all about. Social and historical amnesia o#ercomes our community as those

who participate in great e#ents die out or mo#e on. s a result) the community is depri#ed of important

heroes) lessons) and guideposts that could possibly help us to o#ercome current dilemmas. ost tragically)

without a sense of history or an appreciation of the political battles that shape the present) a community

forgets how to fight and loses its fighting spirit.

2#eryone knows about the A&T F%ur 4or what some wrongfully call the +reensboro 5our6 and

the role of the !T and 7ennett students during the sit,in mo#ement of the early &'/0s. There are ample

celebrations of the courage of the four freshmen and there is a museum de#oted to the legacy of 2*ell

7lair) 8r.) 8oseph cNeil) Da#id 9ichmond) and 5ranklin cCain. : Historians) 3ournalists) business

& This essay is based on a public lecture gi#en at a memorial ser#ice in honor of 1illie 2rnest +rimes) theonly student killed during the ci#il disturbances known as the Dudley;T 9e#olt held in +ibbs Hall on thecampus of North Carolina !T State "ni#ersity) +reensboro) NC 5ebruary -:) &''(. The essay was later published as Chapter &( in 7arnes) oseley and Steele) American National and State Government: An African American View of the Return of Redemptionist Politics ) 4Dubuque) endall;Hunt) &''?6 = &':,-0&. < want to thank my colleague and friend %ewis 7randon for the photos included in this essay.- Scott Hall was torn down 8uly &&) -00@. See the discussion on the web site of the 5.D. 7luford %ibrary of North Carolina !T State "ni#ersity) accessed 8une &') -0&: =A http=;;www.library.ncat.edu;resources;archi#es;scott.html B: The story of the long battle to establish +reensboro’s


3/19

owners and others seem to take an acti#e interest in preser#ing the memory of the Sit ay gapion ,,a notorious slumlord,, and won

@ iles 1olf) Lunch at the 5 & 1) 4Chicago=


4/19


5/19

in the South,, and of course North Carolina !T was the place to be the place to be if you were concerned

about the plight of 7lack people in merica and the world. ? This essay is an attempt to begin to lift the

#eil and fog on the critical role of the unsung heroes and heroines that some call the North Carolina

Nationalists.

8oyce 8ohnson speaking at "NC,Charlotte’s 7lack Student +roup in the early &'?0s

The Dudley;!T 9e#olt is an important part of history) it is a part of the struggle for racial and

social 3ustice in this community) in this state and in this nation.


6/19

Students protesting in &'/' 1hat was the response of the local officials How did the !T students get

in#ol#ed

%astly) < would like to point out some of the lessons that can be drawn from this episode of our

struggle for challenges facing today’s students and black community. 1hat can we learn from the

struggles of students from the /0s to help us in this current era of 9edemptionist oliticsJ , the era of Tea

arty olitics) 9ush %imbaugh) nn Coulter) Sarah alin) 9and aul) 5oK News) Newt +ingrich, of mean

spirited reactionary conser#ati#e merican olitics 1hat can the protesters of the /0s tell us about how

to fight the current conser#ati#e all out assault on Ci#il 9ights) their all out assault on the working and

poor people of this country) their bra*en attempt to turn back the clock to a time when we did not ha#e a

race problem) to a time when black people knew their place in society) to a time that can only be

compared to the destruction of reconstruction and the rise of scientific racism) to a time when lynchings

were common) and the brutali*ation of blacks is seen as normal.

II. T'! S%$al C%"(!7(

The disturbances on this campus and in the 7lack community of +reensboro of ay &'/' were

the result of social) political and economic processes playing out for at least a decade or more. The

eKplosion of black anger that occurred in ay of &'/' was the spontaneous and collecti#e response of a

frustrated and fed up black community,, fed up with oppression) fed up with racism) fed up with police

brutality) and tired of mistreatment by the powers that be. ost official accounts of the e#ents of that

spring attempt to paint the Dudley and !T students in#ol#ement as the result of some communist or

7lack anther conspiracy. The local press did not try to engage in fair or accurate reporting on this

matter. rotesters and acti#ists were pictured as criminals without a noble cause being led by outside

agitators. Nothing could be further from the truth. The MDudley !T 9e#oltM) was ultimately the product

of the clash of #alues and will between people fighting for social change) on the one hand) and those who

3ob it was to protect the status quo) on the other. 7y ay of &'/' the status quo had become intolerable

and enough people had the good sense) courage and #ision to challenge the eKisting social political)

economic and cultural order. '

J See introduction) 7arnes) oseley) and Steele) American National and State Government .' Claude 1. 7arnes) 8r. Consideration of the 9elationship 7etween


7/19


8/19


9/19

Q.riots both dramati*ed the failure of the merican polity to fulfill the eKpectations of the ci#ilrights mo#ement) and demonstrated the gap between black leaders and the pre#ailing sentimentsof their constituencies.&/

The Dudley !T student re#olt was part of that wa#e of social protest and discontent that swept the

country during those years. Students and community acti#ists belie#ed that fundamental change could

occur if enough pressure could be brought to bear on the political system. Their efforts did bring some

changes but they were not able to sustain the militant phase of mo#ement.


10/19

olice 7rutality and >lan terror reached new le#els and confrontations with black residents escalated.

7lack workers from di#erse 3ob sites were increasingly unwilling to submit to racist discrimination. 7lack

high school youth) college students) and parents were also becoming intolerant of inadequate funds and

facilities for predominantly black educational institutions.

ing in &'/J and the uprising of the black community in &'/' in what has come to be called Mthe

Dudley;!T 9ebellion.M

Nelson 8ohnson S+ Gice,president and Gincent cCullough S+ resident North Carolina !T State "ni#ersity &'/'

III. T'! R!!ll$%"

The Dudley,!T 9e#olt changed the political alignment of forces in +reensboro. 5or a short

period of time a younger group of leaders and organi*ations took center stage and the black community

was able to achie#e many of its demands. The story of the rise and fall of this radical tendency in the

black mo#ement partly eKplains the political apathy) demobili*ation and powerlessness that characteri*es

black politics today 4J0s and '0s6. lthough a massi#e amount of material can be found in the archi#es of

the Greens,oro 3ail News and the Greens,oro Record the ma3ority of this material is written from the

&0


11/19


12/19

disregard for the rights of the students to select their own leadership turned out to be the straw that broke

the camel$s back.

Students at Dudley High School began a series of demonstrations) boycotts and meetings to

protest the dictatorial practices of the school officials. Now the problem was not simply the election but

many of the other important grie#ances harbored by the students and the black community of +reensboro.

Students and parents #oiced concern o#er such issues as the poor and used teKtbooks) the content and

quality of the educational process) the absence of 7lack History courses) the MunenlightenedM dress code)

lack of tennis courts and a stadium like the other high schools in the public school system of +reensboro)

as well as) the preferential treatment of middle class students) lack of 3ob opportunities) police brutality)

poor housing and the destruction of black businesses and residences by urban renewal.

rotests at the school escalated in the face of official recalcitrance and #iolence erupted when the

public spokesperson for the +reensboro ubic schools) Ewen . %ewis) ordered the +reensboro olice to

arrest peaceful student protesters. The students were attacked and brutali*ed by the police and the e#ent

was witnessed by hundreds of students in the process of changing classes. Students not in#ol#ed in the

original protest action reacted to the treatment of their fellow classmates by engaging in spontaneous acts

of outrage. 1indows were broken) students threw rocks at the police and more arrests were made. This

cycle would repeat itself for the neKt few days. En ay -&) &'/' there was a massi#e show of police

force. 7efore the students could disperse they were attacked by the police in full riot gear and tear gas was

used to clear the campus and the school was effecti#ely shut down. The entire area around Dudley and

%incoln 8unior High School was gassed with epper 5og machines. Students bloody and coughing) fled

the Dudley campus to North Carolina !T State "ni#ersity where they could obtain more allies and help.

This was not planned it 3ust happened.

The Dudley students described their ordeal to !T students and to participants in the founding

conference of the Student Ergani*ation for 7lack "nity 4SE7"6. !T students and members of SE7"

pledged their support and agreed to help the students find a satisfactory solution to the crisis. Conference

organi*ers and participants immediately ad3ourned the conference and led a march of -00 to :00 people

back to Dudley to demand the immediate installation of the duly elected student leader and a more 3ust

solution to the crisis. Nelson 8ohnson led the protesters into the Dudley cafeteria) 3umped up on a table

and claimed Claude 7arnes is the winner of the student council president’s election and we declare him

&-


13/19

the new president. The neKt day +reensboro olice increased their patrols on the campus of !T and up

and down 2ast arket Street near the campus. s a result of the more aggressi#e and pro#ocati#e police

actions the !T students escalated their in#ol#ement in the crises by organi*ing patrols of the campus.

gain) the +reensboro olice patrolled up and down 2ast arket and other areas of the black community

of +reensboro with shotguns pointed out the windows. During this tense en#ironment) late at night)

according to eyewitness accounts) 1illie 2arnest +rimes was shot and killed by the police at &=:0 am on

ay --) &'/' 4see footnote &@6.

+reensboro resembled an armed camp o#er the neKt three nights. Giolent confrontations erupted

throughout the black community despite a curfew imposed on the city by ayor 8ack 2lam. Students

learned o#er the police radio that the National +uard was planning a sweep of Scott Hall and there were

rumors that rmored ersonnel Carriers) Tanks) Helicopters and Cannon might be used to oust the rebels.

The president of !T at the time) Dr. %ewis C. Dowdy was not informed of the decision to sweep the

campus until the operation began. gainst such o#erwhelming force the students decided after three days

and nights of battle that their point had been made and it was no need for martyrdom. 1hen the National

+uard began the sweep of Scott Hall most if not all of the rebels were gone. 2#en so the National +uard

troops shot out e#ery lock in Scott Hall and did tremendous damage to the student’s property and state

&:


14/19

property. The rebellion came to a close after the semester ended at both Dudley and !T and after a

series of community meetings and court battles won a number of important demands raised by the rebels.

IV. C%"lu#$%": L!##%"# 8%r C%"(!*%rar+ S(ru33l!#

>> and other white terrorists captures the mood of a significant portion of the students

and black community of +reensboro= < keep a shotgun in e#ery corner of my bedroom and the first

cracker e#en look like he wants to throw some dynamite on my porch won’t write his mama again. -&

"nlike other urban rebellions during the /0s) the rebels in +reensboro were able to defend

themsel#es effecti#ely. rmed confrontations took place in almost e#ery sector of the black community

including the orningside Homes or the area known as the +ro#e) Southside) and 1oodmere ark. Ef

course) the most intense confrontations took place on the !T campus as students and their supporters

battled the +reensboro olice and /(0 North Carolina National +uard Troops.


15/19

widespread and effecti#e use of armed self,defense that was the key factor that pre#ented the police and

National +uard from inflecting more harm on the students and the community.--

second ma3or factor which set Dudley !T 9e#olt apart from similar ci#il disturbances during

this time) was the broad support en3oyed by the rebels) the presence of multi,class coalitions within the

7lack community and the relati#ely unified response of this community to the repression by the local state

and authorities. The organi*ation and swift response of key sectors of the 7lack community was made

possible through the de#elopment of broad coalitions and support groups. The +reensboro ssociation of

oor eople 4+6 and student leaders at Dudley and !T played a ma3or role in bringing these broad

coalitions together and pro#iding the leadership necessary for an acceptable solution to the crises. The

composition of one of the coalitions was described in an article in the *arolina Peacema+er =

s early as ay -nd Nelson 8ohnson and 1alter 7rame) organi*ers for the +reensboro ssociation of ooreople... #isited Dudley rincipal 5ranklin 8. 7rown. They had been working closely with se#eral Dudleystudents and concerned citi*ens. They urged 7rown to meet with 7lack community leaders who hadcon#ened to help resol#e the rising tensions at Dudley High. r. 7rown refused to meet with thecommunity leaders who included persons such as 9e#. Cecil bishop) then of Trinity ..2. ion ChurchLr. .S. 1ebb and r. 7.8. 7attle of the merican 5ederal Sa#ings and %oan ssociationL rs. Dorothy8ohnson and %ewis 7randon of the +reensboro ssociation of oor eopleL Dr. +eorge Simkins andttorney Da#id Dansby of the NCL r. Herman 5oK of the Citi*ens ssociationL and the late 9e#.8ulius Douglas of the St. 8ames resbyterian Church) among others... -:

Coalitions such as the one described abo#e were instrumental in fashioning a broad consensus of

support for the acti#ities of students and community acti#ists. Communication networks were established

by the coalitions to inform the black community of the progress of negotiations and to combat the slander

and distortions presented in the daily media.


16/19

treatment of citi*ens of +reensboro because of their 9ace= discrimination in housing) employment)education) and the deli#ery of ser#ices) coupled with institutional racism and the unresponsi#eness of theofficial system.-@

1hat does the Dudley,!T 9e#olt tell us about the nature of our contemporary situation Can

we learn something from a consideration of these e#ents that happened some forty,fi#e years ago -(


17/19

this time frame) for this generation. 1e cannot lea#e the political arena to +o#ernor at cCory) 9ush

%imbaugh) the commentators of 5oK News) and neo,liberals like resident 7arack Ebama) Hillary and

7ill Clinton.-? olitics plays a large role in determining our future and we cannot let that future be limited

by those who are hostile to our interests.


18/19

Three national leaders of the 7lack ower hase of the Ci#il 9ights o#ement= Stokely Carmichael)4>wame Toure6) %eroi 8ones 4miri 7araka6 and H. 9ap 7rown 48amil l,min6.

Claude 7arnes gi#ing testimony to the North Carolina d#isory Committee to the "nited StateCommission on Ci#il 9ights) Ectober /) &'/'.

&J


19/19

bullet holes in the wall-the dudley-a&t student revolt of may 1969- 8-21-14

Documents