Join us for a free talk by author Aran Shetterly on his new book, “Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City's Soul.” The talk commemorates the 45th anniversary of this racial tragedy that has become an overlooked chapter in American history. Shetterly’s intimate and deeply researched account draws from survivor interviews, court documents and files from one of the largest investigations in FBI history.

On Nov. 3, 1979, as activist Nelson Johnson assembled people for a march adjacent to the Morningside Homes public housing development in Greensboro, North Carolina, gunshots rang out. A caravan of Klansmen and neo-Nazis sped from the scene, leaving behind five dead. When the shooters were acquitted in the courts, Johnson, his wife, Joyce, and their allies, at odds with the police and the Greensboro establishment, sought alternative forms of justice. 

Although the incident took place in North Carolina, the book’s subjects have Virginia connections. Reverend Nelson Johnson attended Virginia Union University’s School of Theology, and Joyce Johnson grew up near Hull Street in Richmond. In addition, Robert R. Merhige Jr., who presided over the Greensboro massacre’s federal civil trial that found the police, Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis jointly liable for wrongful death, was a U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Virginia. 

A book signing will follow the talk. This event is sponsored by the Library of Virginia Foundation. For more information, contact Anne McCrery at anne.mccrery@lva.virginia.gov or 804.692.3568.

This event is free and open to the public but registration is required. Limited free parking is available in the deck underneath the Library building.