Steve Sumerford on the political climate in North Carolina in 1976
Dublin Core
Title
Subject
Description
Creator
Date
Contributor
Rights
Format
Language
Type
Coverage
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Maybe the best way to illustrate what it felt like in North Carolina at the time is that there was an organization called the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. It was a national organization, but they had selected North Carolina as their focus for—I'm pretty sure this started while I was still in college probably. Anyway, '75-ish. Here's what they said about North Carolina: Most people on death row at that time—was because we hadn't executed people for a while, so they were really building up—and we had a Republican governor getting ready to start executing. Most people on death row. Least unionized state. Most militarized state. Wilmington Ten, Charlotte Three, Joan Little. If you know those cases, you know what I'm talking—all police violence against Black people.
That's North Carolina in 1976 when we started the office. There were people—and I don't mean to be patronizing—there were people in the national organization, I think, who worried about us. A little bit patronizing like, "Those poor—the Klan's probably going to get them.” “Of course, Klan's nowhere around. What a surprise, the Klan is around.”
I think people thought we were working in this very hostile environment and, at the time, I didn't feel that way. When I tell you all that stuff that's going on, now I think, "Well, it's a pretty hostile environment"—Republican governor, et cetera. Of course, too many people in the state depend on the military for their livelihood to make it an easy place to go around or do pacifist organizing. That's true for the South, of course, not just North Carolina, but with our big military bases.
Files
