GTRC in an International Context

Our summer interns met yesterday with Lisa Magarrell, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) consultant who has been working separately to advise the Greensboro Truth and Community Reconciliation Project and Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission for a few years. The ICTJ has also offered consulting services to TRCs and other transitional justice efforts in countries such as Sri Lanka, India, Philippines, Turkey, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru, Paraguay, Colombia, Chile, Sierra Leone, and Ghana.

After sharing about how she came into the work of transitional justice, Lisa asked the interns if they thought a transformation was going on in Greensboro. She asked if the transitional justice framework is even relevant in a community that has not just been through a civil war or emerged from a dictatorship. Some interns' reflections were as follows:

• The transition started during the Civil Rights movement and never really was completed. The Greensboro case is interesting because of when it happened (1979) and because of all of the components--race, labor, communism, etc.
• If the GTRC is using this framework of transitional justice, shouldn't it be looking at pre-1964 situations? (In response to this comment, Lisa Magarrell pointed out that no community should think about transition as a clear line marking pre and post transition time periods.)

One of our interns followed up this conversation by asking Lisa what she thought about the City Council's opposition of the truth and reconciliation process. In response, Lisa said:

"The Greensboro case has made me think differently about TRCs, which have previously all been sponsored by or initiated by government bodies...Government support can be helpful and constraining at the same time. Some people may be reluctant to speak to a government sponsored TRC. And some governments may use TRCs as a mouthpiece for whatever version of history they want to maintain. What some Greensboro City Council Members said was helpful--because this TRC grew out of a grassroots movement, it answers to the community and not the City Council. This shows your independence from governmental or other bodies of any kind."

posted by Jill Williams, Exec. Dir.

Reconciling ourselves with our past

Scott Roehm is studying human rights law at Fordham University School of Law and is currently serving as a summer intern for the GTRC. Reflecting on a recent trip to Mississippi, he wrote:

"A week ago yesterday I had the opportunity to travel to Philadelphia, Mississippi and attend the final day of the trial of Edgar Ray Killen, the man accused (and now convicted) of organizing the killing of three young civil rights workers for their attempts to register black voters in 1964. Listening to closing arguments, I began to think about the respective roles of trials and truth commissions in addressing legacies of human rights abuses. The former have the power to punish, but aren’t primarily concerned with establishing a rich or balanced historical record. The latter have the ability to acknowledge a variety of voices, and to build shared histories, but lack the power to legally sanction. While both can be effective mechanisms for confronting past injustices, it is important to recognize the ways in which they differ."

Given recent events, figuring out a way to reconcile ourselves with our past seems to be on our collective national conscience more now than it has ever been in my lifetime. I'm not sure if anyone has found the best way to examine our past so that we can move forward as a stronger community, but we certainly have many different models--corporate apologies, government apologies, legal actions, TRCs and other inquiries, etc.--from which to choose and learn.

posted by Jill Williams, Exec. Dir.

What is Success?

The summer interns met with TRC communications director, Joya Wesley, today to hear about how she arrived in her job with the TRC and her reflections on it. Anyone who knows Joya will not be surprised to hear that she talked a little bit about her father, Fred Wesley (who, incidentally, recorded the "TRC Talk" television show theme music last week) and about jazz.

She also challenged the summer interns to reflect on their own definitions of success, which Wesley defines as "the full utilization of your gifts and experience." Conversations about success inevitably led to a conversation about what success means for this Truth and Reconciliation process and within the group we heard opinions that the TRC would be successful if...

• "we hang with it until the end...we've already learned a great deal and I've got hope that the rest of the community will learn more before this is over, too."
• "more people have had a chance both to speak their own personal truths and genuinely listen to those of others who may or may not agree."
• "a variety of different people will get involved in the process."
• "we can empower more people to take on grassroots efforts to affect change in their own communities."
• "we can challenge people to look at the humanity of all involved in the November 3, 1979, tragedy."
• "we can create a model for other communities who are contemplating a TRC to reconcile themselves with past tragedies."
• "we can show the international community that groups in the US can learn from efforts in other countries instead of always exporting our own ideas and values."

These opinions do not represent a consensus of the Commission's goals. There was general agreement in the group, however, about the fear we all share that the Commission's final report will be disappointing to Greensboro community members who hold great hope that the TRC will solve many different problems in the community.

Because of this concern, I hope community members will start thinking about exactly what they think success means for this process. Anyone should feel free to share their responses with the Commission either here or by giving a statement.

posted by Jill Williams, Exec. Dir.

Meeting with Fatna El Bouih

Representatives from the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission had the opportunity this morning to meet with Ms. Fatna El Bouih, who was a political prisoner in Morocco for five years (1977-1982) and is now an Arabic language teacher and human rights activist.

Like Greensboro, Morocco is in the midst of its own process of seeking the truth and working for reconciliation around its own historic tragedies.

When asked what she anticipated would be the Moroccan Justice and Reconciliation Commission's greatest challenge, Bouih speculated that it would be figuring out how to transmit the information the Commission uncovers to the public at large. She was worried about the fact that they would have to rely on the traditional media outlets for this transmission.

When asked about her own greatest challenge in this process, Ms. Bouih said it was trying to maintain some perspective of how her own experiences as a brutally tortured political prisoner might bias her in this search for an accurate understanding of this piece of Moroccan history.

Although the Greensboro Commission will hopefully not find similar challenges in transmitting its information, we can all identify with Ms. Bouih's need to constantly examine how her experiences shape the way she understands the events being investigated.

posted by Jill Williams, Exec. Dir.

Fenwick Foundation Supports GTRC

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission appreciates the financial support it has recently received from the Fenwick Foundation, based in Chapel Hill, NC. The organization's mission statement reads:

"The Fenwick Foundation will primarily, but not exclusively, support projects that focus on the needs of children in the areas of education, human services and the arts...The foundation will also, therefore, endeavor to seek out and work solutions to the root problems that foster those forces that create and perpetuate conditions that contribute to social environments that are hurtful to children and their opportunities to lead happy and successful lives. These forces include gender inequities, racism, social and economic injustice, and violence, both interpersonal and international."

Thanks to the Fenwick Foundation for its grant of $1000 to the Commission.

(Other individuals and organizations interested in supporting the Commission through monetary or in-kind donations can click here.)

Posted by: Jill Williams, Exec. Dir.

Dear Bloggers

Dear Bloggers,
We recognize that a significant portion of the dialogue about the Commission's work has been taking place online. Regardless of your perspective on these issues, we appreciate the high level of discourse you are contributing to this process. Like Ed Cone said in the N&R (5/1/05):

"The Web gives us a way to distribute the problem, to break it up among any number of writers and thinkers, to let individuals speak, listen and learn for themselves. . . the Truth and Reconciliation process should be larger and more inclusive than the traditional media and a formal document can make it, and that may be the key to its success."

For these reasons, we want to make the TRC process as accessible to you as possible. Please email us if you'd like to be placed on our media list, which means that you will:

• Receive press releases that we distribute alerting media representatives of the Commission's events, updates, and progress
• Be invited to a "Media Credentialing" event prior to the public hearings at which time you will be updated on what to expect in the public hearings and given access to all of the opportunities afforded other media representatives
• Be informed of opportunities to interiew high profile individuals visiting the GTRC.

Let us know if you are interested in signing onto this list (include email and website) or have any questions or suggestions.

Posted by: Jill Williams, Exec. Dir.

Bishop Chip Marble

Bishop Chip Marble, Assisting Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, attended a reflection session today with our summer interns. He shared about his background of growing up in Vicksburg, Mississippi, his experiences of trying to initiate a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to review race-related lynchings and other violence in Mississippi, and his general thoughts about race, religion and politics. The interns discussed one of his most interesting observations about himself:

Growing up, I had to work on my own personal journey. You don't grow up white in a culture like I did without racism being a part of your bones.

Because some of us identified with this statement and others did not, we had a great discussion and are looking forward to spending time with other guests throughout the summer. Thanks to Bishop Marble for his time and shared ideas.

Jill Williams, Exec. Dir.

Local Foundation Supports Truth and Reconciliation Commission

I am pleased to announce that the GTRC has just received notice that we've been approved for a $30,000 grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in Winston Salem. These funds will be used to support the civic engagement component of the Commission's work.

Our other current foundation support comes from the Andrus Family Fund and the JEHT Foundation. Our funds are managed by the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about our funding or anything else.

Jill Williams, Exec. Dir.

GTRC Social

Although we take our work seriously, we’re not always serious. To prove it we’ve gotten permission from our friends at the Green Bean to call next Tuesday evening (June 14, 2005) “GTRC Night” and invite the community to mix and mingle with us there. The shop, located at 341 S. Elm St., has a broad selection of coffees, teas, beers, wines and more for sale, and we’ll be there from 7-9 p.m. Drop in if you can.

Questions? Email us.

Conversation with mill workers (past and present)

The GTRC invites all current and former mill workers who might help us learn more about labor conditions and labor organizing in Greensboro, or who would like to know more about our work, to join us for a conversation:

Wednesday, June 8
6:30-8pm
Glenwood Library Community Room (1901 West Florida Street)
(refreshments provided)

Come to share your experiences and listen to others' stories.
For more information or to let us know you are coming, email us.

--Jill Williams, Exec. Dir.