“Greensboro Massacre” will be the title of a historical marker commemorating one of the darkest days in the city's history. The wording on the marker has been a point of contention.
The News and Record of Greensboro reports the City Council voted 7-2 Tuesday to approve the marker's language, ending weeks of controversy.
The marker will commemorate the deaths of five members of the Communist Workers Party who were killed on Nov.3, 1979. They had been attacked by members of the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis at an anti-Klan rally.
Several councilmen voted against the marker's language, saying they objected to the word “massacre”. They had suggested calling the incident a “shooting” or “shoot-out”, but the original language prevailed.
The vote elicited cheers and a standing ovation from the capacity crowd of nearly 200.
The marker could be in place as early as April.
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