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WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM NEWS MASSACRE Commemoration of Greensboro Massacre reflects on last 30 years Continued from page I that was held in the Boren Lounge on Nov. 5 to commemorate the massacre, Foxworth discussed the police's role in the massacre. "There are countless historical incidents where the Klan has been used to break strikes, and divide a people's movement," said Foxworth. "It is turning one sector of oppressed people against another. We have to really go beyond that because it keeps everybody oppressed." The first event was a march held on Nov. 4. Beginning at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State campus, the march ended in downtown Greensboro at the Ffistorical Museum. Following the march was a documentary on the events of that fateful day. Over 200 students and community members showed up to support the march. Some held signs that said "From Tragedy to Triumph," while others held candles. Drums set a rhythm that could be felt in the heart as chants such as "I'm fired up and I'm ready to go" and "A people united will never be defeated" rang out in the night. Wesley Morris, a community organizer and youth coordinator with the BCC, was a key organizer in the events. An activist since his school years, Morris shared with community members the importance of passion and vitality in holding successful marches and demonstrations to fight racism and intolerance. "You have to really live and breathe and believe in what you are telling other people to do," expressed Morris. "You can't just say, 'everybody come out to this march that I don't believe in.' I really do believe in truth and reconciliation." First-year Gavin Gabriel, who works at the BCC and helped organize the march, commented on the successful turnout. "I think it's great that so many people want to find peace and truth in our community, that they realize there's a need for healing," said Gabriel. The art opening focused on themes of healing and remembering. Various members of the community spoke about the massacre as well as other social movements in Greensboro. As a result of the Greensboro massacre, the Truth and Reconciliation Council was established. Modeled on the first Truth and Reconciliation Council irt South African apartheid, the council later had those who were affected by the massacre and even some joe Frierson, staff coordinator at the Beloved Community Center, spoke to the invigorated marchers gathered NC A&T on Nov. 4. members of the Klan share stories years later. Joe Frierson, an organizer of the commemoration events, worked on the truth and reconciliation process. Frierson spoke at the art-opening about the importance of community and working together. "The best way to stand with someone is right in their community," said Frierson. "We can talk about helping folks in third- world countries, or impoverished countries, but there's something about when you go visit that country and those people actually sense and feel you, this sense of outsiders leaves." At the opening Foxworth fondly reminisced about her husband, and his work in the union, how he helped to unify people. "Union organizing was done in such a way, and with such spirit, that people were beginning to feel their connection with the rest of humanity; racism was dissolving, in very concrete ways, little by little, the wdls were brealdng down," said Foxworth. Jim Waller's sister, Jane, was not present at the march, but nevertheless was greatly affected. Waller spoke warmly of her brother, attempting to correct the image of him and the others that was presented by the media. "I think what I want people to know most about him was his humanity," said .Waller. "The picture of all the people that were killed is that they were these lunatic communists, and it's such a charged word. The people that were killed were human beings; they had people that they loved and who loved them. They were working towards a better humanity for everybody." The commemoration continued for the next two days, including a program titled "Aggie Assault: 30 Years of Community Neglect," which included a film, discussion, and music. The conference was concluded with the speaker James A. Joseph, founder of the Southern Africa Center for Leadership and Public Values. Waller said that the purpose of remembering what happened 30 years ago is to heal as well as to ensure fiiat the future is a different story than the past. Those who died were fighting for something, had a passion for change and equality for everyone. "When you see injustice you must speak out," said Waller. "Do not stay silent." i The Guilford College Art Gallery, lo cated in Hege Library, opened the Art Faculty Biennial Exhibition on Oct. 28 The gallery held a reception on the eve ning of Nov. 6 to celebrate the work of the artists, as well as a special perfor mance by Invisible, a musical and visual collaboration comprised of Bart Trot- man, Jodi Staley and Mark Dixon. The show features faculty members Heea Crownfield, Mala Dery, Mark Dixon, John Gall, Phil Haralam, Rob Igoe, David New ton, Roy Nydorf, Charlie Teft, and Adele Wayman. The show will be up to view through Dec. 18. KRUGMAN Krugman; Economy past low point Continued from page I series of complex events that led to the global economic crisis, starting with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the mistake that banks made by generously granting sub-prime loans. Krugman explained that sub-prime loans are loans that were given by banks to individuals who should not have qualified for these loans. Krugman said that greed and irresponsible lending largely contributed to the crash of the real estate market. Many who were granted loans were not able to pay them back, which caused banks and investors to lose great amounts of money and also led to many housing foreclosures and eventual job losses. He then described the state of the global economy after the worst of the crisis was over. "Even though the acute 'Oh my god the world is coming to an end' phase is behind us, that's a very, very long way from being out of the woods," said Krugman as he moved into discussing our current economic situation. Krugman compared the first year of our economic crisis to the first year of the Great Depression, stating that in many ways our crisis was just as bad or worse. "We had one year of sheer terror," said Krugman. He then went on to talk about what was done right and what stopped the crisis from becoming like the Great Depression. "The government is far bigger now than it was in 1930," said Krugman. "It was the role of big government that provided crucial stabilization." Krugman's ideas on recovery largely revolve around the role of the government and its efforts to get the economy back on track. He agreed with President Obama and his actions to help the economy. Krugman did not shy away from voicing his political views, however. He called Obama's stimulus package "too little of a good thing" and blamed the political process, and specifically the resistance of the right wing, for only allowing $775 billion in government spending instead of the $1.3 trillion that the economy needed. Krugman, however, did not overlook the negative impacts of the crisis. "We have avoided catastrophe but we have not avoided tragedy," said Krugman. "It's a really sad thing to have tdented hard-working young people coming out into the job market when there really are no jobs." This has caused senior Aaron Woemer to have concerns about finding a job after school. "I'm about to graduate, and the job market is scary as hell so I end up just trying not to think about it," says Woemer. Krugman's words also resonated with junior Regindd Pettiford, who attended the lecture as part of his business law class. "Kmgman's lecture was realistic and he put things in perspective,' said Pettiford. "At first it was discouraging to hear that job market will be very slow to recover, but it was also good to hear that the economic crisis was not as bad as it could have been." ' Kmgman emphasized the importance of moving forward and said, "Things will come along. Creativity will produce new technologies. Eventually, we will recover."
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